Pat Fordyce-Gale

I love animals,my five pugs,reading,music my friends and country life, a great Take That fan Gary is my number one and he followed me on 5th October 14.

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@John_Dabell So true🫶

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Every sunrise is an encore. Here at the Helios installation in Southwell Minister, Nottinghamshire.

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@criminographer So pleased you have all had such a good time Little Legs is certainly a strong little character knows what she wants💕.

[Dr Emily Cooper @criminographer]

I've been seeking solace outside as much as possible and enjoying our two week bubble of no work. Little legs has loved seeing the ducks but was fuming that I didn't let her take one home. Hope you can all enjoy some outside time in this lovely weather 🌞

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@shitscaredmum @BBCBreakfast @ArchieGoodburn @BrainCancerJust Such wise words and hoping this will make those that need to do do something for this to happen, know how many people are waiting to see what they are being taken notice of💕.

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@Michaeljos92972 Well done you must be so pleased it’s doing so well,
The great reviews show the ones who have hurt you on here what your friends know how important your writing is💕.

[Michael & Rebecca @Michaeljos92972]

A BROADWAY PLAY I WROTE AND SUBMITTED TO LIN MANUEL MIRANDA. IT'S GATHERING GREAT REVIEWS. BUT IT'S LONG. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE THE STRENGTH- ENJOY.
DEATH & ME.
by Michael Whelan
https://t.co/K8HqS7txxj

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@alexeades1 Well done yesterday must have been so hard when it got so hot, hoping today will be kinder to you both💕

[Charlotte's Battle Against Glioblastoma (BAG) @alexeades1]

Day 10 of 12

We will complete our 12-day challenge, but I honestly don't think Miles nor I will be able to walk much further after Wednesday! I've just seen the forecast, and Wednesday is looking incredibly hot.

We started walking at 8.15 am this morning and finally arrived at Ditchling Beacon at 4.15 pm.

The day started quite pleasantly, with a lovely breeze and temperatures that weren't too high. We also beniftted from a slow descent following the climb onto the downs from Washington. But, by around 2.00 pm, everything changed. The heat became incredibly intense, and the final two hours were really tough.

We soldiered on because we wanted to complete an extra 4 km today. Doing so means that we have a little less to do tomorrow. A massive bonus tomorrow, as a result of doing more today, is that the beginning of the walk will be relatively flat which will definitely be welcome.

The final part of today's walk was a slow, hot ascent with absolutely no shade. You can see what we were facing in the pictures.

One particularly emotional moment today was passing Charlotte's final resting place. I wished I had brought some flowers with me to lay there.

I'll go back on Friday and take some sunflowers, as they were Charlotte's favourite.

Just two more days to go.

We're exhausted, we're aching, and the heat is certainly testing us but we're going to finish what we started.
https://t.co/qGIjBOl3aq

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@NiallHarbison That poor sweet soul thank goodness you found her, praying she comes through this 🫶.

[Niall Harbison @NiallHarbison]

I will check her all night and have been talking to her to tell her to just fight through tonight as a great life awaits her.

I really really want Fluffy to survive. Keep your fingers crossed for her 🤞 (7/7)

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@John_Dabell Sorry to read about the discomfort, lovely to see you and your buddy enjoying getting out.

[John Dabell @John_Dabell]

Having treatment and then biopsies the very next day has meant a fair bit of inflammation and pain this week. It’s been uncomfortable and draining, but thankfully a walk at Chatsworth has given me some much-needed distraction

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@shitscaredmum @BBCBreakfast @ArchieGoodburn @BrainCancerJust So very true x

[shitscaredmum @shitscaredmum]

It means so much that @BBCBreakfast have continued to highlight this issue - supporting @ArchieGoodburn & @BrainCancerJust in the fight for more research & a vital National Brain Cancer Lead.

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@Michaeljos92972 So true !! Suddenly you realize that your getting older when did that happen?!! .

[Michael & Rebecca @Michaeljos92972]

WHEN THE HELL DID 70 BECOME OLD?
By Michael Whelan

I have a question.

When the hell did seventy become old?

Because I’m seventy, and I’m still waiting for the elderly gentleman who is supposed to inhabit my body to show up.

In my head, I’m somewhere around 38.

My knees strongly disagree.
So does my back.
And every morning, several previously unidentified body parts submit formal complaints to management.
But old?
I’m not convinced.
When I was twenty, seventy-year-olds looked ancient. They wore sensible shoes, drove enormous Buicks and seemed to possess unlimited knowledge about lawn care. They ate dinner at 4:00 and watched television at a volume detectable by neighboring counties.

Now I’m seventy and suddenly I understand something:
Those people probably didn't feel seventy either.
That's the great cosmic joke of aging.
The mirror gets older. The person looking into it doesn't.
There's still a kid inside me who remembers baseball diamonds and summer nights that seemed to last forever. There's still the young man who thought he had all the answers. There's still the ambitious bastard who wanted to conquer the world.
They're all still here.
They just pee more often.
I've lived long enough now to realize that aging isn't one long deterioration. In some ways, it's an unveiling.

At seventy, I've finally stopped auditioning.

I don't need everyone to like me.
I don't need to win every argument.
I don't need the biggest office, the fanciest title or somebody else's definition of success.
I've learned that being important is wildly overrated.
Being kind isn't.
I've learned that almost everything we spend our younger years worrying about eventually becomes irrelevant. The promotion. The insult. The person who didn't invite us. The asshole who cut us off in traffic.
Gone.
But love?
Friendship?
The dog waiting at the door?
Someone reaching across a table and touching your hand?
Those become priceless.
Seventy has taken things from me. People I love. Some strength. A little speed. Apparently the ability to stand up from a sofa without making a noise.
But seventy has given me something twenty never could:
perspective.
I know now that life isn't short.
Life is fast.
There's a difference.
One minute you're wondering what you're going to become.
Then somehow you're standing at seventy wondering how the hell you got here.
So no, I don't think seventy is old.
I think seventy is late in the game.
And anyone who loves sports knows something about late games:
That's when you stop saving your best players.
That's when you stop worrying about tomorrow.
That's when you put everything you've got on the field.
I'm seventy.
The clock is running.
And I'm not heading for the locker room.
I'm asking for the damn ball.

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@alexeades1 Well done that looked such a hard one yesterday, sorry about the sticks maybe they could be returned to you or collected.
So many folk following you every day and wishing you both well.

[Charlotte's Battle Against Glioblastoma (BAG) @alexeades1]

Day 9 completed!

It wasn't a great start to the day, and what a long one it turned out to be with nine hours of walking!

We left our accommodation at 5.40 am to catch the bus. We'd been told to leave the key on the table and simply shut the door behind us. We checked we had our phones, chargers and everything else we needed and, satisfied that we did, we shut the door.

The moment it closed, I realised I'd left my walking poles in the room.

I was really upset because they weren't just any walking poles, they were the ones Charlotte had used when she was very unwell during her walking rehab. They mean a huge amount to me. Miles suggested we wait until 8.00 am when someone would be there to let us back in, but I decided not to. We'd have been so far behind with the day's walking.

I did eventually agree with Miles that perhaps Charlotte would have been quite happy that I'd left them behind. She used those poles when she was very unwell, and maybe they belong there now, as part of that chapter of her journey.

I'd also become very used to walking with the poles, particularly because of my mildly arthritic knee, so I certainly noticed their absence today.

The walking itself was tricky. The tracks are incredibly uneven and, as you can see from the pictures, largely made up of loose chalk. You really have to watch every step.

And then there was the heat.

We started walking at 6.15 am, when it was actually quite cold. By 11.00 am, we were both really struggling. It's almost impossible to put into words what it's like walking kilometre after kilometre with the sun beating down on you, with the occasional tree offering perhaps three seconds of shade before you're back in the relentless sunshine.

But we did it.  Another day, another lot of miles behind us.

Tomorrow we'll walk from Washington to Ditchling Beacon, rather than Pyecombe as we did last week. This will make the following walk towards Alfriston slightly shorter than the very long day we had last week.

And, finally, it's lovely to be home tonight so I can properly tend to my blisters!

Thank you, as always, for all your encouragement, messages and donations. They really do keep us going.

One step at a time, for Charlotte.
https://t.co/qGIjBOlAZY

[Pat Fordyce-Gale @Patsgang]

@NatalyaOba So sorry for your loss, bless you I hope you have friends and family to help you at this sad time.