I woke up on Day 180 feeling much
better and managed 8 comfortable miles. After my last blog about recognising
the need for balance I ensured I constantly rehydrated and took things steadily
to get back into the rhythm of being able to complete long walks. I finished
the day with 855 miles to go. Over the next week I continued to catch up
with my miles and worked hard on the BRIT Strategy with Chichester College and
planned how to use the voluntary and gifted support that has been increasing
recently.
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| The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Camberley, Surrey |
I completed 10 miles on Day 181
(845 to go), 6 miles on Day 182 (839 to go), 6 miles on Day 183 (833 to go), 7
miles on Day 184 (826 to go) and 8 miles on Day 185 (818 to go). Over that
period I met with some of the members of our BRIT Young People’s Visionary
Steering Group to go over some ideas and I also returned to the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst to give a talk to 750 Cadets who were going through their
training before passing out as Army Officers.
The week also included
preparation for carrying the Olympic Torch in Islington on the eve of London
2012. On the Wednesday evening I travelled up to London to stay overnight and
woke at 0500 hours to report at Islington Town Hall for 0615 hours to attend
the Torchbearer briefing.
When I arrived I met David
Walliams, the inspirational comic and fundraiser. We had met on a few occasions
before and we had a great catch up and shared a lot of laughter. David was to
hand the Olympic Torch over to meet at 0826 hours, so I spent time talking to
the other inspirational torchbearers before I headed out to take my position. I
was delighted that so many family, friends and BRIT supporters had come along
to support me and it was a magical experience that I could share with so many
super friends.
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| Containing a great deal of emotion whilst carrying the Olympic Torch |
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| David Walliams and I sharing a hug as he handed over the Olympic Flame to me |
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| On Sky News Sunrise with Charlotte Hawkins on the day of the opening of London 2012 |
When my torchbearer duty was over
I headed back to Sussex to walk my 6 miles and then attended the signing of the
West Sussex County Council Military Covenant. It was a long day, I was down to
812 miles to go, and then during the course of the evening I received a message
that I needed to be up the next morning at 0400 hours. I had to leave once
again for London to attend a Sky News Sunrise interview with Charlotte Hawkins.
Charlotte had interviewed me before and I was delighted that whilst I was asked
to talk about London 2012, I was also given the opportunity to talk about
creating a legacy through the vision to build the BRIT Centre of Inspiration.
It was another long day and after
I had returned to Sussex and attended a meeting with BRIT volunteers and
supporters at Chichester College, I walked a further 4 miles to reduce my miles
to go to 808.
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| The super crowds in Islington on my leg of the Olympic Torch journey |
On Saturday I completed a further 8 miles to leave 800 to go and
then on Sunday had one of the busiest days for a long time. My bathroom flooded
in the morning, Clare, Jeannie and I then went through a filing handover to
ensure all my and the BRIT paperwork would be managed correctly, my Mum,
Angela, arrived, my kitchen was packed up ready for a new kitchen to be fitted,
a photo-shoot took place all afternoon to record all the equipment I would be
taking on my 30 day Scotland trip and I squeezed in 2 miles to reduce my miles
to go to 798. A long day, but a productive one!
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| With a young girl post torch-bearing |
Trying to prepare for Scotland,
run the cottage, make sure BRIT as a charity was up to date and keep walking
took a great deal of time, but I was ready for Scotland and am grateful to my
family, friends and BRIT supporters for looking after me and helping me.
Best wishes,
Phil