WHO IS ASHLEY MASELLA?

Ashley Masella was a very special lady, a great friend, a wonderful mother & wife and probably one of the most inspiring people i'll ever meet in my life. 

I moved to London in 1999 & one of the first friends I made in London was Brian Masella, we met at a party (ahem... where else... hehehe) . We went out dancing every weekend, then Brian introduced me to his new girlfriend... Ashley, who he met at his work. We hit it off & soon we were all out dancing every weekend, lots of parties, lots of laughs & lots of friends. Then Brian & Ashley got married in 2001 & then beautiful baby Lyden came along in 2004. 

It was really lovely seeing 2 friends fall in love, get married, have their first child...

Then in 2005 Ashley told us she had been diagnosed with cancer... I couldn't believe it... I didn't really understand about the type of cancer she had... Angio Sarcoma... which i now know is a very rare type of cancer and the most aggressive type. She bravely battled this cancer for 2 years. 

Ashley was only 26 when she was diagnosed and she was a total inspiration. So positive & focused, determined to get better for her family. 

On the 6th September 2007 Ashley passed away. I still can't believe she is gone but she'll be forever in my heart. 

So this is one of the reasons I am climbing Kilimanjaro... In memory of my good buddy Ashley Masella... Originally from Durban in South Africa, so i'm sure i'll be really near her when I reach the summit of Kili in Tanzania! I'll think of her every step of the way! 

This one's for you Ashley! and i'm also trying to raise money for the "Sarcoma Trust" which is a new chrity... only 2 years old... more needs to be done to find out about this rare type of cancer.

You can find out more about the charity here...                                                                 www.sarcoma-uk.org/trust/

And you can sponsor Ben & I here....                                                           www.justgiving.com/clodagh-ben-kilimanjaro

WHO IS BEN RANDALL?

Ben is a really good friend of mine, partner in crime, all round reliable party buddy. I met Ben at a London party about 7 years ago and we have danced many dance floors, survived many festivals, cried laughing many times & got up to all sorts of fun and mischief over the years. So who would like to climb Kilimanjaro with me???.... 

"RING RING"... HI Ben!... Would you like to climb Kilimanjaro with me this September?" ...the answer was... "Ya Sure!" 

so that didn't take much persuasion at all.... easy! :) 

WHY KILIMANJARO?

So on the 6th September 2009, my friend Ben Randall and I will leave London for Tanzania with the main aim of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in memory of our friend Ashley Masella & in Aid of 2 charities "Sarcoma Trust" and "Kids Aid Tanzania"
This has been a dream of mine for many years to climb Kilimanjaro. I've done a few bits of hiking over the years but nothing like Kili... eg. Parts of the GR20 in Corsica, A bit of hiking in the Blue Mountains in Australia & did the Tongariro Crossing and The Kepler Track in New Zealand... Oh ya... and Croagh Patrick in Ireland! :) 

So yes I better start getting in shape for this Big Adventure which is only 11 weeks away! Yikes!!! :)