30th August 2015

For those who didn't read my blog last year let me explain the reasons for this adventure.

For the past eleven years I have been a volunteer for the wonderful charity Make A Wish UK, a charity that provides wishes for children aged between 3 and 17 years of age who are suffering from life threatening illnesses. These children are allowed one wish from the charity and their wish comes from one of the following categories 1. To go. 2. To be 3. To meet 4. To own  5. To experience. Take a look at www.makeawish.org.uk for more information about the charity where you can read of the wonderful work they do for not just the child who is poorly but for their whole family, providing cherished memories for them all.

The most popular wish was to visit Disney in Florida, approximately 80% in fact chose this and unfortunately from January last year the charity have had to stop the  Florida wishes so that they were able to grant even more wishes to who children that were put forward for a wish. Wishes to Disney are still granted but now they go to Disney, Paris instead and if it is a swim with dolphins wish the child can go to Portugal.

Give Kids The World was opened in 1989 by a Mr Henri Landwirth, a Belgian Jew who was himself a survivor of concentration camps during Hitlers reign of terror, including Autszwich . Henri arrived in the US on a cargo ship with $20 to his name and worked his way up the hospitality hotel business from the lowest menial job to eventually owning the hotels. At one point in his career he was asked to help fulfil a very ill child's dream to go to Disney, they were not quick enough and the child died before the wish could be granted. Henri swore then that he would do his best not to let that happen again as so GKTW came into existence. There is so much to write about this man and I would recommend reading his book The Gift of Life to find out more and to look at www.givekidstheworld.org. 

Now for those who know me, Allan, my husband since his retirement in 2003 has an annual adventure, a trek somewhere in the world which entails lots of 'roughing it', now being a 5* lady I decline to join in his trips - okay I also don't do tents or digging holes to go to the loo either so GKTW is my adventure and I love it.

27th August:

Well this year I am returning to Give Kids the World a little earlier than in previous years......... Allan's fault! Well not that I can really blame him to be fair. Allan is off to Mongolia to experience the annual Eagle Festival, yes that is the clue, annual, so September is the time it all happens so I have arranged my visit accordingly.

September in Florida is hot and sticky it seems, but at least, unlike Allan, I will have a pool to cool off in and a flushing toilet!

For those of you that read last years blog, I have changed my accommodation to a different villa, hopefully this one will not have a mystery passport trickster. Perhaps I should publish where I am hiding it this year just in case?

We don't go until the 2nd  September, we being Debbie and myself , taking along a few new Angels this year too. Debbie and I met on a cruise in 2008, crossing the Panama Canal in fact, three couples formed a very successful group of quizzers, a group that was probably not liked too much as we kept on winning - I have to admit to only being the scribe but nevertheless we kept winning. We all kept in contact, mostly by Facebook and Debbie followed the blog of my time at GKTW and wanted to join me too this year. By her own admission she is apprehensive but I know she will have a fantastic time as will I. Last year I met another Angel volunteer, Ann who comes from Pennsylvania  and she is coming to stay for a week too. Surprising really as I volunteered her for the Chicken in Your Pants job, she does have a great sense of humour and has forgiven me!

Other new Angels will be coming too after Debbie returns to the UK, Jill and her sister Geraldine. Jill

is one of the wonderful Artisans that join us in Stamford every week and has also decided she would like to come for my second 10 days with Geraldine. They are both very talented seamstresses and have already started making pillowcases for the village. Each child that visits the village gets a Wish Pillow when they visit the Castle of Miracles so lots of pillowcases are needed, so thank you both for helping there too.

Well have a busy few days before I go so will finish for tonight. More later.

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