As a bit of a shake up myself and the team went out on social media to see if anyone had any questions for us. A few we have answered directly but some needed a bit more detail and focus; having had a good think about their answers I’ve put some of it together for you to have a read as a mini blog. There will be more to come over the coming weeks and months but here are a few to keep you going…

Q1. In the toughest moments; what will each of you focus upon and draw upon to keep going?

Nikki – In tough moments I usually draw upon the mantra of ‘this too shall pass’. I think to myself ‘time will pass, this will end and at some point I’ll look back at this moment with pride’. It really does help!

Bex – Just knowing that I would have these moments and that I had trained 3 years for this would help me cope in those tough times. But also I would need a few moments of ‘me time’ to pull myself together, listen to a few good tunes and think about my family and how I wouldn’t want to let them down.

George – In my toughest moments, I bury myself in thoughts like; What I want today, to stop and go home, is different to what I want to achieve in the future; success and Antarctica resilience. Or I draw upon my favourite poem;

Self Pity by DH Lawrence
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

Alison – In my toughest moments I will think of how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing and think of all the people less fortunate, or physically unable to take part in a challenge like ours. I often think of my father who passed just over 2 years ago and how proud he would have been to see me do this. He was always my biggest fan and encouraged me to try different things.

Beci – For me it will be the knowledge that every step forward is a step towards home. A step towards the person I want to become and the goal I want to complete. “So far you’ve survived 100% of your toughest days… you’re doing great”.

Nakita – I have been through some tough moments throughout my life. Each time I was determined not to let these negative and painful moments defeat me. I would beat this, I would come out stronger and wiser, with the knowledge to help those I saw going through similar situations.

When my brother was serving in Afghanistan it was an extremely difficult time for my family. Fear is a dangerous monster that if allowed, will consume you whole. We had given my brother a small card with a poem on to carry, to read when he needed it. I now have the exact card in a frame as I walk in the door. So what would you do if you had no fear? Me? I’m off to the Antarctic!

Don’t Quit by John Greenleaf Whittier
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure comes about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell just how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Q2. What is your favourite book?

George – Johnathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

Nikki – Harry Potter (all of them!)

Nakita – The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Alison – The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

Beci – I don’t have a favourite book. It’s impossible to choose just one but I am currently reading Motherhood by Tetyana Denford.

Bex – I don’t read books so don’t have one.

Q3. If you could have a superpower what would it be?

Bex – To be invisible.

George – If I told you I’d have to kill you. But probably something to do with the mind.

Alison – Being able to run at supersonic speed. 

Nakita – Hmmm such a hard one! I’d like to be like Captain Marvel! 

Nikki – Being able to fly.

Beci – Being able to fly but also to be totally badass with it like Captain Marvel.

Q4. What is your favourite film?

Alison – Pulp Fiction.

Nakita – The Fifth Element.

Bex – The Beach.

George – So many to chose from! Probably any Bond film or any Emily Blunt film.

Nikki – Home Alone.

Bex – It is really hard to choose just one. Can we split it into Genres? If I had to pick it would be Star Wars. 

Q5. What is your guilty pleasure?

Nakita – Binge watching the Walking Dead.

Bex – Watching a place in the sun.

Alison – Watching First Dates. I love it! And my other one is Elvis.

George – Eating Turkish delight, in a oner. 

Nikki – Twiglets…and most snacks!

Beci – Watching Call The Midwife. I love it; watching it feels like a hug. 

Q6. How will you celebrate achieving your goal and who do you want there with you when you do and why?

Nakita – There is going to be a welcome home party which we will be having limited tickets for! 
Of course I want my immediate family (if possible my dogs!), my watch and close friends there and I guess Jay Morton from SAS Who Dares Wins seeing as he is trying so hard to find me on tinder…!
I think eating all the foods we’ve missed and just being in something that isn’t expedition kit will be a real treat! It could possibly be the last time for a while we are all together as a team so I’d want to make the most of it, as I know after what we will have been through I will really miss them.

Alison – It would involve a day of pampering first; hair, nails and full body massage. Putting on a fabulous dress and a pair of high shoes (if my feet can take it). A party with curry and Indian food which I love. Dancing and drinking with my husband, family and friends and all those who’ve supported us. And if I could get an Elvis impersonator to sing that would be the icing on the cake….And then go and lie on a beach for two weeks. 

Nikki – Obviously it’s got to be a massive party with everyone there, but I also think I’d like to follow that up with smaller dinners with just me and my loved ones, and I think my own personal celebration will be when all the hype has died down – a night all cosy in my flat with a glass of Prosecco in one hand and a tub of twiglets in the other, reflecting on what a mad journey it’s been.

George – I would want my partner there for sure in Punta Arenas and then to get back home asap to see the dogs and smother them in hugs! Party wise, yes exclusive invites from back home and of course sponsors, but considering I’m not someone who has a long list of pals, my invite list would be quite short! 

Beci – I’ll want to see my husband and the kids on our return first and foremost. I think I’ll need quiet time to come back around to “normality” and do some reflection.When it comes to a celebration I’d want the other fire angels and all the wonderful people who have supported us to achieve that goal in whatever capacity at the party. And of course for there to be LOADS of food!

Rebecca – I would want a shower then to see my partner and have a beer, follow by seeing my dog! Then a party to see all my family and friends and eat the food I want and drink what I want.

We hope you enjoyed a little insight into the minds of our Antarctic Fire Angels with the above questions and a big thank you to those who asked then. There will be lots more to come so make sure you keep coming back!

To finish off, here is a little video treat from Nakita all about lockdown and what she is doing to help herself through it. Click on the picture to view.

Remember; stay in, protect the NHS and save lives.

Week ending 29th March and 5th April

So here we are folks, in lockdown. It was something we knew was coming at some point and quite rightly too. Whether we think it was soon enough is a different matter but we are where we are now and we will ride this out together. Personally I can’t remember a time when everyone came together like they are during this; from the clapping on Thursday evenings to thank our heroes on the front line, to neighbours helping those who are vulnerable, FaceTiming family and friends and actually ‘seeing’ then more than ever. We are all pulling together in a way that is truly beautiful and it gives me some hope for humanity.

Team WAFA
Much like the rest of us in the country and indeed the world, the team is adapting and making the most of everything this world has to offer at the moment. For George it’s all about taking in the surroundings and perhaps taking on a new perspective. She feels very lucky to live where she does right now, in the countryside. It is something she has always taken for granted but with lockdown continuing for the foreseeable future she is certainly making the most of it now.

It’s the little things, like taking in the sights and sounds, the birds seem louder on her daily exercise and even seem to be getting cheeky and brave around humans when they see them. It is almost like nature knows the human race is in some sort of difficulty, which or course, it is. #escapethepandemic is the hashtag the team are using when training because it’s important that we do that, escape it, for even a short period of time, everyday. Training is pretty much all there is at the moment so they are going to use this opportunity to keep going; hoping to emerge fitter, stronger and have a bigger appreciation of what we have and what we could have lost.

In a similar vein Alison has been pushing the training forward and managed to track down and buy a ski track trainer. It is from the 1990’s and they are really hard to get hold of and it was even in full working order too.

Her husband is not hugely pleased as it started life in the dining room but she is able to move it around and will be able to use it in the garden, which is what she has been doing. Check out the picture and if you want to see a short clip of Alison in action, click on it to take you to the AFA Instagram page.

Like the rest of us Alison is getting used to working from home and video calling; it is still nice to be able to see people’s faces even though we can’t go and see them at the moment. She has been putting music on to try and cheer up those who walk past when in the office too. It is also the realisation for most of us that we can’t just pop and see our family; birthdays, like Alison’s Grandson’s are celebrated by FaceTime or Zoom or Skype, whichever you use. For those who have elderly relatives like Alison’s Mum it is a daily phone call to check in. Altogether Alison has had 4 family birthday’s and her own wedding anniversary during lockdown; the family are already calling for a party at her house when lockdown is lifted. We hope we’re all invited?!

Beci has had a difficult time, the mood went from good and positive to anxious and frustrated children but they worked through it together as a family and are now back to some sort of ‘normal. Like all of us we are trying to find some sort of new normal with lockdown and those who have children are also home schooling at the same time. For Beci the day’s are; children’s PE wth Joe Wicks, yoga, ‘school’, lunch, more school work and then a long walk with the dog. Along with FaceTiming friends and family, dinner and bedtime it doesn’t leave much time for training. But we must all do what we can to get through this. Check out Beci on a family walk with the tyres and the children…click away.

She has also volunteered to help the Welsh Ambulance Service in whatever capacity she can through this very strange and difficult time. But she is still smiling and the family still dance in the kitchen and that is fantastic, because for those of you have followed from the start you will know how amazing it is for Beci to be dealing with all of this in the way that she is. It will be a fantastic learning base to see how well she copes with change and challenges on the road to Antarctica.

Team LAFA
After Nakita returned to work from the week of training with HART it felt like the world has been turned upside down. Everything was changing in order to keep the firefighters and community safe and with all the information about the virus coming in thick and fast it was all quite overwhelming. Knowing that two members of the household where her family are come under the high risk category she knew she had to make the call that she wasn’t going to be able to see them for the foreseeable. It sunk in that living on her own with her dogs at her parents it was going to be a tough ride. The first day off she got was totally surreal but as always she kept herself going and tried to keep herself motivated; not watching too much TV and eat everything she could out of boredom. (Believe me, I know the feeling and I don’t have such willpower to step away from the snacks…)

The closing of gyms really hit Nikki as she had just got back in to her stride after the ‘shark bite’ but it is 100% the right thing to do for the country and humanity so she is going to try and improvise. Having redone her training schedule to include home workouts alongside the workouts they can still do at work plus the tyre dragging she is in a much better place.

Mother’s Day was difficult, she managed to go on a long walk with her mum and step-dad staying 2 metres apart which was very strange and Nikki came home to the news that her step-mum was in hospital; a hugely worrying time, not virus related and she is now home and well. I guess it was more around the principle of not being able to sit with people when they need you most, not being able to hold their hands when they are in pain, that must be the hardest part of all this. It puts everything into perspective, the current situation, and hopefully will make everyone a little kinder when lockdown is lifted.

Nikki has been focusing on how she will stay sane whilst cooped up in her flat alone for a few days at a time. Luckily she can still go to work, so unless she has to self isolate the most she will be int he flat is just over 3 days but even that stresses her out. Keeping mental health in a good place is a huge deal and never more so than right now, so she came up with some rules to help her; turning the radio on in the morning instead of the TV and making sure she does exercise in the morning to start her day off well. They might not seem like big things but this is what works for Nikki, we all know ourselves well enough to know what helps our mental health and what doesn’t.

Be kind to yourself during lockdown. And why not listen to Nikki talk about how she is coping with lockdown during her daily exercise, click on her photo and it will take you to the video clip.

Obviously given the current lockdown all the team events have been cancelled, including the London Half Marathon, the Blue Light Stair Run, Harlequins Game Changer, The British Firefighters Challenge and all team training. Thank you to anyone who donated extra to see the guys run the London Half in their full fire kit, maybe next year? And yes this is right for the situation we are in, absolutely, there is no quibble or quarrel about that, and the guys will keep training and keep pushing so that when lockdown is lifted they are fit and ready to go. If anything, this is an ironic practise run of the isolation they will face in Antarctica.

Join us again for the next blog, follow us on social media, spread the word and remember, stay safe, stay in, protect the NHS and help save lives. We applaud every single person who is a key worker, every single one of you who get up each morning and put yourself at risk, go to work to help the country and keep it going. We salute you.

Week ending 20th March

So the blog has finally caught up with the rest of the world and we are just about to enter lockdown. As you are aware our Fire Angels are key workers as firefighters so their world doesn’t really change, if anything it gets more complicated, harder and busier. One big change will be how they train and when, we are allowed one form of exercise per day so in the coming weeks and months we will find out what changes they have made and any improvisation they have done to keep training in lockdown and all whilst social distancing. I have a feeling that the tyres will be involved somehow…

This does bring me on to another important factor; given that events are postponed including fundraising and big training events for the guys it will mean that there will not be as much for us to blog about for the foreseeable future. We have however decided to keep this going, keeping you up to date, giving hints and tips where we can on how to deal with lockdown, what exercise you can do and what routines they are getting in to in order to keep them mentally fit too.

Team LAFA
For Nikki as the week developed she started to feel really weird about the situation, as I am sure we all did. When this all first started it was hard to get into some sort of routine for most of us and the team are no different; like Nikki most of us are quite happy in our own little bubble going about day to day life and then when something like this hits it is very hard to process. A tip, don’t read the news and media too much in the day, in fact if you can, try and have one day away from it entirely, you can genuinely drive yourself crazy with it. If you are like me then some of us need to start social distancing from the fridge and the biscuit tin, but these guys have much more drive and motivation than I do!

To overcome the weird feeling Nikki got up and did a savage 40 minute workout that included 150 burpees and at the end of it all she felt much better, in fact her whole perspective had changed on the situation. In her own words Nikki says; ‘I really do use exercise for my mental health – it makes me happy and I feel more like myself, ready to take on the world!’ Although it may not be for all of us, if exercise helps your mental health, try and keep it going whilst on lockdown. Look after your physical and mental health as best you can.

Before social distancing kicked in Nikki and her friend Emily went tyre dragging around Thursley Common. It is the perfect place for Nikki as it is close to home and the terrain is a mixture of sand and trail, whilst being mostly flat but a fair few hills in to challenge you too.

They managed to cover 6.4km in 2 hours and it got really tough. Both Emily and her Mum, who came along for the session, all had a go at pulling the tyres; Emily’s mum did brilliantly before handing the tyres back declaring they were crazy! The whole session felt really great, check out the picture of Nikki in action.

Nakita had a training session with the HART Team in Wales, Llangollen. She had a great week even if it was freezing cold. It was good to have something to occupy her mind as she has been thinking a lot about the stress of not being at home and able to help her family. It also meant taking another week away from training and working on the expedition and the AFA schedule.

It is that constant balance of finding enough time for work, training, fundraising events and some time for yourself too. Kudos to the team for keeping calm and carrying on.

Team WAFA
For George it is certainly different to last week with all her presentations and meetings. It has been a quiet week so far, just one meeting about setting up the social enterprise and she has also decided to go for her mountain leader qualifications which means she can take customers up mountains safely and puts her on the road to leading winter and polar expedition. Sounds phenomenal and will add another string to her already very full bow! But now back to that meeting, her and Alison met up with Rhys from ‘Social Business Wales’ to explore their ideas about setting up a social enterprise so that they can offer up some training, development and leadership opportunities to other groups of people. They have some work to do in order to write the strategy but Rhys thought it was a great idea and really liked the challenge they are undertaking along with getting schools involved, pretty sure there will be more invites in the post for them soon.

The current situation the world is in has meant a setback with fundraising but it is temporary and there will be many more exciting fundraising events planned in the future. The team is understandably very quiet, taking it all in like the rest of us. However trying to keep some sort of normality in life means that with gyms closing Alison looked in to what equipment she could get delivered to her house so that the training doesn’t take a back seat in the coming months. Exercise for the team is a great way to destress and keep mentally healthy, Alison also finds it a great way to empty her head space and sometimes helps her come up with solutions to complex problems she has been battling with. So for the foreseeable future they will be re-thinking their training routines, with only one allowance a day for exercise outside the rest will be improvisation and home gyms.

For Alison, now she is back in to her work and play lifestyle she decided to try her hand at dragging the tyres for the first time. She went for an hour around the local park and got some very strange looks and of course some people wanted to know why she was doing it. Alison told people all about the expedition and, obviously, people were really interested. It makes sense for the guys to get their logos on their training kit and maybe some business cards to give out to people so they can stay in the loop over the coming years. As for the actual tyre dragging it was pretty hard, she tells me you can feel the change in the surface and notice the smallest incline, great to practise the technique and keep fitness up.

For those of you who follow the team and myself on social media you will know that they guys have started to film a few bits and pieces, mainly to say hello and how they are coping with the lockdown along with some hints and tops to keep yourself mentally and physically healthy.

Stayed tuned for more to come but as a starter here is founder and team leader for LAFA, Nakita. (Click the picture for the video).

Stay Safe. Stay At Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.

Week ending 8th March 2020

Team LAFA
You might recall last week I talked about Rebecca doing a piece with Harlequins all around International Women’s Day, well go and take a look at the video (click the picture) that’s out for everyone to see.

As all of our team are inspirational women it seems, quite rightly, they were all involved in IWD2020 in some way. Nakita, Rebecca and Nikki did a separate piece for the London Fire Brigade; why not take a look to find out from the guys themselves, what the challenge is and why they are doing this challenge; https://www.instagram.com/p/B9eFd6ojb-W/

In other day to day news, Nikki had her occupational health appointment at work and after completing various exercises with a BA set on her back to demonstrate that her leg could handle it, she has finally been approved to go back to work! She also did a CrossFit induction which means she can get membership at the gym; CrossFit is totally different and she feels it really challenges her, it is amazing preparation for what he will be putting her body through over the next few years. She has also managed to acquire 3 weighted vests from Gravity who are kindly donating them to the team, this is a huge help and great addition to the training days. Like the training isn’t difficult enough already…!

Nakita was involved in LACE training this week on her 2 days off, she loves training in line rescue so had a great time. Check out the picture to the right of Nakita and the team on the training days.

Away from the training and work she also went on her first date in a long time, she might have been nervous but if she can go to the Antarctic she can go on a date, right?

Apart from that Nakita’s training took a bit of a back burner this week as her car needed an MOT but she went for long walks with her youngest dog instead and after 5km he started limping. It wasn’t worth the risk to continue so she called for an emergency evacuation! Pup is fine now but had her worried. She also had some people try and throw negativity into her arena, and that 100% is not going to happen. She has no problem removing those who are negative or try and dull the shine. Life is about helping each other, being supportive and working together. Talking of supportive, don’t forget that although we are celebrating National Women’s Day this week these guys have plenty of men who are there every step of the way to lifted them up…quite literally! (See pic).

Team WAFA
For International Women’s Day at South Wales Fire and Rescue HQ George was invited to speak on the day about what it means to us as women, the service and the wider audience. Beci joined her which was great, it’s always lovely to have some moral support when doing these things. George also got to introduce Lowri Morgan who is an inspiration to us all, what endurance event she hasn’t done isn’t worth knowing! She is absolutely amazing and the team hope they do her proud and follow in her footsteps someday. 

On top of that George is still getting ready for the DSET conference next week where she is presenting to the military amongst other representatives on innovation and communication. It has been quite a bit of pressure to produce something that represents the team AFA and the service but 11th March will be judgement day for all the hard work she has put in. Also on the day there will be an official hand over announcing the team as their 2021 charity of the year!

The 3^rd was George’s birthday and she spent the day at Techniquest presenting to 5×50 children all about the Expedition; how to tow tyres, what the weather is like and how dry it is and also how they will go to the toilet out in Antarctica! Talking of towing tyres she has been doing lots of that with the dogs and they love it.

This was all rounded off by a lovely meal in the evening in Penarth. Thank you George, you are truly inspirational. Happy Birthday/
Penblwydd Hapus!

Just as a reminder, the launch of the Good Wash products happened and you need to take a look at the amazing top available? (Don’t forget to go and buy one). There was also the launch of some amazing deals from KitTags UK. They did a run of freebie tags when you donated £10 to the GoFundMe Page. They might all be gone now, but head over to the KitTag website and take a look, you’ll never lose your luggage or bags again with these tags.

Finally, some of you may have heard of Kay Hallsworth, she is co-owner of Explorers Coffee who sponsor our Fire Angels. More importantly she is also Commander Kay Hallsworth of the Royal Navy and she was shortlisted for Women in Defence Unsung Heroes Award! She’s been in the Royal Navy for over 27 years, progressing from student nurse to Commander and Kay also has ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). I found an inspiring and interesting article on her here; https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2019/05/03/personal-disability-stories-10-kays-story/

Hope you are all feeling inspired, whether you are a woman or support one in life, keep doing what you’re doing! In light of the current situation in our country and the world, just a reminder. Stay Safe. Stay In.