So whilst I & various support runners were enjoying ourselves out on Moel y Gest there were plenty of other activities going on at our Cafe at The Eisteddfa Fishery which I’ll aim to outline here-in. My apologies for any un-intended errors but I wasn’t there most of the time & even when I was I wasn’t really ‘there’.
Kevin Hitch was the first non-runner to arrive & join Dorina a little before 8:00 am & began to set up his array of wildlife photographic prints, he had kindly volunteered that all proceeds raised would go to ROFN, a very generous offer particularly as it was on top of his already donating a large print of a swan in flight to be auctioned during the evening quiz.
Gaby, I think was next, critical as Dorina cannot hold the counter fully with her other duties on a typical Reach Out for Nepal day. Gaby also produced & sold 10 portions of her Dal Bhat with all proceeds going to the cause. Here I should also mention Luca, assistant chef who like Gaby would have had a busier day than normal trying to hold the Kitchen on her own more often than normal.
Next up were Twiggy & Peter Price, I think sometime between 8 & 9 am. They would set up a stall alongside Kevin’s selling various Nepalese goods (donated by Community Action Nepal) as well as books & handmade hats donated by other regular customers. I believe Peter’s duties were setting up the Prayer Flags to bring a sense of occasion whilst Twiggy manned the stall throughout the day interacting with our Cafe customers, it was a busy day for the Cafe all round.
Next it would have been John & Marion, probably between 9 & 10 am. John once again acting as the overall co-ordinator of the days events allowing me to focus on my specific challenge, thank you John we couldn’t function without you doing that vital role. Marion’s role was focused on being the Cafe photographer capturing the flavour of the day as well as recording the runners leaving & returning to the Cafe for each leg. Apparently she also tried to capture my best side whilst I was re-fuelling but as she freely admitted at some point in the afternoon ‘I like to capture you in distress Paul’ & then she smiled at the thought!
Marion & John also set up a repeating Audial Visual of my 2021’s runs ‘7 Marathons + in 7 Days’ which brought back some memories, well at least before my wheels began falling off.
Andy Pyatt, put in an appearance at the Cafe in the early afternoon to capture some more photographs of the runners at the Cafe. Andy’s main responsibility however was out on the hill capturing photographs of us runners doing our thing, a lonely job out there for an odd minute of company every couple of hours or so, much appreciated Andy.
By the time Dorina & I returned to the Cafe after completing the 7th leg the Cafe was getting busy again with several close friends among the crowd, all of whom showed there concerns for me in the look on their faces, thank you again for those concerns & hopefully the sight of me being able to take part in the Quiz removed those concerns later on but John Smith’s comments of ‘I’d donate more money to see you NOT run next year Paul’ may need some serious contemplation.
By the time I arrived back after the final leg Tim Radford was well in hand setting up his Quiz which got underway at 8 pm (I was AWOL in the shower for the start). Tim had offered some months ago to hold the Quiz & I’d snapped up his kind offer immediately. Of course he was stepping into the massive void of Mike Lees who’s sudden death late last year left such a void in so many lives. Mike had been our great friend for many years & had hosted all 10 of our ROFN quizzes, anyone who had attended them would know just how much Tim was putting his head above the parapet. Tim did a simply brilliant job all evening bringing both his own style whilst also giving nods to Mike’s style along the way. He also ad-libbed some knew ideas as the evening took shape. Simply wonderful effort Tim, everyone I’ve spoken to both at the end of the evening & in the days since have said how much fun the evening was!
A moment to remember Mike, what would he be thinking about the world order today & particularly the Middle East.
During the quiz’s interval John stepped in to hold the raffle draw, so here a quick nod to all those who donated prizes, 13 in all I believe, very generous of you all.
Finally as ever a thank you to Dorina, my Angel, so many responsibilities on her shoulders throughout the day, here’s just some of them. Set the alarm 3:30 am, drive us to the Cafe by 4:30 am, official Cafe photographer until Marion arrived, running the Cafe counter, keeping our supporters fed & watered, re-fuelling me, re-fuelling my running bag, my support runner on Leg 7, holding the counter on her own during the evening, driving us home past midnight & then back in the Cafe before 8 am on Sunday. Within all this she had to cope with her concerns about my condition which lets be fair was a bit serious for 4 hours. No wonder she was a tired Angel come Sunday afternoon but a very appreciated one & not just by me!
If I’ve missed anything I apologise & to anyone who was there, took part in anyway & I haven’t mentioned by name a big thank you to you too for helping create our ROFN family on such a special day.
At time of writing the proceeds from the day itself & the couple of days since have just gone through the £1,500 mark!
