The Sponsored Dog Walk Went Well

Today was the day of the sponsored walk with the dog training club and, as usual, I overslept a little! I just about managed to get there for 9.30am so I didn’t miss it but it was close! There were probably about ten dogs in total participating and we set off once we had had a few photos taken of us all together – it’s no mean feat trying to keep ten dogs calm whilst all sat in close proximity, I can tell you!

The weather today was pretty good – whilst not being excessively hot it was pretty fine with only a little cloud cover at times and not much of a breeze. It’s quite hard going for me when we do stuff like that as Roman is used to walking pretty quickly with me and these types of things tend to be done at a very gentle pace. I often use most of my energy trying to make Roman walk at a reasonable pace!

The walk itself was pretty pleasant and it was nice for Roman to have another chance to be around other dogs. There was another Rottweiler there and the owner had also brought along a 12 week old Rottweiler puppy – they waited at the club house to sort refreshments for when we got back whilst her other half walked the other dog.

It always makes me laugh how the so called aggressive breeds get along fine whilst the smaller dogs tend to be the ones that bark all the time. Roman got on fine with pretty much all of the dogs but was very interested in them. I think the smaller dogs must find this intimidating at times – Roman is a very enthusiastic chap and is pretty big to boot. I guess I would be slightly intimidated by a person who was three or four times the size of me being so enthusiastic with me!

Once we had got back to the club we all got a certificate for the walk and this represents part of the training – it’s quite a job to walk around a busy town centre in a large group of dogs whilst ensuring that they do not cause any bother to anybody, or even each other! I really enjoyed it to be honest and it will be a shame that we don’t get the chance to go there again. I will be looking to get involved in a dog training class at the earliest opportunity once I get to Rome.

Although it is obviously a beneficial thing for us both as it helps develop Roman’s behaviour it is also a really good way of socialising Roman. This is something we struggle with particularly – most people don’t mind taking their dog out with you if you have a Labrador or a border collie, for example, but it’s a different story when you have a Rottweiler. People seem to be fazed by the image in which they are portrayed despite numerous assurances from you. It’s a shame really but that’s the way it is I guess.

Once we had finished there Nathan took me to the Bike Factory and Halfords to look at the bike trailers that I had been pointed in the direction of. It seems that they can, dependant on the model, take up to 45kg load so they would definitely be suitable. I think I may have to reinforce the base a little given the heavy weight but other than that they look very suitable (thanks Jeff and Karen!). I will now be looking high and low for a good deal on one!

Whilst at Halfords I noticed that they sold 2 man pop up tents. They retail at just under £30 so I may well be going back there this week. I will ask before I purchase one to see what their returns policy is – I would like to make sure that it is suitable for what I want really. They did not have any erected in store so I’m not sure whether they would erect one to show you or whether they would prefer you to buy one and would take a refund if not suitable.

Hopefully the two bags of dog food that Royal Canin have pledged will arrive at the vets tomorrow so I will be able to go and pick that up. I’m really pleased with the pledge they have made – although it obviously would have been nice if they could have supplied the food for the whole trip it’s still a really nice gesture from them considering so many companies have simply ignored me completely!

As promised yesterday, I will continue to provide you with information regarding my planned route.

Day Two

We will be setting off from Whitchurch nice and early and the day’s walking will end with us arriving in Newport. All of our walking over the duration of our second day will take place on the A41. There will be 3 stops during the day but these will not be in any places of importance. The stops will simply be for the purpose of rest.

The first stop will be just outside a place called Higher Heath. There is very little of note here and it will really just be an opportunity for Roman to get some fluids on board and for us to relax before setting off again. Our second stop of the day will be at a place called Tern Hill. Again there is very little here at all and it will just be an opportunity to recuperate. Our third stop will be at a place called Hinstock before we move on towards Newport.

I am thinking that I may adjust my plan slightly depending on Roman. As there will be days where we will be stopping at places with very little of interest I may decide to rest for half an hour each time before continuing whilst in cooler climates before moving on. It obviously depends on Roman but it would be much more enjoyable to spend the afternoon and evening in the place we will be staying that is more built up as there will be more opportunity to get things to eat and the like. Obviously, once we are in a warmer climate we will not have this option but I would not like to get bored too soon into our adventure!

I Can Now Announce Our Leaving Date!

I’ve decided that today is the day that I will announce the date I plan to leave on. Roman seems to be much better now and I feel comfortable enough to be able to commit to a date now. The date I have decided to leave on is Monday August 17^th. I worked out that if I walk 20 miles everyday without any rest days then I would arrive on 31^st October. I think I will probably have one rest day per week which will also give me the chance to sort out my laundry and update my blog – yes, it will become weekly updates once I am on my travels! – so I anticipate arriving in Rome in mid November.

I will be participating in a dog walk with Roman tomorrow with our training group as part of a fundraising event for Dog Aid. This has been set up by Angela, the lady who runs FIDO in Chester. As you may have read in an earlier post Angela kindly donated a dog pack and a first aid kit for Roman a while back. There will be a variety of dogs taking part and we will be setting off from the club at about 9.30am. The walk is not a particularly long one but will be another opportunity for Roman to be in the company of other dogs and also experiencing a busy city centre, something I am sure he will be used to by the time we reach Rome!

Once I have finished there I will be heading off out for a jog with my friend, Nathan, to make sure I keep my fitness levels up before going in search of something that I will be able to transport all of our stuff in once we set off. My brother and his wife (Jeff and Karen) suggested last night that I could consider a bicycle trailer. They double up as a double buggy but look to be the correct kind of shape and build for what I need.

I may need to do a little bit of adaptation but nothing to drastic so, as long as they are capable of carrying the weight I require, this might be a good solution. This will give me the benefit of being able to push all of our stuff along rather than carrying it – this would be quite difficult considering the weight of Roman’s food! Another advantage of this is that they come with a built in cover so I would not have to worry about anything getting damp!

I think the best place to look for one of these would probably be a bike shop so I will be heading off to one or two tomorrow to see if I can get a proper look at one to see if they would be suitable for my requirements. I hope that it will be suitable as they are reasonable inexpensive compared with some of the things I have been looking at. I will also try and be a little cheeky and see if one of the shops wants to donate it for the event.

I have begun mapping my exact route out this week – I needed to have a confirmed date that I would be in Dover for the free ferry ticket that P&O Ferries are supplying – so I can reveal where my stops will be as I pass through England. I have decided that I will publish each of the 13 days one day per post over the next two weeks.

Day One

I will be setting off from Chester Town Hall and hope to be able to get Granada Reports and a couple of local papers out to cover it. The Roman Tours/DevaVictix (Chester's Roman Display Team) have offered to give me an honour guard as I set off so I will be getting in touch with them this week to confirm they are able to do this. I hope to be setting off at about 9am on the day so it would be great if we could get a crowd of people there for it.

I will be leaving Chester and heading down the A41 to Whitchurch – this will be my first scheduled overnight stay. We will be stopping three times each day and our first day will see us stop for rest at Hatton Heath, Broxton and No Man’s Heath. It’s a road I know well from all of my childhood holidays to Devon – this was always our starting point back then.

What Will I Do When I Get There?

Roman got a pretty decent bit of exercise today – myself, Nathan and Rich took him out on the field by us and played football for about half an hour or so. Roman is the most committed footballer I have ever seen – he’s kind of like a cross between Roy Keane and Dirk Kuyt in that he will happily take your legs off for the ball and will never stop running!

It’s been a while since we played football on the field with him so he was pretty knackered afterwards. It’s funny how much more tired he gets chasing the football around compared with just running around a field for half an hour. I think it must be the mental exercise he is getting as well as the physical exercise but football definitely has more of an effect on him.

His paw seems to be a lot better now too. It’s pretty much back to normal now and I think the rest has done him the world of good, physically anyway. I will resist the temptation to go out road walking until I have the boots for him – this close to the leaving date I don’t want to risk a setback due to impatience. I was hoping that I may be able to get a company to donate some but my search has been fruitless. A friend offered to buy them instead when she heard so I will be taking her up on her (very kind) offer.

Hopefully, if the boots are ordered this weekend, we may have them early next week so the walking can recommence. I will build him up again gradually but will start off with two walks of five miles per day. He is definitely fit enough to cope with that – I used to walk him 10 miles every night with no issues whatsoever so this will be a breeze for him. After a couple of days I will add the third walk back in and about a week after that I will go up to the four so that we are regularly walking the 20 miles a day we will need to walk when we are on our way.

Things are really starting to seem real now. I am now counting down the days until we leave. I will admit that I am now beginning to feel pretty nervous about the whole thing – not from the point of view of actually doing the walk and everything that goes with it but more so how I will set about integrating into Roman society. I am sure that things are going to be very difficult for me over there for at least 6 months and am mentally preparing myself for the challenges I may meet.

I have been thinking a lot about the kind of work I may be able to get over there. There is a chance that I may be able to get involved with teaching English as a native speaker – I wouldn’t get fantastic pay as I have no qualifications but the fact that I am a native speaker means I could get in with some establishments. Another option I have been thinking about is trying to contact English speaking tour operators. Again, I have no formal qualifications but I am an intelligent lad with a passion for Roman antiquity so if there is even an outside chance then it is something I would like to explore.

Those two options are pretty much ideal circumstances for me at the moment – I know I am very skilled in what I have done in the past but I don’t think I would be ready when I got there to do that sort of thing as I am sure that I would need to be fluent in Italian. I will keep my eye out for jobs with English speaking companies but I am not getting my hopes up of falling lucky with something like that. I have also been mulling over the possibility that I may find it difficult to find work.

Personally, I am prepared to do pretty much anything to get a foothold over there. I know I am intelligent and have a lot to offer but the primary concern I have right now is how to establish myself in the country and get settled. I can be more ambitious once I am settled but, for the duration of my short term future in Rome, I can’t afford to be proud. I need to find work as soon as possible after my arrival so that I can afford to pay the bills. I hope that my willing to do anything attitude will stand me in good stead there.

I almost forgot to mention - Royal Canin called me up today and said they were prepared to pledge 2 large bags of dog food for Roman to get us on our way. This is fantastic news for us as this will probably last the best part of a month, I just need to find a suitable way of transporting 24kg of dog food around as well as all the equipment!

Roman Has Fleas!!

Roman has been scratching at his bum over the last couple of days and biting at it so I decided to do the “flea test” – you get a wet piece of paper and get him to sit right by it and then scratch him so that some hair falls off onto the piece of paper. If the dog has fleas they are easy to spot on the wet piece of paper. Unfortunately, Roman does indeed have fleas – I’m sure the cat has brought them in as he doesn’t have much contact with other dogs and the dogs he does are always clean.

My brother, Rich, popped to the vets for me to pick up a treatment for both Roman and Macy which I applied this afternoon. As a result, Macy has been kept in all night and I have not taken Roman out. By tomorrow it will have had time to work his magic so I will be able to take Roman running on the field with no problems.

Roman’s paw is a lot better now and the cream seems to be doing the trick. As soon as I have the boots for him I will start the intensive walking again. There is not long to go now before we set off so we need to be doing as much exercise as possible in the coming weeks. I’m positive that he will be more than capable of it from past experience though.

Gemma from the vet messaged me this afternoon on Facebook to say that she had managed to speak with someone at Royal Canin and they would be sending a free bag of food to the vets for me to get us started when we set off. It’s taken a while to sort it all out but I am really happy with the result – Roman’s dog food is pretty expensive, bearing in mind how much a 9 stone Rottweiler eats, so this will be a big help to us.

I have been looking for a trolley or cart for most of the day to be able to transport all of our stuff on when we are walking. If I have a full bag of dog food (12kg) and all of our equipment and water then the load would be well over 20kg and I think this might be a little much for me to carry 20 miles each day! As my friend told me he didn’t think he would be coming I thought it only prudent that I look for something.

You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find something suitable – I have tried all different combinations of keywords on Google and just can’t seem to find what I am looking for. The nearest I have got is a gardening trolley but I can’t find anything suitably built that I could push, they all seem to be pull trolleys. I am planning on attaching Roman’s lead around my waist so that I have my hands free when I am walking to push something along.

I called a couple of companies up as I couldn’t really find much suitable. I was hoping that they may be able to point me in the right direction but the search proved fruitless. I will try again tomorrow but I just don’t know where I will find one! It’s not something you really think about but I have no idea where the best place to get something like that would be!

I have heard nothing back about Roman’s dog boots but a friend said they would buy some for him as sponsorship so I think I may have to take them up on that offer. It’s a shame that companies seem to be so unwilling to help with things like this. I would have thought that the publicity would be a good thing. The thing that really annoys me is that the majority don’t even have the decency to reply – a “no” is so much easier to take if someone takes the time to read what you have written.

I have been trying again to persuade my friend to come with me – I know he said no but I’m not the type to take no for an answer! Plus the fact, it really is a fantastic opportunity for him – I know if I had been offered this kind of thing at his age I would have snapped it up with both hands immediately. One of the things I regret most about my adolescence is not travelling and experiencing life for all that it is. Life is about more than work, I’m just glad I have the chance to do something like this now.

As it is, he seems to be waning on the subject. I reckon if I keep on at him then he might change his mind. When I started asking him he just kept saying no, then he started refusing to answer the question before moving onto a maybe. Tonight he seemed a lot more accepting of the offer and he has agreed to take my advice and speak with his parents to see what their thoughts are. I know any parents don’t like to see their kids move on to another country but I am sure they will see the opportunity here for him and encourage him – if things don’t work out he can always come back.

We Had Our Photo Taken For A National Newspaper Today!

Today I got a pleasant surprise! I take everything back that I said about Simon being a wind up – he called me this afternoon and it turns out he has been away in Ireland. He arranged to come down with a photographer (who was very pretty, by the way!) to take some pictures of Roman and I. He reckons that he should know by the end of the week but thinks it will be in the nationals as early as Monday. This is probably the best bit of news I have had so far. The publicity this can generate for us and the potential donations to be had are enormous. All of a sudden I feel that the £100,000 target I set myself is actually achievable!

I took Roman out today for a run – his paw seems much better but I didn’t want to rush him back in to anything too soon so I took him on the field. It’s the first time he has been out since last Friday and I have felt so sorry for him. I feel like a really bad owner! He was obviously so happy to be out too – he charged around the field for about half an hour without stopping for breath for more than a few seconds. I could actually see the joy on his face! At the risk of sounding sad, I really do love that dog!

I have been looking at tents and sleeping bags today on the internet to see what kind of price they go for. They are actually really cheap for what I will need but I will try and get back in touch with Vango tomorrow to see whether they are prepared to supply them as sponsorship – it’s now been over two weeks since I emailed them. I know that the lady who would be dealing with it was off to Germany for a convention for a week but I have still heard nothing so I will see if I can get a yes or no answer out of them.

I’ve spent some more time today trying to learn Italian and I must say I am starting to feel a little more confident now. I am having very little trouble now with the pronunciation stages – these were probably the ones that were causing me the most trouble but I am beginning to get used to the way that I need to pronounce things. I will be stepping it up from here on in – if I can get 3 or 4 hours a day in then I am sure I will be able to have conversations once I get to Italy at the very least.

The thing that I am most nervous about with the whole event is actually getting started over there. The walking and sleeping rough does not faze me at all, even having to transport all of our stuff is not really worrying me. The thing that worries me the most is not being able to speak Italian well enough to go to a job interview or open a bank account or even to speak to the police to sort out my residency card!

I think the thing I am most looking forward to though is the unknown. I have lived the majority of my life nicely tucked into my comfort zone, pretty much like the majority of society. This will be the biggest test I have ever had. Not only am I moving away from everything I am familiar with but I am going to a new country that has a different language and different customs and culture. It’s really quite exciting to think of how I anticipate I will change as a person – I will be forced to speak to people I don’t know if I want to integrate and live a full life there.

In England, people rarely even say hello to each other in the street. I have been making more of an effort to do that when I am out walking with Roman and I find that people approach me now I have been on the television. This will probably be the biggest change for me. I will no longer be able to live in my little circle of friends and not make acquaintances. If I want to live a full life over there then I will have to adapt and become a more outwardly confident person.

I am pretty certain now that my friend will definitely not be coming along for the ride. It’s a shame really as there are so many opportunities out there to be had and I regret never leaving Chester and experiencing what the world has to offer. I think it is too easy to get stuck in a routine – get up, go to work, see your friends, eat tea, watch television, go to bed – and live it day in, day out. I now realise that this is not what I want. I want to experience life, I want to live every moment. I don’t want to simply exist.

Walking Wounded

My younger brother Jamie has stayed over again tonight but he is in work in the morning so I will be guaranteed to be up early in the morning as he has to be up at 7.30am! I have decided that I will take Roman for a run on the field by me as soon as I am properly awake – I have felt so cruel not taking him out these past few days but it’s all for his own good.

His paw seems much better although I think there is still a bit of recovery needed so I will be limiting him to exercise on the field for the next few days and, by then, I might have some dog boots for him anyway. I can’t wait to get his dog boots – they look really cool. For anyone who wants to see them here is a link:

http://uk.shopping.com/xPO-Bark-N-Boot-Grip-Trex-Paw-Protectors-XLarge-Red-Black

Roman has been like an absolute nutter the past couple of days and has barely stayed still for a minute. The only time he has stopped charging about has been to have a sniff of his lead and to give me “those” eyes! Every time he does that I feel really sorry for him. It must be horrible to have all that energy and no way of releasing it.

I replied to Natalie from P&O Ferries with the information she had requested to be able to provide a free ticket for us. I have not heard back off her today but will hopefully hear back tomorrow to confirm it has all been done. I also gave Sam at the vets a ring to see if she had got any further with the dog food company. She said that she just can’t get hold of the rep she had been speaking to but had been given somebody else’s details in the company to speak to. I will ring Sam back tomorrow to see how she got on.

I replied to the guy who emailed me from the national newspaper also today. I put quite a bit of information into the email about the reasons why I am doing what I am doing, the charities I am supporting and the publicity I have already managed to get. I have not heard back from him today but hopefully he will reply at some time tomorrow to let me know if he can do anything to help me. I hope he can, it’s just a shame that “Simon” seemed to be a wind up – I never managed to get hold of him and he never returned my calls so I will have to assume that he was a wind up. What’s the world coming to, eh?

I managed to get hold of some contact details for PR departments within O2 and Vodafone today so called both companies to see whether they would be prepared to supply me with a Nokia N97 for a few months whilst I am on my travels with internet access and pay the bill. I am not sure whether I will get anywhere with this but it would certainly make things easier for me. Both companies requested I sent an email with all the relevant information and the request so I did that this afternoon. I will keep you updated on what happens there.

I went for another jog this afternoon with my friend, Nathan, but we were both the walking wounded today. Nathan was complaining of pain in his calf so I can only assume he has strained it and my ankle has been playing up. I haven’t twisted it or anything but every time I plant my foot I get a shooting pain in my ankle. As a result we only managed to do a couple of miles but that’s better than nothing!

I have managed to get a couple of hours of learning Italian in as well this evening before I got rudely interrupted by Jamie and his big mouth! It’s amazing how much noise teenagers can make without actually saying anything. We have had a bit of a heated discussion tonight – he’s being a typical adolescent male and has been causing a bit of trouble so I have been trying to explain things like gangs, retribution and stabbings. Hopefully if I go on about it enough he may take notice and start behaving before something serious happens.

Looks Like We Have A Free Ticket From P&O Ferries!

I’m afraid today I have managed to achieve pretty much nothing at all! As my brother was staying over last night and was here all day I didn’t really have the chance to get on the phone – it’s awkward anyway as he is quite noisy and he was watching DVDs all day. Instead, I have had a pretty lazy day but will be getting straight back into things tomorrow – I have not even done any Italian today!

I got an email this morning from Natalie at P&O Ferries about the ticket. It appears that they will, in fact, supply me with a ticket – I just need to send a few details over to them such as the names of the passengers and the times and date that we will need the ticket for. I’m really pleased with that – as I have said before, it’s not a massive amount of money but it is always nice when a company is prepared to help you out in a way such as this.

I have spoken to my friend tonight and he is definitely prepared to take me over on the ferry and I have also been trying to persuade him to just come with me – it would obviously be very handy for me to have a friend in a car to transport all of the stuff we will need to take but I think it would be a fantastic opportunity for him too. I will keep badgering him in the hope that he will agree but I am not convinced he will.

I also got an email back this evening from somebody who works at a national newspaper. After the fiasco with Simon I decided to try and contact the newspaper in question myself and sent an email off a few days ago. I am not sure whether he had really spoken to anybody there but I have received a reply from one of their guys asking me for more information. This will be at the top of my list tomorrow morning as this sort of publicity could really help me to achieve the targets I have set myself.

Roman’s paw seems to be getting better but I have still not taken him out. I am so paranoid about it at the moment you just wouldn’t believe! I will see how it is tomorrow and probably take him over to the field around the corner from me so he can charge around like a crazy dog and expend some of this pent up energy he has. Hopefully, being extra careful like this will help it to clear up and everything will be ok soon with a bit of luck.

Talking of paws, I haven’t heard anything back yet about his dog boots. I will see if there has been a response by tomorrow afternoon and then try and establish a contact with the company in question on the phone if there has been no contact. Again, the monetary value of the boots is not particularly large but if a company could provide them as a donation then this would be a really nice gesture and I would happily promote their company on my blog in return.

I managed to get a jog and a workout in tonight with Nathan – it’s the first time we have done that in a couple of weeks. It’s hard to keep up that kind of program when you are already walking 15 miles a day but it seemed like a good time to get back into it with my exercise levels being so low due to Roman’s paw. We will be jogging everyday this week – we did 3 and a half miles today but will be doing at least 5 miles a day for the rest of the week.