My heroes

Life is really treating me recently. After a very successful Diabetes Week fundraising, I unexpectedly had to travel to Singapore, with which a dream came true, I have finally crossed the boundaries of Asia.
Absolutely adored Singapore, the food, the weather, the people and the architecture, and can't wait to go back, but that will have to wait until next year I am afraid.
But the fun didn't stop there. A night after I arrived back to London I went to Team GB and was trained on coaching by Adrian Moorhouse the Olympic swimmer who beat Karoly Guttler (HU) at the Seoul Olympics,  by Sir Clive Woodward  and Mark Richardson. The training had a slight boot-camp feeling as having been trained by these sportsmen necessarily means, that there were many sports anecdotes and even more sports videos, but it was an amazing experience to see how Team GB prepares for the Olympics, and also the training was really useful to gather my thoughts around fundraising again. I will revert back to the cooking- baking scheme. I will be end working in the charity shop on Saturdays, it was a great time, but don't have enough free time to do this, now that fundraising is approaching to the end, I need to focus even more on training and fundraising so will be volunteering only occasionally on Sundays at the shop. What I'll do instead is I'll hire food stalls at the local Budgens, and sell diabetic cakes. Will give it a try, people are always up to trying new stuff
But going back to the training Mark Richardson mentioned the story of Karoly Takacs, who was a Hungarian shooter and won two Olympic gold medals, that I wanted to share with you. He was righthanded, and a grenade exploded in his right hand, and he had to learn to shoot with his left hand, and won both Olympic medals shooting using his left hand.


Wiki

His story, and the story of Gyula Gurisatti who is hero from my hometown (sorry video only in Hungarian) attending London 2012, who has been a World Champion in diving but lost both his legs in an accident, just reminds me  how amazing will power is, and that however tough moments can be, to stop whingeing, and just keep going.
And that it's less than 40 days until the Olympics, so I need to a Hungarian T-shirt.
HAJRA MAGYAROK.

Get the balls rollin'

Today is 49 days until the Olympics, 90 days to my challenge, 42% to my fundraising target, and one of my greatest friend's Szilvio's birthday (boldog szuletesnapot!).
The Euros have kicked off, so am looking forward to some nice football (and footballers:), though I haven't yet made up my mind which country to support, by definition I'll support the Polish and the English until they are in :) off course.
As to keep the balls rollin' myself I have organised a charity bowling event at the Bloonsbury Bowling Lanes for next Tuesday, and it looks like it's going to be great fun. Have 2 lanes reserved, and it would be nice to do some different movement than the treadmills at the gym, because I am utterly bored with it, can't wait for the summer to come back for some longer tracks.
Besides organizing the bowling event I have written a press release for Diabetes Week and have sent it to local papers and foodie magazines. The press release focuses on my story practically, explaining why I am supporting Diabetes UK, and also includes a recipe for Hortobagy style pancakes (see below). I am hoping at least one of them will pick up the story, as it would be nice to share a bit more about my country's cuisine with the cease of the meetup group.

From Hortobagyi Palacsinta

I will be travelling second half of June on business, but when I am back end of July I'd like to organize a "glowing" fundraising event, I just need to find a sponsor. 

Details to follow, and now, I am off to the gym, to watch the match while cycling. 

Carpe diem

So finally, back to my blog. 2 months have past so quickly, I have a working PC again and my work life is finally getting back to normal.
The cooking classes have come to an end, have raised over 300 pounds by teaching people how to cook Hungarian dishes which was a great experience and resulted in many great friendships that I am very grateful for.
Have continued with hiking as well. At Easter time I have sent 5 amazing days climbing the Welsh coastline and then after UK have announced it was in drought, we had 6 weeks of rain, but luckily a climb with lots of bluebells sneaked in, which was truly amazing.
And then on a sunny afternoon in an arboretum in Cotswold my father called, that my grandma has passed away.

From egyszem

She has been 76 and though we were expecting this (she has been sick for a long time, mostly side effects of Diabetes 2), it always comes unexpected. I traveled back to Hungary for the funeral, and after the service, I've sat on my Mum's terrace, facing the sun for hours, just contemplating. We weren't that close after I moved from home at the age of 18, but she had an enormous contribution to the fact, that my cousin and I are friends for life, which I'll be grateful for to her forever. I also remember dearly those evenings spent together at her place when we were listening to tales on the radio, while having supper in the kitchen.
But she left for the eternal fields now, and I can't pop in to her place anymore.
What happened made me stop to think. In the evening of the funeral I had the urge to watch the Dead Poets' Society, which made me realize, that I have let my priorities slip slightly in the past 2 months, and I was not really doing what I wanted to do, and what I have signed up for when I have started this Challenge.
So am back, so is summer, and it's time to seize the day, I'll start organizing events where I hope you can join me, and contribute to make the life of those with Diabetes better and longer.
In Memoriam Mama...

From egyszem

Crash

The whole crash-theme started with my PC. Poor old thing served me 4 years 9 months, RIP Lenovo. This means now, that I need to spend some time to make up my mind about the my next investment decision to be able to write blogs, use the internet, and edit my pictures. Not something I was looking forward to, but hey.

The second crash happened last week on Monday. I was walking home from the gym, heard the bus coming, and as it just started to rain, decided to run for it, even though I was only a stop away from my place. So I ran, stumbled upon my own feet, and.... touchdown. Classic, on my knees, while I managed to hurt my ankle. Plus, by the time I finally managed to stand on my feet again, the bus left. So could slowly limp home in the rain. Result: nice colouring on my knees and swollen ankle for a couple of days. But I am all fine, and luckily I didn't have to miss my usual Sunday stroll, went to Kenwood this time with my friend and his lovely dog, and it was just a perfect Sunday afternoon with nice lunch at the house, and a great chill after a very long week.

From egyszem

It's great that I have been promoted, but it also means that I have slightly less free time and as such can't focus as much on fundraising as I wanted to, but am sure things will settle very shortly, and I will be back on track promoting my trip to China for Diabetes UK.
However I didn't completely stopped my fundraising activities, I am still doing my cooking meetups which are really nice, I am so lucky to meet so many nice people and learn about their culture. An myself at the same time. Have you guys seen the movie Crash from 2004?(if not, it's definitely a must see). One if it's line: "We crash into each other just to feel something" is part of my favourite James Zabiela mix, but obviously that's not what makes it a brilliant movie. It's just a great film about primal fear of other cultures and about stereotypes. The moral of the story, very much oversimplifying it is about not being judgemental, and it tells it through the same circle of people bumping into each other throughout the film. And I've been judgemental, I do have my primal fears, but by meeting the people who come to my cooking classes, learning more about their culture, about who they are, and why they had come to live to the UK, I get an amazing insight, and am slowly pulling down my stereotypes slowly, carefully and effectively:)

So big thank you to Nick, Marina, Karolina, Fumi,Will, Derrick, Praful and Vladas...

Spring :)

Spring is here, undeniably. It's that time of the year when you still need the coat when you leave in the morning, can leave it in the office when walking around in the afternoon, and it's again required once the sun sets. And it's the time when the number of flirts grows exponentially with the growth in the average temperature, love is in the air...( :S cheesy, sorry...)

From egyszem

The fact that I can wear sunglasses, sit in the sun, and refill my batteries just puts a huge smile on my face, and refilling those batteries is what I need at the moment. As I am writing this, I am thinking of demanding that weekends would be 3 days long: working in the charity shop on Saturday, then doing my usual Sunday walk, and entertaining people at my flat is not a recipe for relaxation.

But fun! The weekend was so great. I had the pleasure to great 3 of the most interesting people in my flat, where setting aside, that this was a good contribution to my fundraising, I had a great time chatting, it felt like those times when I did my cooking back in Hungary, all my friends came around, we were loud and having fun, God, I love cooking for my loved ones:)

So after the meetup on Saturday, woke up early on Sunday, feeling happy, so went for a walk towards Ally Pally.

Was sad to realize that they moved the Farmer's market from the Palace's carpark, which is why I headed in that direction: I was hoping to buy some nice juicy tomatoes and fruit. Though this move means, that on my next walk I will be able to choose a new destination. So watch this space next week for my market update:)

From egyszem

As far as the fundraising concerned my idea to organize Diabetes week in June in BT locations won't work as Diabetes UK is not a BT supported charity, but I don't mind, as I already have another event in mind, either on the May bank holiday, or the Queen's jubilee and this would be a street festival at Crouch End joined by the other charities that have a shop in the area.

The fundraising is at 30% thanks to your donations, I had donations from people I least expected to receive any support: this fundraising is a lesson for me as well, teaches me to put more faith in people, and I am so happy to be positively surprised.

On this weeks's agenda I have engagement with a couple of shops to collect money to me, (have collected the money boxes last week from Diabetes UK).

How it goes, will keep you posted...

Meetups in action

Another week has past. And what a week it was. I was prepared for a nice and quiet week it being half-term in the UK, but things were busy and I even managed to get myself into a funny mood by Friday..., so I was really glad when I finally left the office on Friday, and the weekend began.

Luckily I have signed up for a Photowalk with meetup, so instead of lying in on Saturday morning, I had to get myself ready, and take the train from Victoria, to Eynsford in Kent to make a nice 8 mile walk around this lovely area. I have met a bunch of truly amazing people, so not only the scenery but the conversations were much enjoyable.

On our way there were dozens of snowdrops announcing the arrival of spring, supported by a couple of crocuses as well. I really can't wait to put my big coat away...

From egysze

But going back to the walk, Eynsford is a lovely little village in the middle of Kent, that is neighbouring Lullingstone and Shoram. There is a lovely castle in Lullingstone surrounded by a lake (for those of you who also love the meerkat adverts, here's the episode that has been filmed in Lullingstone castle) and I am pretty sure that the sign that said Kent's best farm shop on the way from the castle to Shoram was not an exaggeration either. Even though I think the world's funniest chicken happen to be living at that place...

From egyszem

From egyszem

After we have passed Lullingstone, we have stopped for lunch in Shoram, just to continue our way back to Eynsford through the golf fields. It was not a tiring walk at all, but the lessons leant were, that I will have to buy a 2 shoulder backpack for China, as this half shoulder solution is not convenient after 3 hours, and that my boots and me we still need to work on our relationship. But we'll get there. Eventually:)

Earlier in the week I have set up a Meetup group for Hungarian cooking, I have 36 members and 5 session that are already full. I hope this group will result in many donations, as the contributions to the dinners will go against my fundraising. I will continue doing the until May but I am also aware I will have to organise some more grand fundraising events. Have a couple of ideas, so will keep you posted:)

'til then.

And before I forget, I would like to thank everyone who has already donated on the justgiving site. I am really grateful for everyone's support, I feel really lucky to have the friends I have, and be surrounded by the people I work with, or met eventually. Thank you /Köszönöm.

The Gym and Fundraising begins

Well, gyms still freak me out. Actually not the gym, but guys with huge muscles, and women with huge muscles ... it reminds of the strongmen black and white pictures taken at circuses, it just looks so unnatural, but hey, tastes differ.
Anyway, have been twice now, so the preparation routine per week looks like this at the moment: 2 occasions in the gym, and 1 walk. I was wondering if I was overdoing it, as the challenge website suggested a 10 week preparation starting with 30 minute walks (my walks are around 2.5 hrs long), but when I got off the spinning bike on Wednesday, my legs shaking to the extent I struggled to walk down the stairs to the changing room that was a clear indication that I need to remind my muscles that I used to use them more extensively some time ago. So I'll be back to the gym today.
I have walked the southern part of the Parkland Walk yesterday, which is nothing as nice or interesting as the Northern part it is more industirial, and less green. The route ends in Finsbury Park though, which was full of people walking or running, with dogs or without, and squirrels trying to make a better use of the waste in the bins. To my surprise, despite the remains of snow, there was an American Football team practicing. Watching them didn't help me though to understand the rules of the game better so I headed towards Haringey Green Lanes.

From egyszem

I was very pleased as I have found a Hungarian shop, that sells proper Hungarian paprika, salami, sausage, sour cream and pasta, so nothing stops me now to organize meetups for Hungarian food and this way raise funds for Diabetes UK. (It was advised to me by Niamh who is the author of the Eat Like a girl blog, that I highly recommend: great to read and for inspiration).

The fundraising pack has also arrived from Diabetes UK. It's pretty impressive: fundraising toolkit, event form, press release, advice on the physical training. If Diabetes UK agrees, I will share this with the Hungarian charity, that deals with Diabetes, as there is a lot to learn from how this material is put together.

From egyszem

And with the arrival of the toolkit, fundraising begun, thanks for everyone who has already donated, and thanks in advance for everyone who will donate. As of today 11% of the required funds have been donated... so tomorrow, I will email my colleagues, and business partners, fingers crossed.

Will keep you posted :)