Tuk to the Road

The trials and tukulations of Jo, Ants and Ting Tong the tuk tuk and our three-wheeled odyssey from Bangkok to Brighton...in aid of the mental health charity Mind. For more information please see www.tuktotheroad.com

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Latest tukking news and schnews

Kelling, Norfolk, UK

Apologies for the dearth of blogs recently, life seems to be flying by at an alarming rate as usual. I realised yesterday that we have now been back in Blighty for over 6 weeks, how extraordinary. One minute we were in China, the next Brighton, the next its all relegated to the catacombs of our memory. The trip is still all anyone talks about when they meet me though – I wonder how long will that last. Will Jo and I now forever be known as ‘the tuk tuk girls’ I wonder?

As you probably gathered from my earlier blogs, getting back from tukking was a very odd experience. For about a month afterwards I didn’t feel normal at all. It should have been such a high, and in the immediate aftermath it was, but the weeks that followed were a struggle. I was plagued by worries about what to do next, about my crumbling relationship with my boyfriend, about where to live….I just couldn’t get my head round anything. I knew that what we had done was amazing, the adventure of a lifetime, that we were so incredibly lucky to have done it, but however much I reminded myself of this I still couldn’t clear the darkness from my mind. Then suddenly the clouds lifted, the confusion and worry evaporated, and now 6 weeks on I feel back on an even keel.

I think it will take a very long time for what we have done to sink in. People often ask me whether I think the trip has changed me. The answer is not really, but perhaps in subtle ways it has. We were helped by so many strangers along the way; people we had never met and will never meet again gave up their time to help us. Jo and I were constantly touched and humbled by this and I know that since we got back I’ve been more inclined to randomly help strangers. I hope I continue to do so and never forget all the help we had.

Its been a bit of a mad few weeks media wise. My last blog wrote about the News and Screws splash and since then Jo’s been in great demand. She was on This Morning the week before last where we brilliantly talked about self-harm, and will be on Trisha this Friday.

The next two big dates in the tukking calendar are Cosmopolitan magazine’s inaugural awards on November 7 and our talk at The Royal Geographical Society on December 12.
We’ve somehow managed to make it down to the last two of Cosmo’s ‘Fun, Fearless Female’ award, thanks to being unwittingly nominated by Mind when we were somewhere in China. So on November 7 the three of us have got to get our party dresses on and tuk off to a glitzy awards ceremony in the Bloomsbury Ballrooms. Fingers crossed we get the nod as it would be a great boost for our fundraising efforts.

Next it’s the RGS talk. We’re currently looking for a sponsor for the event (if anyone has any bright ideas then please let us know) and getting in a bit of public speaking training. Its open to anyone and should be a fun night, with a bar before and after. Please tell all your friends. For tickets please send a cheque for £10 made out to Tuk to the Road, plus an SAE to: Tommy’s Cottage, Hall Yard, Kelling, Norfolk NR25 7EW.

Finally, we’re slowly creeping towards our £50,000 target. The total at the moment is £30,015…and counting. It may take us a while but we will get there in the end. If Richard Hammond can raise over £250,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance in a nanosecond then surely we can make it to £50,000 before we go grey

That’s about it for now. Hopefully I’ll have exciting things to report soon concerning the book deal…watch this space.

Xxx Ants

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