I can't move!!!

The white horse

So I was walking from Weymouth to Poole yesterday to raise money for international service as part of the volunteering process.
I started at 08:00 Am and set off from Weymouth Pavilion and walked down the sea front listening to my music and 27 miles ahead of me.
By the end of the first mile my fitness tracker was telling me I was averaging 18 munites per mile and making good progress at about mile 5 a man called Jim pulled up and called me over and donated some money saying that he had seen me in the newspaper and thought what I was doing was a good thing after a few minutes of talking about what I hope to be doing in Burkina Faso I got on my way and continue on my way walking through the countryside looking at the cows and horses staring at me like I was out of my mind to be walking down this busy road.
At mile 10 Jim pulled up again and called me over, this time, he had his wife Jill in the van with him they had brought me some tea in a thermos so I sat in the van with Jim and Jill and had a cup of tea and talked about how they run a flower stall at the market Burkina Faso what injections war I will need before I go and the Boer after about 15 minutes of sipping tea and chatting I get on my way, not before Jill hands me £10 and wishes me luck.
I reach Wool at about 12 pm I am relieved Wool is my half way point I can sit and have a break by now my legs are starting to hurt and I've still got 13.5 miles to go I get back on the road and head for Wareham it's about 6 miles down the road  and then my knee give out and I stumble and I think it's all over I can't bend my right leg and it hurts a lot but I have to keep pushing I tell myself I can't give up I must push on.
As I limp down the road one thing strikes me is how much rubbish that is just dumped this point hits me when I see a deer through the bushes drinking from a pond that has old tires and general crap dumped in it the deer then spot me and bolts deeper into the forest.
At around the 15th mile I meet up with a friend he brings me supplies in the form of painkillers and donuts haveing skipped breakfast I was surprisingly not hungry but I ate one and stowed the rest in my bag for later.
I reach Wareham at about 4 pm my pace as slowed down to about 28 minutes per mile my knee has limited mobility and my hips are starting to hurting there are only about 10 miles left I am thinking I can do this I just have to keep pushing mind over matter I keep telling myself my target of reaching Poole by 16:30 went out the window about 3 hours ago I don't know what time I will make it.
5 pm I am walking toward Lytchett minster I know from there it's only about 4 miles through upton and Hamworthy then the finish line Poole quay so I keep walking I am still 2miles from Lytchett minster when my phone goes dead then I have nothing but my thoughts and the dark road ahead of me.
Through upton one foot in front of the other, I am thinking maybe I should have done some training before I did this but no I thought this would be easy well it's not  and it hurts but now I am only about 3 miles from the end why would I quit now that would be pointless.

My swollen foot

The walk from Hamworthy to Poole is pretty much a straight 2-mile road at this point I was saying to myself I must finish I can't give up as my legs are screaming at me stop but no this is the home straight.
7:40 I am about 400 yards away I turn left and in front of me is the bridge across the harbour I can't describe the feeling I had as I walked across that bridge on to the quay I only have to find my friend at the jolly sailor the finish line I walk through the door and there he is waiting for me 8:00 I made it what turned out to be 28 miles and 12 hours I sat down in the pub had my drink.
After all, that I raised a grand total of £50 out of £800 so as I am writing this I lay in bed with my leg and knees seized up and unable to move.
If you want to find out more about why I am doing this the links are below thanks, for reading

https://www.justgiving.com/Adam-Bill
http://www.internationalservice.org.uk
http://www.volunteerics.org

right foot

Left foot

Today's challenge walk 27 miles

Okay today's the day I walk from Weymouth to Poole it's going to be a lovely 27-mile walk through the English countryside my destination Poole quay hopefully I raise some money towards my Target of £800 I am aiming to try and get about £200 for my walk then on Monday I am going to start my £7 for 7 days challenge to try and get my friends and family to donate to the cause.
My route will take me through Wool, Wareham, Sandford, Lytchett Minster, and end at Poole.
I intend to upload some video and pictures as I walk so I have something to instead of just walking mindlessly.
You can find out more info about me and the charity below
https://www.justgiving.com/Adam-Bill
http://www.internationalservice.org.uk
http://www.volunteerics.org

The first step

So this is my journey of volunteering for International Service in Burkina Faso, so I guess I shall start from the beginning.

I applied to a charity called International Citizen Service, (ICS) to volunteer overseas most people ask why, it was because I felt stuck in a rut, in the doldrums, like nothing was happening in my life that's when I decide to do something about it and I remembered this thing I had seen on Facebook, about volunteering, so I filled out the online application and hit send and thought that was that until two days later I got a phone call saying I had been accepted and could I attend a pre-assessment workshop on December 9.

Two weeks passed the day of my workshop and there I was stood outside the VSO building in London about to do something I never, thought I would be doing, I go inside signed in and make my way down the corridor heading towards the unknown, I find a place at the table that everyone is sat at I look left then right so many different people from the provable, hippie to some goths at the far end, we all talk until we are called up and asked to come into the room where the day's events will take place we are introduced to the program that we will be working for and go through some basic interviewing techniques and team building I end the day feeling that this is what I need a change.

The anticipation of attending my actual assessment day which was on the 8 January in York builds until I once again find myself outside a building thinking this is it I press the bell and I am buzzed in walking up the stairs to the third floor my heart is racing what is going to happen today what if I fail,  I am shown in and I take a seat at the table I am the only one there but then I am 30 minutes early I fill out the paperwork and the others arrive.

The day progresses the first thing the team building excise the task flies by my favourite of the day then we move on to a scenario me and another guy called john have to talk through and decide on a three-point plan then we move on to the team scenario where all eight of us have to discuss a new scenario and as a team decide what we would do, then we have a one to one interview with an assessor we talk about why I want to volunteer and discuss things and situations I have been in I leave the room thinking that it went well next was the last task of the day a presentation about something you are passionate about or a hobby I decided that I would talk about my love of quadcopter's and RC helicopters, this was the point I also made the amazing decision to not make notes, everyone goes I am last I stand up thinking I've got this I walk to the front and turn around and nothing my mind went blank totally blank I could hardly get my name out let alone the ability of a fps 250 racing quad I must have said the word crash 20 times.

The day ended I felt like I had let this chance go by not preparing that night I could not sleep thinking of what I did, plus there was an old man sleeping on the bottom bunk in the hostel passing wind in his sleep the next day I went home thinking I blew it I was going to have to wait to be told I was not successful. Three days later I got the phone call, "Hello is this Adam" yes "Hi I am calling to give you the results of your assessment day... and I am pleased to say you were successful" and yet again I was speechless.

That brings me up to today and the next step for me is to raise £800 so I can go to Burkina Faso I am going to walk 27 miles this Saturday then I am going to live off £7 for 7 days so yeah I will post an update on Sunday to say how the walking goes.

You can find out about ICS International Service and my just giving page
http://www.volunteerics.org
http://www.internationalservice.org.uk
https://www.justgiving.com/Adam-Bill