Sunday 2nd January 2005 saw a small group of women in the Woolpack enjoying a drink and meal with their husbands and families, after they had just completed an eight mile walk around Elstead. What is so special about that, you may say! Well this was one of the first gatherings of the Elstead Barbie Dolls!

In the autumn a few of us had decided we needed a challenge and thought that we would try and enter the Moonwalk in 2005. This is a 26 mile walk, around central London, taking place at midnight, with the entrants walking in decorated bras. It is held to raise money for breast cancer charities and many of the group had been personally touched by breast cancer, through family or friends, and decided that this was just what was needed.

We would not know whether we would get into the walk until later in the year, but we set ourselves a training target, as we came in all shapes and sizes, and with all levels of fitness! We started with walks every other Sunday, increasing the length by a couple of miles each time.

Finding a route was the hardest part, as we needed to walk on pavements, but also needed a route which could be flexible. If you travelled from Milford to Guildford on a Sunday in the first months of 2005, you would probably have seen the Elstead Barbie Dolls striding out. We increasingly took in Bramley, Shalford, Chilworth, and then Loseley, Farncombe etc on the way back. Gradually we increased our mileage until we peaked at 23 miles a few weeks before the event.

Our numbers dropped to just those who had gained entry (it is very oversubscribed), which in the end was only 5, with one girl who was doing a sponsored walk of 26 miles the week after us. We then started adding in mid-week walks, on a Wednesday evening, doing a 7 mile circuit around Elstead, ending in the Woolpack!

On the day/night we all set off to London, and I am pleased to say that we all completed the walk, albeit it was harder than we had anticipated. No amount of training could have allowed for the hottest June evening in 40 years, or for the effect of lack of sleep!!  Our friend also managed her walk the following week, with her problem being endless stiles!!

We are pleased that we managed to raise nearly £5000 between us, but the biggest plus has been the effect it has had on all of us. We are all a lot fitter than we were in the past, and still try and walk every Wednesday night, and one Sunday morning a month. We are also intending to enter a walk around the Circle Line (above ground!), and then aiming for the Moonwalk in New York in 2007.

We have developed very deep and long lasting friendships, having spent so much time together, and having helped each other when the going got tough. We ought to mention that none of this would have been possible without the support of all our families, from whom we disappeared for hours at end!

Why have we written this, well, as we say at the start - what a difference a year makes! None of us could have imagined what would have come out of this, and if any of you feel that you need a challenge then find something that you want to do, and then find friends to do it with you - we guarantee you will all benefit from it. Good luck in 2006.

The Elstead Barbie Dolls

Homelessness Sunday is an annual event which each year involves thousands of churches across the country. Churches pray and consider what they might do to help relieve the devastating effects of homelessness on people. If you suspect there may be a number of homeless people in your area, you could ring your local Salvation Army to find out in what practical ways people in your church might be able to offer help.