Rachel Colenso

Wow! What a crowd! Met up with Gerry Rantseli and introduced her to Rosemary, Jasmine and my Mum just before she cut the ribbon for the 10km start of the event. Mum was rather fascinated by it all as her walks are always up mountains. We were joined by her 81 year old hiking friend Inez. Then the heavens opened and some ran for cover or home. What tough ladies. Mum, Inez and little Rosemary plodded on ... and on... through the downpour. Revived by coca-cola with hands held and jogged to the finish line. Rosemary had hoped the grand finale would be grander or longer, so we had to run across the line again. Invited Mum and Inez into the VIP Tent with me and the girls, which they thoroughly enjoyed. All warmed up with tea and delicious eats, also introduced Mum, to Margaret Hewson, director of the Look Good Feel Better campaign. What an awesome campaign www.lgfb.co.za and what a memorable event!

Met with good friend Cherice today for a walk up one of our local mountain peaks, Swartberg, situated near Simons Town. It is a super walk with astounding views, magnificent flora and easy options to be lengthened by adding in additional peaks of Simonsberg and North Peak. These mountains rise steeply for over 600m straight out of the sea, and are a daunting prospect for most hikers on a hot day. Less known is the ascent options from the opposite West flank of Klawer Valley. This area is mostly a dedicated Naval base with live firing ranges which possibly put some people off. The entry is past large signs reading "Enter at your Peril," somewhat reminiscent of a pirate story, but foreboding nevertheless. So for those who are brave or foolish enough to continue down the deeply eroded and steeply inclined dirt track, (just about manageable in an ordinary Golf in first gear,) a pleasant surprise awaits. The path leads up via the old military blockhouse, and gives stunning views o...

JOIN THE CRUSADE AGAINST BREAST CANCER AT THE 2011 AVON JUSTINE ITHEMBA WALKATHON IN CAPE TOWN, GREEN POINT PARK SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER 2011 This inspiring annual event draws thousands from across South Africa in an action packed and fun filled, family day to raise funds and awareness of breast cancer. My daughters and I were invited as celebrity VIP guests and we look forward to meeting many of those who are joining the walk against breast cancer.

500m of vertical ascent spread above us, the last mile to the summit. We had covered about 5 miles uphill. Not a great deal for an adult, but a marathon for a four year old. "I think little legs can do this." I looked down at her big blue eyes peering out from the hood of her over sized waterproof,glistening with raindrops on her eyelashes. Then I knew Rosemary would make it all the way to the top, and was enjoying the challenge. Climbing with young children takes a little extra planning and preparation as well as consideration for the routes selected. Below is a list of things we did and items we had that made our journey up Snowdon with Rosemary(4) and Jasmine(1) a very pleasant experience for all. Being Prepared: 1. Selecting the right route: Little children like variety. It is helpful to have stretches of the route where the path is wide enough to hold hands and tell stories, or point out things enroute without stopping. Having varied and interesting scenery helps young c...

Wedidit! - Reached the top of Snowdon with actress Louise Bush, friend and photographer, Steve Gorton, and our entire family from Jasmine (14months, who was carried by Dad Jeremy, Rosemary (4years) and a very proud Mum. We have also reached our target of raising £1000 for the Eilidh brown Trust, and managed to carry up a huge banner to wave from the summit to highlight the dangers of fracking, (Hydrolic fracturing) for methane gas. We think Rosemary may have made a record as the youngest person to climb Mt Snowdon unassisted. She had great fun, and loved the scrambly sections in the rain. - Just the right height and age to make it exciting scrambling for her, yet not terrifying for Mum and Dad to supervise. Everyone helped 'Little Legs; to the top with encouraging drinks of ribena, stories and even errecting Steves 8 man bivi shelter next to the footpath to have lunch and hot drinks in the rain. Will post photos soon. A day to remember...

Just a few days to go until we make our charity ascent of Snowdon with Actress Louise Bush the butterflies have set in. We had planned to do loads of fun 'training' sessions with Rosemary and piggybacking Jasmine up some hills... but... London is not very hilly. So other than our Richmond Park circuit, which is beautiful (but not very hilly) we have opted to join the British Armed Forces for some real training. We have joined the Changing of the Guards Guards at Buckingham Palace and marched down the road with them to Horseguards Parade, and then through Green Park. Quite a jolly affair with lots of men in leapard skins, drums banging, and trumpets blowing etc. Rosemary's march turned more into a skip, but it was in time, and everyone seemed very happy. After our exhausting military training we took a well earned break on the Thames River Taxi. Just hope Snowdon is like a Christmas tree... after many years they grow smaller. Our hope is that our efforts will bring in £1000 ...

Very busy time here in London. Met up with Louise Bush, the TV and West End actress who played me in our film, 'First Date Nightmare', for the T V Series, I Shouldn't Be Alive. Am not so sure I love the name, (First Date Nightmare doesn't sound like a wedding proposal...) nevertheless Darlow Smithson did an excellent job, with the assistance to two great actors, (Duncan Pow, ex Holby City doctor played Jeremy.) Thanks to the crew and cast it is now considered one of the ISBA greats. Hooray! It was super to meet Louise in the flesh. A very warm and friendly person with a big heart. My children thought she was great! Quite bizarre meeting someone who looks a bit like you, (on an extremely good day!) and has acted you... Louise and I have planned to do a charity hike up Snowdon, where Jeremy and I will guide her and perhaps Duncan to the top... although both are very fit so don't need much guidance... should be fun. The Eilidh Brown charity supports families with ...