Graffitti Artist (Thursday July 31st)

I have always been a fan of vintage clothes and the more enlightened of you may have twigged that I have a penchant for dress of the fancy variety. A few years ago I spent a whole month in seventies gear raising money for LRF, an idea which seemed good at the time but in retrospect was not one of my best. Sick of explaining what I was doing by the first week, visiting the co-op for a pack of bog rolls in flares, platform shoes and a shirt with penny round collars was a became a bit of a chore.

American Graffitti on Hilton Street is an Aladdin's cave of extravagant fashion. Heaving with fabulous clothing, accessories and memorabilia it is a haven for folk like me and store manager Tracey Collin, despite having never seen an episode of the nation's favourite Yorkshire based soap, turned out to be keen supporter of the bananathon.

An event like the bananathon is made up of many facets and promotion and awareness is one of them. September 13th kicks off Leukaemia Awareness week, where LRF has to compete with all the other week's news and issues to find space in the media. Every hit in a newspaper, on the radio or televison adds to people's knowledge of the condition and the fund's work. Editors and producers have a myriad of images to chose from and the celebrity driven aspect of the media is one of the most competitive. What am I going on about......?

American Graffitti will be styling Tarzan, Jane and The Banana for the evening at Tiger Tiger.

I won't say any more than that, other than making a banana look dignified on the red carpet and taking Sean's shoulder measurements are two of the quandaries in Tracey's capable hands.

Prepare to be impressed!

Tarzan

Banana Skins (The last week)

Nothing's gone wrong as such, I just haven't been able to blog over the last week. I have three days until the family holiday and I'm goosed.

It's often either feast or famine at work, with quiet periods where you get days off from filming and you don't have many scripts to prepare or lines to learn, offset by barmy times when the days are long and the planning and memorising have to take priority. This last week has been a feast of roman proportions with the added 'complication' (yes, I know I could have stayed in and felt fresher) of four corking nights out.

Last thursday night we finished early at quarter past six, so by 7.45 I had run, showered and was out for a meal with mates at 8pm. Pizza Express Etna Pizza consumed (which I discovered the next morning was just as hot coming out as it was going in) I agreed to the offer of 'just one drink' in Headingley, safe in the knowledge I would be tucked up in my digs by ten. Then 'just one more' became 'just one more' until Doctor Who's tardis took us to being turfed out of 'The Box' at one in the morning. 'Luckily' Subway was still open and their Reggae Reggae sauce special tempted us to a spicy end to the quiet evening out.

Alright, I'll come clean I have this week become obsessed by Levi Roots' Reggae Reggae sauce song and particularly the bit at the end where he says "Chipssss" and just wanted a reason to write about it.

The other nights out were great too and my non blogging time has been used very constructively in that we now have a route in place, just two venues to find and timings for all the venues. Some of the city centre ones may tweak by twenty minutes, but the event is really taking shape.

Sean has been ace throughout all this, updating the blog and liasing with venues and LRF to boot, none of which he is obliged to do, so I just wanted to say thanks mate, you are a star.

Sweatshop - (Tuesday 29 July)

The marathon is the ultimate Olympic running challenge, whether you run it for a personal best (London 2008 for Jane) or better still run it to raise money for your favourite charity (Leukaemia research).

Linking in nicely with our next venue is arguably Britain's finest Olympic marathon runner

Ron Hill - Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968, Munich 1972 and an Olympic PB of 2:09:28. Ron was the founder of Ronhill and Hilly Clothing Company, makers of performance apparel whose old shop on Market Street Hyde is now home to one of the market leaders in all things running 'Sweatshop'.

The team at Sweatshop not only have a store full of everything you could ever want to either run competitively or run as a gentle stress relieving pastime - between them they have a wealth of knowledge and experience to make anyone feel welcome.

Over the next few weeks Sweatshop will be raising money in their Hyde store culminating in an awesome raffle with excellent running related prizes being donated by their key suppliers

After leaving Sweatshop we even get to run past Dr Harold Shipmans old surgery just down the road !

One thousand and counting... (Saturday 26 July)

Well it didn't take long to happen but I've just noticed the blog has had just over 1000 hits since we first opened it a few weeks back on 21 June, we have viewers (or is it readers) from all over the UK and have even had visits from mainland Europe and across in the United States.

It seems the more venues we are adding on to our map the more interest it is arousing - wait till we have the full list up.

So for now lets see how long it takes us to get to our next 1000 !!

PS whilst Jane has been busy this weekend running to the top of Mount Snowdon and back Tarzan has been doing something far more important by scouring the depths of Manchester and filling in the last few bits of the Bananathon jigsaw which we will tease you with for a few more days before announcing them...

Enjoy the sunshine - blink and you will miss it...

Jane

x

Wickes Van Man (Thursday July 24th)

When we started looking for venues for the bananathon, we already had two in the bank. Manchester Royal Infirmary and Wickes at Stockport.

Wickes chose LRF to be their official charity a couple of years ago and since then have raised a massive amount of money, which in turn is spent on research programmes at hospitals including MRI. Rather than me cut and paste a load of info, you can read about the relationship between Wickes and LRF here.

Being the singer of White Van Man (have I mentioned we are playing in Dawsons window and later at a big party at Tiger Tiger as part of the bananathon?) I was delighted to read that Wickes' relationship with LRF has yielded an incredible gadget. The Wickes White Van LRF Torch. If there are any left, expect to see them shining on the night of September 13th.

Bring Me Sunshine (Wednesday July 23rd)

With just a handful of the 26 venues left to find I sat in the treehouse with Jane and we contemplated what we had on our list and whether we had a theme for the event.

Somewhere to do with Leukaemia Research (MRI) 'tick', something connected with running (Virgin Active treadmills in the Printworks) 'tick' (in fact we have another running one too, but you'll just have to wait), something involving bananas 'tick' (ooh another one we haven't announced yet).

What didn't we have? Well, besides needing a computer to help sell the auction items on eBay on the night and wanting to visit a care home we decided we are short on something to do with beauty (for the glamorous Shane...er Jane) and something to do with acting.

We had a thought about approaching the theatres and doing a collection but figured we would just get in the way and that it was a bit dull, so what about somewhere involved with the development of performers?

Sunshine Studios opened a year ago and in that time has become a thriving centre for dance and the arts, giving people of all ages, but mostly the young, a chance to express themselves in a creative environment. Taking a look at the city centre studio's timetable will give you an idea of the wealth and variety of classes on offer. But if that's a bit dry for you, check out this video, a really tight streetdance routine that just happens to feature quite a famous young chap as part of the group. Just like Wimbledon encourages people to play tennis every year, there is nothing like the media spotlight shining on an activity to to inspire others to want to take it up. The tv show Britain's Got Talent featuring three great dance acts in their final ten has really opened peoples' eyes to the dedication and skill offered by performing arts students and teachers throughout the country.

Sunshine Studios have been really generous with their fundraising offer and will be holding a special 'open dance day' on September 13th to tie in with and help promote the bananathon. Not only will they be hosting collection tins for a week before the event, they well be donating the proceeds from the day passes sold on the day and will give the money taken from refreshment sales for a ten minute period too. Tarzan Jane and the banana will be selling those refreshments at breakneck speed and have been given permission to disturb classes to do it. What have they let themselves in for? Thanks so much to Jacqui and Jerry for getting behind the bananathon with such great gusto, it is destined to be a fun ten minutes.

B&M - (Tuesday 22 July)

Tarzan says a big thumbs up to B&M

Ever driven past a store or shop and wondered 'what do they sell' - well I did exactly the same until last week when as part of our Banathon mission we decided to call in at B&M on Hyde Road heading towards Manchester.

We met up with Damian Jackson who is really up for it, allowing us into his busy store on September 13 to help promote his wares - in return he will arrange collections in the weeks leading up to The Bananathon and has also donated an 8ft trampoline and enclosure for our charity auction - think I'll be bidding on that one myself !

What a feast of amazing products B&M have and so cheap as well - even more so with their 'spend £20 and get a free mug' promotion that is currently on.

B&M was formed in 1976 and is the North West's premier discount retailer, selling everything from Baked Beans or Shampoo through to Barbie Dolls and Cushions, all at hugely discounted prices - they even sell a special Emmerdale beer - Mmmm !

One thing about B&M is certain, the customer is always a winner.

With hundreds of new products appearing daily, you'd be MAD to pass by - I'm glad that we didn't!

Lithaprint - (Monday 21 July)

Lithaprint I hear you ask, who are Lithaprint ?

Well, although they are not down on our list of venues to visit on September 13 (hope this date is now starting to stick in memories and make its way into diaries...) they are a key partner in making the evening party a success Lee 'fat back' Barratt and his trusty team of err.. Lithaprinters (?!) down in Hazel Grove have been busying themselves designing and printing the Tiger Tiger Bananathon tickets which will go on sale later this week - and do you know how much this has cost us - nowt, nothing, zilch - cos they are really nice people.

The tickets themselves will soon become collectors items !

So lets hear it for the boys and girls at Lithaprint - thanks !

Just who is Tarzan ? - (Sunday 20 July)

Johnny Weismuller - some would say the best Tarzan

Just a short interlude between announcing the amazing venues for Tarzans Bananathon !

Just who is Tarzan, where did he come from, when did he arrive ?

Tarzan, as we all know, is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the wild African jungle by apes, who later returns to civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer.

He was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and first appeared in the novel Tarzan of the Apes (magazine publication 1912, book publication 1914), and then in twenty-three sequels and innumerable works in other media.

In many ways, Tarzan's jungle upbringing gave him abilities above and beyond those of ordinary humans.


These abilities include climbing, clinging, and leaping as well as any great ape, as well as walking on all fours exceptionally well, despite his human frame. His senses are enhanced; he is able to smell food or poachers at least two thirds of a mile away (in comparison Tony can smell a pork pie at over 400 yards if that’s anything to go by), and hear approaching stampedes from two miles. He can read body language exceptionally well. He is an excellent judge of character.


His strength, speed, agility, reflexes, balance, flexibility, reaction time, and swimming abilities are much better than normal – just like our own modern day LRF Tarzan. He has wrestled full grown bull apes and gorillas, rhinos, crocodiles, anacondas, sharks, big cats and even dinosaurs – perhaps an idea for the party at Tiger Tiger.

He has bent iron bars with his bare hands and easily lifted large treasure chests one-handed that four burly sailors had trouble with – perhaps this can be re-enacted in the Manto bar.


He is capable of communicating with every species of animal in the jungle. He can recover from wounds that would kill normal men, such as gunshot wounds to the head. He was trained as a soldier in World War I and possesses advanced learning skills which enabled him to teach himself how to read with nothing but a few books. He is attacked by a sorcerer who is using a magic rock for mind control, only to discover Tarzan is immune to mental probing. Eventually, Tarzan becomes immortal due to a witch doctor's potion.

Some interesting and mudane Tarzan Trivia : Tarzana, California, where Burroughs made his home, was renamed in honor of Tarzan in 1927.

Michael Heseltine, a former British MP and senior government minister, is nicknamed Tarzan in honour of his having once seized the ceremonial mace in the House of Commons and swung it about his head in the middle of a debate. This action, together with Heseltine's flowing golden hair, was said to be distinctly in the style of Tarzan. The nickname has also been combined with his name into the portmanteau nickname Hezza.


The March 1959 issue of Man's Adventure published a story titled “The Man Who Really Was… Tarzan” by Thomas Llewellan Jones. This article claims that Tarzan was based on William Charles Mildin, 14th Earl of Streatham, who supposedly lived among the apes from 1868 (age 11) to 1883, before returning to England. None of the news stories claimed in the article exist in the archives of the London papers, and there is no record of such an Earl in the British peerage. Nonetheless, the story sometimes resurfaces as “fact.”

Tarzan has even starred in a condom advert on TV - see picture below

I Feel Fine Dining (Saturday July 19th)

The Beatles may have been turned away from the Midland Hotel for not wearing a tie, but our LRF tee-shirts didn't exclude us from one of Manchester's great landmarks . Shane, sorry Jane, has already told the tale of visiting the marble-floored masterpiece and now is the time to announce it as one of our venues on September 13th.

We don't know quite what we will be doing during out ten minutes yet, perhaps some luggage carrying or cleaning, who knows, but we do know that the hotel has donated a fantastic Fine Dining package which we can auction on the night. This is worth £220 without even giving a donation to the charity, so we are hoping it reaches a lot more. Thanks very much to Claire Woods at qhotels who has got right behind the Bananathon.

Let's face it, auctions at events can sometimes be pretty tiresome, I've been auction master myself a couple of times and been sick of the sound of my own voice after about ten minutes, so I can't imagine how dull it was for the punters. At Tiger Tiger we are taking a different approach. One week before the Bananathon I will be placing our many auction prizes on eBay. From 11pm to 12pm on the night the auctions will finish so people can bid for the items whether they are there or not. We will have someone on hand with an ebay account should bidders at the party not have an account of their own and of course a computer to bid on. We don't have a computer as yet, but by Monday evening I am sure that our persuasive powers will have worked on a kind company in Manchester and they will have donated one.

On a personal note, this weekend has been bonkers so far. I had a gig with White Van Man last night which was reasonably quiet for a change, mainly because I forgot to put posters up to advertise it. The second half of the gig was a lot busier and we played really well and enjoyed it to the max. It was a first airing for the Killers song Mr Brightside for us. I have had so many lines at work over the last few weeks that I have reached overload on learning words, so I cheated and had them on a sheet of paper on the floor. No one seemed to notice and it went down great . The song is a Young Farmers anthem and I am sure will become a stalwart of our set.

My daughter and her mates came for the first set and danced their little socks off to songs that they had mostly never heard of. They have all worked very hard over the last year and have been rewarded with great SATS results. They have three days left at primary school and are a credit to us all. Well done girls. I spent much of today setting a treasure hunt for their school and feel guilty yet helpless that I have one non-speaking scene on the day it is happening and so can't be there to see the project through.

I went to see a cracking American band called The Hold Steady last week in Leeds. I have never seen the Irish Centre so packed. The band's lead singer is a cross between Lloyd Grossman and Lee who has designed the tickets for the Tiger Tiger Party. Their song Massive Nights is lodged in my head at the moment and would be a corker for White Van Man to cover. Whilst I was typing up the treasure hunt I text The Rev 96.2 and Lee Off Hollyoaks kindly played the track for me. What a marvellous DJ he is.

Tarzan x

Treemendous Venue (Friday July 18th)

On the first day of looking for places for the bananathon I had a drive around Reddish, just to see what I could see. I was keen on getting venues involved that had some sort of connection with Tarzan, Jane or bananas. As I drove along Gorton Road, I noticed a massive, really well kept pub and lo and behold it had 'Tree' in it's name.

The Fir Tree is a proper community pub, which doesn't just brim with locals, as people come from miles around to see the wealth of entertainment on offer. Just have a look at the website to see the pictures of people enjoying themselves, the place is packed.

By focussing on what people want; entertainment, good food at a reasonable price, great coverage of the footy and a top range of drinks all in a safe and friendly environment, manager Tony Cooper has made the place into the thriving hub of Reddish.

When I called in, just after opening on a wet Wednesday a few weeks ago, Tony was more than generous with what he had to offer. He promised the fund not one, but two nights of fundraising with popular singers on Friday September 12th and the night of the bananathon.

Being a big footy pub, we had to wait until the TV fixtures were announced before picking a time for our visit, where we will be pulling pints and doing general bar work (Jane can clean the Ladies loo). On the day of the bananathon United are away to Liverpool and City are at home to Chelsea. As it has transpired, both have been picked up by TV, with United on Sky at 12.45 and City on Setanta at 5.15. It's imperative that our visit doesn't coincide with one of the games as we could be stark naked riding unicycles and no-one would take much notice.

So, we will be arriving between the two games, probably between 2.45pm and 3.30pm hoping that United have given the scousers a good beating. Tom, the Banana, is a season ticket holder at Old Trafford and so will miss the match. The consolation is that about 500 people will be in The Fir and Tony has said we can do a whip round whilst we are in there.

Two fundraising nights and a collection. I have a feeling that this venue may be the one which raises the most money in the day. Thanks a million Tony and The Fir Tree.

I have read the article in the MEN and it is excellent, especially as the editor chose a picture not featuring those hangers on Jane and the Banana. Best of all, Mike chose to combine the names of Sean and Jane and came up with the moniker 'Shane'. In about a year's time when Sean has leathered me for being sick to death of me calling him 'Shane' I may stop to see the funny side.

visit time TBC (between 2.45 and 4pm)

Morrisons (Thursday July 17th)

Now the picture above may not look that spectacular to you, but to me it depicts an oasis of delights. Working in Yorkshire and living in the High Peak dictates a lot of travelling and a fair amount of time away from home and the view you see here is a reflection that I am about fifteen minutes from seeing my family. I often stop in this car park and ring home to see if I need to buy any essentials, pop in, do a shop and then get back with groceries and Brownie points for going. Petrol is cheap there too. There have been times, I admit ,when I have bought pork pies and secretly eaten them before arriving at my destination. For some reason creme eggs always catch my eye at the sweet counter too. I am a creature of habit.

For this reason Morrisons Bredbury was my first port of call when I went out looking for venues for the Bananathon and how I was rewarded.

I asked at the customer services desk if there was anyone I could talk to about a charity event I was helping to organise in the area. In no uncertain terms I was informed that nobody would come to see me on the shop floor. Crestfallen, I pulled out my "Not even if it's Bob Off Emmerdale?" card. I drew an ace and whilst I was waiting for someone to come was told how customer services had just been visited by a particularly rude customer. Imagine dealing with that all day when you are trying to do your job. Don't shoot the messenger.

Laura O'Neill came to see me and seemed enamoured with the idea, immediately suggesting a week long store collection and the possibility of the staff being sponsored to wear fancy dress for the day. Whilst we chatted two staff members passed by and gave the fancy dress idea the thumbs up, they looked well up for it. What great people.

What would we be doing in return?

Packing shopping for customers. Fantastic! Visual and useful.

This is the first venue to be named where the whole staff have offered to get involved and fundraise and I can't say how impressed we have been with this inituative.

Big Thanks to Morrisons.

Elsewhere today, thank you to Mike Keegan at the Manchester Evening News. Not only did he write a piece about the bananathon (which I am yet to see, as I am stuck in Leeds), but he took the time to contact me to tell me it was in today's edition. The MEN is by far the biggest paper in Manchester and within two hours of it hitting the streets I had a couple of messages from elsewhere in the media asking for more information.

Jane has worked out how to put the interactive map on the blog page, just to the right the clever swine and it looks great. He/she has also put a list of each venue just above today's blog....yes up there. Nice one Jane; now get back in that jungle kitchen and make me a banana split.

Tarzan.

Dawsons - (Wednesday July 16)

Well if Mantos made us feel welcome then Dawsons carried on that fine Mancunian trend.

The lovely Trina from Dawsons on Portland Street welcomed us with open arms - not physically you understand - but in a way that makes you feel that what you are doing is totally worthwhile and has the backing of many many people who themselves make that difference... and did I nearly forget to mention how good a cyclist Trina is as well ?

What can we say about Dawsons Music that hasn't been said - Dawsons Music is one of the longest serving music retailers in the U.K.

Dawsons has one unique advantage, they sell all things musical, to all type of musicians and to further prove that point when we asked Trina could we invade their giant shop front window for a ten minute White Van Man concert she immediately agreed and better still Dawsons are providing some amazing goodies for our charity auction at Tiger Tiger - just how good is that !!!

Now all the band has to do is think of three suitable tunes to fill that ten minute slot

Tarzan's Bananathon Interactive Map

Tarzan's Bananathon Venue List (One More Revealed Each Day)

Manchester Royal Infirmary 9.30am

Manto Time TBC between 4.45 and 7pm

Dawsons Time TBC between 5 and 5.30pm

Virgin Active/The Printworks 7.20pm to 7.30pm

Tiger Tiger Party 7.30pm

Putting Manto On The Map (Tuesday July 15th)

When I say putting Manto on the map, I don't mean in a 'nobody has heard of it' kind of way (this legendary Manchester bar was laying the foundations of the Gay Village eighteen years ago), I mean in a 'today we are launching Tarzan's Bananathon Interactive map and I have spent the last half hour putting Manto on it' kind of way.

Where's the Manto website? Click on where it says 'Tarzan's Bananathon Interactive map' in grey above, then on the icon on the map, or where it says 'Manto' on the index to the left. Go on, it's good, I promise.

This is the first of the venues (other than the start, finish and party) to be revealed and the reason I chose it first is that the bar's manager Alan Townend completely embraced the idea of the Bananathon in about a minute. Some of the venues have had a bit of a quandary over, either what we should do in our ten minutes, or what they can do for LRF, or in some cases both.

No such problem at Manto.

I told Alan what it was about and he said "How about you collect glasses for ten minutes and I give you all the bar takings for that ten minutes?" Perfect.

Manto is on three floors and opens out for alfresco drinking and dining on to the thriving metropolis that is Canal Street. The three of us will be really visible moving between tables and Alan has even said we can encourage customers to go and buy drinks in the period to boost the take. Big thanks to him and the Manto staff.

So tell the world, get down to Manto on Saturday September 13th.

I have also proof read the tickets for the Tiger Tiger Party tonight and I think they are fantastic. Once everyone is happy with the design Lee Barrett at Lithoprint in Stockport will get a special thank you. Oh, he just did.

Tarzan x

Tarzan's Bananathon Venue List (one more revealed each day)

Manchester Royal Infirmary (9.30am)

Manto (Time TBC, between 4.45pm and 7.00pm)

Virgin Active/The Printworks (7.20pm to 7.30pm)

Tiger Tiger (7.30pm onwards)

The Midland Hotel - (Monday 14 July)

Dressed like two disowned twins in black bomber jackets, LRF t-shirts, jeans and trainers Tarzan and Jane hit the road this morning for more ‘Apprentice’ style cold calling to finish off the twenty six stopovers for the Bananathon.

Rather than build up the suspense of which were the good places we visited, which were the not so good, I’ll start by telling you that I’m not going to tell you as there will be more of that later in the week.

Instead I thought I’d try and relay what was at the time a very funny episode this afternoon.
After a couple of truly amazing ‘cold calls’ (more of them later in the week!) we headed off towards the majestic Midland Hotel.

Situated on Peter Street in the city centre, the Midland was built by Charles Trubshaw in 1898-1903 for the Midland Railway Company. It is situated next to the G-Mex Centre, Bridgewater Hall and Manchester Central Library. Its distinctive style is made of red brick and brown terracotta, with the exterior clad in several varieties of polished granite and Burmantofts (a type of terracotta). The building is grade II listed.

The hotel was regularly used by American cotton traders whilst they were on business selling their raw cotton to Manchester's cotton cloth manufacturers; the businessmen collectively referred to themselves as the Old Colony Club. One of the hotel's restaurants has been renamed The Colony in recognition of this fact.

....and did you know that the The Midland Hotel was also allegedly coveted by Hitler as a possible Nazi headquarters in Britain.

It has recently been upgraded extensively to become yet again the place to stay when in ‘town’ and was full of totty (urban slang for beautiful Asian air hostesses) – anyway less of the travel agency blurb and on with the story…

We had planned to meet Claire Woods from The Midland Hotel in reception to tell her about the Bananathon and ask if she could help us in anyway.

The really helpful concierge tracked Claire down and we had a very productive meeting and discussed what we could do for each other (have you ever seen a Banana carry cases to waiting taxis after running 24 miles… you may well do on September 13th…). We said our goodbyes and then headed off to our next port of call which would be a Casino – we had planned to put all the money raised so far on black 27 but decided against it at the last minute – on the way there I noticed that we no longer looked like twins as Tarzan no longer had a jacket – Aggh ! it contained the car keys.

A quick check of Tarzans ‘man bag’ told us that it must be at the hotel still. I ran back to the hotel, mainly because I’m quicker than Tarzan at the moment and he was chatting to passers-by in the street by now.

I found our helpful concierge once again and explained that Tarzan had left his coat on a chair in the foyer – little did I realise that concierges these days, despite looking like they are still out of Upstairs Downstairs have gone all high tec. Within seconds he had radioed through to security, scrolled back the CCTV footage to reveal that.. yes, you’ve guessed Tarzan had his jacket on still when he left the foyer – I apologised for my friends stupidity found him again and this time we looked properly in his bag to find one missing jacket !!

Well its been an exhausting day with Tarzan and Jane out running in the beautiful Derbyshire hills just after 8:00am this morning so I will bid you good night and tomorrow will start to reveal a treasure trove of surprises.

Jane

x

Icons (Sunday July 13th)

Icons. And I'm not talking about the likes of Elvis Presley, Big Ben or Bet Lynch. I mean those things you click on the internet. I have been fiddling with the truly astounding Google Maps and discovered that you can upload your own placemark icon. The only thing is, it has to be on a webpage.

Using Paint Shop Pro, I made the above image into a square, then resized it to 64X64 pixels then uploaded it to this blog. Next step is to try and upload it to the route map, which will come available to public eyes once all 26 venues are confirmed.

The wonders of the modern age.

Tarzan

Virgin On The Sublime (Saturday July 12th)

Sorry for not updating much, it's been bonkers busy at work. Plans are going great for the big day. We are about half way there with venues and the route and Sean, Tom and I have met today to catch up with how it is all going.

The big news is that the actual end of the race, before we move on to Tiger Tiger for the big bash, is now going to be slap bang in the middle of The Printworks (www.theprintworks.com/). Virgin Active (www.virginactive.co.uk/VA/ClubInfo/Default.aspx?ClubID=498) have kindly supplied three treadmills for the last mile and we will sweat it out in full view of a static crowd.

Tiger Tiger Tickets will be out very soon. They will be priced at £5 per person. There will be packages available too, should you wish to be posh, but these won't be announced for another three weeks. The three of us will be selling tickets, as will the venue. If you would like any, do get in touch. We have two celebrity DJ's on board so far, more to come, rock on.

Personally, I have been upping my miles a bit after the hamstring pull. I ran 16 miles this morning, but by 'eck it was hard work, 20 miles next Sunday, I hope it will be as glorious as today in The High Peak. I am going to focus on getting aerobiacally fit for the big day and try and drop a few pounds to boot. With only two months to go and a fortnight of that on holiday I think I may be the fattest Tarzan since Johnny Weismuller ate all the pies.

We have had a few offers of venues that are a bit too far out for the big day and are looking at doing a half bananathon on Saturday August 30th around the Marple area to take them in. Watch This Space.

Jane and I are following up leads and looking for some more venues on Monday and I promise we will name more venues next Tuesday.

Tarzan x

Wanted ! - (Monday 7 July)

Beware - the authorities are looking for three suspect looking Northerners - one dressed as Tarzan, one in blonde wig and make up and one disguised as a banana.

They were last seen heading towards Manchester airport and may already have left the country - Interpol have been alerted !

If you do see any of these characters, you should approach them carefully with wad fulls of cash to sponsor their epic adventures or better still you can do it on-line by clicking here, or here or even here !

Jig saws - (Thursday 3 July)

Does anyone still 'do' jigsaws ? You know the ones with a 1000 pieces that you take weeks to put together but at the end of it you have a great inner satisfaction at having achieved something and the picture you have created looks really good and your proud to show it off to anyone who is unfortunate enough to know you !

Or is everything these days computer graphics, shoot 'em up knock em down, MSN messenger, texting where you don't have to talk to anyone or actually physically do anything (is this starting to get a bit philosophical or what ?)

Putting together the Bananathon is a bit like doing a jig saw - in fact its harder than doing a jig saw - we all know what the picture we want to create looks like in our heads, we know when its got to be completed by - but you cant really describe it to everyone else who is helping you look for the right pieces.

Do you get the corner pieces first, or the bits with a straight edge, do you put the ones with a certain colour together, how do you know you wont end up with a missing piece ! (lets not go there)

Jumping forward to September 13th one of the liveliest pieces (can a piece be lively ?) of our jig saw is that well known five piece combo (so in fact that is five pieces of our 1000 piece jig saw all in one go !) known as White Van Man (www.myspace.com/whitevanmanrock) who will be providing some of the evenings entertainment - those that have already seen the band will already know what a great evening lies ahead - those that haven't seen them already - where have you been hiding for the last eight years !!