This is our story:

what an adventure that would be……….

One dark rainy afternoon in October 2011 I was sat at my desk pondering over an exciting challenge for the forth coming year. Having bought my road bike a year before and seriously becoming a keen roady I really wanted to do something involving my two wheeled friend in some form or another!

Lip Gloss and Lycra was born! I had to tell Sharon straight away……I couldn’t keep this to myself. ‘Let’s do it’ was her answer or was that ‘you are crazy’! I then emailed Gillie who sent me the same answer! As far as I was concerned the decision had been made and there was no going back! We wanted time to whiz by that afternoon so we could go home and start planning.

John O’Groats is a tiny village regarded as the most northerly settlement in Great Britain. The furthest point from here within the UK is Lands End! The shortest recorded route by road is a mere 814 miles…….this is using minor roads in certain places.

Using as many minor roads as possible would bring our total distance to 1100 miles. Word had started to spread about our undertaking. Four more highly fueled outdoor bods were up for the challenge. Holly, Sarah, Amanda and Daniel…..a boy….! The furthest anybody had ever ridden was between 50-70 miles!

SUPPORT! Now this is something we agreed we would need from the very start. ‘TIMMY’ and GRAHAM had now been recruited. This brought our Lip Gloss and Lycra team to 9.

‘TIMMY’….this well rounded individual (who has only just realized what he has got himself involved with) was to become our spreadsheet king. Route planning and accommodation booking were well underway. More importantly we have scheduled CAKE STOPS everyday! Genius.

Team Lip Gloss and Lycra LOVE CAKE……

Our ‘Jogle’ begins on 22nd April 2012 from John O’Groats and finishes in Lands End on 3rd May 2012. If you want to know more about our day to day journey and get a first hand view of out trials and tribulations then follows us all the way with our daily blog.

RugbyforHeroes received a great response from everyone that attended the launch at the New Country Hotel on Thursday 27th October 2011.
We appreciate the support from those that attended and from Charlie Sharples, Freddie Burns, Dave Lewis and Shaun Knight for their time and assistance in making the calendar launch a success.

If you were unable to make it to the launch you can support the cause by buying a calendar from our store. We hear that they make great presents…

The Marathon is a flagship fundraising event originally planned as a one-off race to celebrate Brathay’s 60th anniversary.
Now an annual event it has become one of Europe’s most highly rated Marathons run over, arguably, one of the most picturesque courses in the world.
Online race entry available at
www.brathaywindermeremarathon.org.uk
T: 015394 39730
Entry forms and further information are also available on the website.

Download the PDF

>>Brathay Windermere Marathon<<

Following the retirement of General Sir Anthony Walker, Remount is delighted
to welcome Roger Davis as its new Chairman. Bringing with him the valuable
combination of successful military and business experience, Remount is
well-placed to further develop and expand its work of supporting service men
and women as they transition from the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Commissioned into the Royal Tank Regiment in 1975, Roger read PPE at Oxford,
leaving the Army in 1986 having achieved the rank of Captain in Military
Operations in the MoD. There followed a successful and varied career in
finance, starting with Flemings and culminating with the role of MD of
Barclays Bank UK. Since 2005 Roger has followed a plural career in a
variety of private equity and defence businesses.

Neville Barton, Remount’s founder and CEO, said “ We are very optimistic
that with Roger in the chair, Remount can now raise its profile and build on
four years of providing personal development courses to young military
personnel as they make the sometimes difficult transition into civilian
life. A new partnership programme with our corporate sponsors will enable
us to reach many of the 22,000 people about to return to the commercial jobs
market, for whom Remount’s work is more important than ever.”

REMOUNT 26.

BRATHAY TRUST: 28 – 31 OCTOBER 2011.

Remount 26 formed up on a bright Friday afternoon at the Charities’ centre of excellence Brathay Trust on the outskirts of Ambleside in the Lake District. The course was attended by 12 members: six (3-from each) came from Ex-service hostels in Durham and Catterick. There was a serving soldier and his wife, a member of the TA, a serving Captain and an ex-soldier now working as a civil servant and finally a serving soldier from Aldershot. This eclectic mix of delegates’ ages ranged from 18 yrs old to 50 yrs old!

After lunch and introductions the group were introduced to the concept of Remount and what it was hoped individuals might gain from it, and then it was off to undertake their first group exercise.

Highlights of the course would be the approach of the individuals; the majority of this course initially had serious reservations about the benefit of Remount to them. Some had never undertaken many of the activities before, yet, they soon mastered the basic skills to undertake with varying levels of confidence: canoeing, low and high ropes challenges, a clue find on Lake Windermere in Whaler rowing boats. These activities were interspersed with juggling, a tube dash, models depicting the communications triangle, a learning model and crucially the comfort, stretch, panic model with the emphasis being placed on never entering the panic sphere! The torrential rain of most of Saturday, Sunday and Monday although not a highlight was a course aspect that won’t be forgotten!

The group were visited on Sunday by Darren Bickerstaffe, the project manager of the Early Service Leavers trial – Future Horizons – due to begin at Catterick on 3 January 2012.

Remount 26 was a success with candidates leaving with the knowledge and practice of attributes aimed at helping them with their future choices. The delivery team of Paul, Simon, Robin and the author Richard Wilson wish all those that attended the very best for their future. There will be challenges and set-backs but they now have a multitude of skills and revisited qualities to help them make informed decisions.

“Ronnie”
My role at the Beacon is a Specialist Support Worker (SSW) for Training Education and Employment. I have just completed 24 years service in the Scots Guards and just finished as the Regimental Sergeant Major at the Army School of Ceremonial at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick. During my Service I served in the first Gulf War in 1991, completed 3 years active service in Northern Ireland and Iraq in 2004-2005.

The Beacon is supported accommodation for Ex-Servicemen and Women and we have 31 self contained apartments, a training and Education Centre and a Health and Well Being centre located within the building. Other facilities we have on site include, a Gym, IT Suit, Communal areas, an audio and visual suit, a training bakery, garden allotment, coffee point, multi function room. My employer is Riverside English Churches Housing Group (ECHG) which is one of the largest supported housing groups in the country. The Beacon was funded by Riverside, MOD and various other service charities.

The Veterans can stay here for a period of 18 months and during that period their support workers identify their needs and put together a support plan so that at the end of their 18 months they are in a position to move onto secure accommodation, employment and have the correct support in place.

My role as the SSW is to identify their previous qualification and employment history and put a plan in place to help them back into employment at present I have managed to get 24 out of the 31 Veterans back into training and education courses.

I aim to send 2 Veterans per month onto the Remount course in order to help them set clear objectives for the future and help them to identify new strategies to help overcome the symptoms of stress and depression and help build a purpose for the future. I have also been promoting Remount to other organisations since I took over this role in September and will continue to do so.

Many of our Veterans have complex needs and would be unsuitable to send on the Remount course due to serious alcohol dependence as was experienced on the last course. I am now working closely with the support workers to identify the post suitable Veterans to send on future courses.

The age range is 18-51 at present we have 2 female veterans and a large number of Veterans suffering with PTSD.

If you have any further question please give me a call on 01748 832042

CEO and Founder of Remount Neville Barton is to present a detailed overview and dossier of the successes and findings of the Remount Course to the House of Lords Defence group. Accompanying him will be former remountee and now volunteer Chris Sharpe (Ex Rifles).