Team Charlie

The Team Charlie blog will be a record of our thoughts and attempts at training to walk Offa’s Dyke later in the year.

The team consists of Norman (74), Carol (41), Adam (15), Alice (13) and Charlie (2). Charlie is a collie, born on a local farm in North Devon, and he will be delighted to join us in our endeavours to raise funds for our nominated charities, which are the RNLI, Torbay Hospitals, Devon Air Ambulance and Dolton & Dowland Village Hall.

An introduction to the team:

Norman (74) is the original “Grumpy Old Man”.  He is currently recovering from a partial knee replacement (he has previously had a hip replacement and the other knee partially replaced).  The operation was undertaken on Wednesday 17th February.  His long-suffering wife, Phyllis, and he have three children, Keith, Denise and Carol, and four grandchildren, Mathew, Will, Adam and Alice.  He has retired from active service of any kind and resides in Brixham, Torbay.  Between 1979 and 1991 he completed Offa’s Dyke twice, the Pennine Way twice and the Coast to Coast once.  It is his ambition to complete Offa’s Dyke again – faster!

Carol (41) has lived in Dolton, North Devon, for the past three years.  She and her husband, Richard (the Big Boss) purchased Church Street Stores in April 2007 and, despite wondering what they had let themselves in for, have not looked back since.  Her two children, Adam and Alice, have madly agreed to accompany her and her father on the Offa’s Dyke Path.  She has a tendency for losing half a pair of gloves on a regular basis and for slipping over in the mud.

Adam (15) is currently studying hard (I hope!) for his GCSE’s which he will take in 2011.  There is evidence to support his sister’s opinion that he is a Nerd – he recently hosted a village quiz night and was told in no uncertain terms that it was too difficult!  He needs an extra large rucksack so he can pack all the books he will read on the journey.  It is a worry that his skinny frame will see him through 180 miles.

Alice (13) has surprised us all that she wants to do this.  Her usual reaction to the suggestion of going for a walk is “Boring!”.  Of course she does have lots of teenage energy to see her through this.  Her hobbies are watching TV, going on Facebook, trampolining, swimming, talking and calling Adam a nerd! tee hee =)

Charlie (2) has lived with us for the past two years, following his birth at a local farm.  He would, apparently, make an excellent working dog because he has a black mouth.  His hobbies are playing tug of war with sticks, chasing sticks, “killing” sticks and taking his owners for long walks.  His favourite food is cheese.

Will we actually be able to complete this walk?  Well, you never know if you can achieve your goals unless you set them in the first place, so here goes.