Page 35 - She's One Crazy Lady!

lovely boys – Ben, Jordan, Matthew and Sam – now all in their twenties and thirties and simply, wonderful boys – always ready with bear-hug cuddles!
Creativity was instilled on all of us, especially by my Mum – ‘Little Nana’ – and to this day, our desire to be ‘different’ and see projects through to the best of our ability and to a high standard are still there, although Jacquie’s skills far exceed mine and she has gone on to excel in so many different crafts – scrapbooking, photography, glass bead and jewellery making, soapmaking, crochet (mastering unbelievable complicated patterns!) and, more recently, quilting – again, at a very advanced level.
I got Jacquie involved in walking. This started with
me often having to look after her and we would
walk around Kettering and the local countryside for
hours on a Sunday afternoon. The walks got longer,
and we loved being together, so decided to join the
Wellingborough Waendel Walkers Club and began
our new hobby by taking part in 10k evening walks
across the county. These progressed to organised
weekend walks across the country where we set
ourselves a challenge of achieving different lengths
and aiming to walk 1000k + over a period of time, obtaining medals, certificates and ‘stamps’ to push ourselves. The organised walks were fantastic and not content with the smaller distances on offer, we went for the marathon walks and kitted ourselves out with the gear needed. We travelled all over the country and often took part in military walks where we walked – and sang – side by side with marching soldiers. One particular walk we remember well was when we were walking through Thetford Forest on what we thought was a 26-mile route. Feeling foot sore and tired, with a long drive home ahead of us, we thought we had finished, only to be told we had another 6 miles to go! On another occasion we entered for the two-day 42km Waendel Walk, as well as the Friday evening Friendship Walk (6 miles) as a warm up. We were doing so well and on the Sunday afternoon, with the finish just a mile or so away, it started to rain, and we got soaked which caused us both to develop blisters. We finished – 58 miles – then both got into my bath, fully clothed, unable to move – vowing never to do another long walk – ever...
We were back out the following weekend as we loved to add to our medal tally and our 1000 kilometre challenge. Walking had become an addiction. In total we achieved 36 full marathons and endless shorter walks, stopping only when Jacquie developed issues with her Achilles tendons. Today, our get-togethers are more sedate and are often spent enjoying an afternoon tea, or two, without having to walk too far – well, perhaps round a few shops!
“We finished
– 58 miles – then both got into my bath, fully clothed, unable to move – vowing never to do another long walk – ever...
”
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