Day 109: Hay on Wye

“To my mind the life of the lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

Two more lambs were born overnight and another this morning followed in quick succession by another one! Most of the sheep seem to be having triplets or twins. It’s quite surreal looking down  onto the field and seeing a small bundle of lamb sitting there when it wasn’t even in the world a few minutes before! Once in the world, lambs are able to very quickly suss things out and are walking within a few minutes, drinking within a few more and moaning by the first hour of life!

After another amazing breakfast of fresh sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes, we headed to Hay-On-Wye (The town of books!) Last time we visited it was a Sunday in October, hardly the busy bustling tourist season that we expected so we sort of had dubious thoughts about how amazing it would be today. We weren’t disappointed though!

The town was buzzing with locals selling their handmade crafts, lots and lots of bookshops, plenty of craft and trinket shops and lots of pretty buildings! Hay-On-Wye also has its very own Gold Post Box courtesy of Paralympian Josie Pearson. In 2012, Josie achieved gold in Discus. Although not her home-town, Josie chose Hay-On-Wye because she spent a lot of time living there. The Royal Mail traditionally paints a post box gold in the hometown of gold medalist competitors during each Olympics.

The car park was full by the time we decided to leave and we took a slow wander back to our base in Knighton. We had to take a detour when we saw signs to the Orgasmic Cider Company. It looked pretty deserted but the owner was happy to let us sample the different ciders that were on offer and we departed armed with a couple of bottles!  We continued on through beautiful scenery, dipping in and out of England along the way and the small glimpses of sunshine provided a bit of warmth.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and reading and enjoying the views (and the sheep!) – tomorrow it’s time to head back home to Hampshire and to the prospect of turning 25 years old as it will be my Birthday ;)

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Day 242: The Paralympics Begins

“Faster, Higher, Stronger.”
-Olympic Motto

I felt a little despondent about the upcoming Paralympics a few days ago when I heard that the Olympic torch passed through the town – at least eight hours after the event. There was no publicity, nothing to say that it was happening. It came and went and you were lucky to see it if you were in the area at the time.

After the success of the London 2012 Olympics, I really hope that the same attention to detail is given to the Paralympics. The medalists from Team GB are being hailed as Super Humans, but realistically the Super Humans are those who have overcome adverse conditions, loss of limbs and whatever else to be there, tonight, at the opening ceremony and for the next two weeks competing.
My faith was restored somewhat after listening to an uplifting interview with Channel 4 Paralympics Presenter Daraine Mulvihill. I wrote my blog in my head on the way home after hearing her on the radio. Her excitement and her own personal story that took her to where she was today was inspiring.
Daraine was a cross country runner with several medals to her name when she contracted meningitis at the age of sixteen. She had both of her legs amputated below the knee and lost all of her fingers. She runs on blades now, and if there is ever a presenter than can empathize and really know what the athletes are going through – she’s the one.

I also had a spare half an hour at lunchtime and against my better judgement, bought Hello! magazine after seeing a six page spread on the elite British Athletes of the 2012 Paralympics. So I’m buoyed once more to be behind my country all the way, and I hope that wherever you are – you might also spare the time to catch up on the Paralympics and support your respective teams. Let’s watch Oscar Pistorius take that gold and Jason Smyth keep his title of the ‘Fastest Paralympian on Earth…’ and let’s be proud of how far we’ve come not only as countries but as human beings.

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