Thursday, September 25, 2008
They think its all over... (25/09)
Friday, September 19, 2008
Pics and Totals (Friday September 19th)
It will take a while to get all the results up as there are rules and regs regarding collecting the money and physically counting all the buckets of coinage is a huge job in itself. It took me and my daughter over half an hour to count a portion of the half bananathon money so I can't imagine how long this is going to take.
Loads of pictures were taken on the way from various parts of the route by Dave and Darren Nelson, but we won't have them for a few days as Dave is off in Germany taking pictures of Metallica. To say these two gave up their Saturday free gratis is just amazing. Thanks gents.
Piccadilly Gardens Lucozade Stop
The Lucozade Sport support van was a vital part of the bananathon, carrying fuel to keep us going throughout the arduous event. I for one drank five or six bottles during the day and it really helped the team of support runners to keep hydrated. Tom the banana would have flaked out had he not kept drinking as temperatures soared into the seventies ripening his yellow skin.
The idea of a fitness class in the middle of Piccadilly Gardens had been a great one, but with complexities of gaining a licence, not being able to advertise in the immediate vicinity and unavoidably losing our fitness instructor with two days to go it didn't turn out quite as originally planned.
Sunshine studios came to the rescue in the shape of Fay, who hours earlier had taught us how to pole dance. She grabbed the megaphone and barked out orders to the crew whilst a crowd of over-excited Emos grabbed the only parts of me which were left covered as I attempted to work muscles that had been on the go for over seven hours. Fay did a brilliant job leading us through a routine comprising star jumps, lunges and, most evilly, situps.
Morrisons (£650)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sweatshop (£298)
We pulled a raffle for three fantastic prizes (if you haven't heard then I am afraid you didn't win), there was much hilarity when East Cheshire Harriers legend Harry Kelly won second prize as he had coached 'Jane' when he/she was in his teens.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Fir Tree - £1050
One of the noisiest parts of our epic journey was through the busy street of Reddish - a combination of a bear on a motorbike, Tarzan, Jane and the Banana and a plethora of volunteers following brought the centre of Reddish to a standstill - this called for a dual strategy of collectors on both sides of the road getting the cars as they stopped at the traffic lights - it worked a treat - with people shouting, car horns beeping we saw our next stop The Fir Tree and were greeted by the amazing Bananathon Cheerleaders.
Inside the the pub the place was hotting up as preparations for the two big football matches of the day got underway, we even found time to share a quick pint of lager !
A fantastic amount of money was raised over Friday and Saturday night (£1050) as the pub donated the door takings for both nights.
Lots of photo opportunities with Tarzan sprawled across the bar, one lucky punter positioned herself stage left to have a good gawp at his chimp-pants (was it Stotty in disguise?) , 10 minutes later we were on our way again....
Lets hear it for the The Fir Tree Reddish !!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Manchester Casino - £1000
One of my favourite stops on Saturday has to be Manch235ter Casino - real James Bond stuff (not like any of us were dressed like or looked like James Bond).
In through the smoked glass door, with what looked like an excellent restaurant to our left, and then upstairs to find out what our task would be - remember by this time we had run approximately 30 miles so we were hoping for something not too hard and difficult.
We were led by Miss Moneypenny (I cant remember the ladies real name, but Miss Moneypenny fits...) - she led us to a roulette table and asked the croupier to hand each of the three of us £250 in chips (A big of fish and chips would have been welcome at this stage of the day also).
So with £750 in chips we were told we had one spin of the wheel and could bet on evens bets (red or black, odd or even numbers) - after much deliberation we opted for Tom putting his on black and me and Tony on red (Tom Holloway suggested Red because it was LRF's colour)... the wheel was spun, the ball expertly thrown in and with the magic clunking noise the roulette wheel makes as the ball jumps around it landed on........ red !!!
One thousand pounds in the bank !!! Ooohh yes !!! Result
It was counted out for us in crisp new fifty pound notes.
Thank you Manch235ter Casino.
Ebay auctions (15/09)
Verity Rushworth aka Emmerdale's Donna Windsor Dingle Modelling The Watch
Auction One is for a Versace Fabourg Watch donated by Chisholm Hunter. This retails at around £750 and is currently without a bid at a reserve of £400, an absolute bargain for such a beautiful timepiece. There are a number of pictures and a full description on the ebay page.
Auction Two is for a Farida Bass Guitar donated by Dawsons Music in Manchester. This item currently has one bid at £100 but bought from Dawsons would go for £160. Another bargain. Again, details on the ebay page.
If you are interested or know anyone who might be, please bid.
Tarzan x
Silence is golden... (16/09)
Well the first results are starting to roll in so lets start with the silent auction at Tiger Tiger, some excellent prizes donated by some wonderful people. Initial bidding was slow but as the evening wore on and the drink started to flow so did the bids.......
Laptop - £150 - John Hulse
Man U vs Bolton Wanderers - £70 - 'Jane'
Blackburn Rovers vs Man City - £300 - Mike Jackson
Gold Guitar - £120 - John Hulse
Emmerdale script - £151 - J Abbott (Blue Rainbow)
Fine Dining at the Midland - £105 - Tom Holloway
Lucky Voice Pod at Tiger Tiger - £30 - Andy Murphy
Coronation Street Tour - £151 - Will Hannah (Blue Rainbow)
Blue Rainbow - £60
Signed picture of Joe Jordan - £5 - Andy Murphy
Signed picture of Bryan Robson £20 - Chris (Badger) Craig
An amazing total of £1162 - outstanding !
Monday, September 15, 2008
Send us your pics and thoughts
Keep watching
Tarzan
x
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Bananatastic! Saturday September 13th 2008
During the week we will fill you in on all the stories and events from the day and let me tell you, there are many ( one of my favourite moments was talking to Dominic as he DJ'd, he suddenly shifted his gaze to outside the window and shouted "look at that guy" as a man dressed as a gorilla/monkey/creature off Doctor Who passed by on a motorbike, "Oh, that's Brian, he's with us" I replied).
We don't have a total yet, but will have by the end of the week, so keep reading.
So for now it's just a list of Thank You's. If I miss anyone off, I'm sorry, there are so many people to remember.
Thanks to everybody from the half bananathon and all the support we have had from the Media in the build up to the day.
Thanks to everybody from all the venues, we will name people individually in the reports during the week, you were all fantastic, thanks so much for embracing the event as you did (I know two venues who have raised £1,000 so far, amazing!).
Thanks to Suzy Dee and all at Tiger Tiger for a great party. To White Van Man, Lee, DJ Grimesy, Drase (the Manchester Beatbox Champion), FTAV Sound of Harrogate, Charlie & Dom.
Thanks to Puma for the sports wear, Lucozade sport for the support van and product, to Dave and Darren Nelson for photographing the whole event and Channel M for covering the early stages. Blue Rainbow for the beautiful apartments.
Thanks to Talib and Brian for the support vehicles and all the fantastic support runners from Stockport Harriers who carried buckets and collected on the day, some of them running the whole distance; Steve, Gerry, Simon, Andy, John, Sharon, Tony and Lee who also designed and printed the tickets and drank the most Cider at Tiger Tiger.
Massive thanks to the Leukaemia Research Team and all the volunteers who collected, especially Gill, Tom, Serena, Sally, Kate and Alex who took the brunt of the many jobs that needed doing in the build up and on the day.
Thanks to Sean and Tom who have worked so hard for this event over the last few months and to our partners and families who have had to put up with obsessed strangers for the bulk of it.
Thanks to everyone who donated to LRF. You did yourselves and Manchester proud and your money will be well spent.
Tarzan x
Blue Rainbow the morning after, In Steve Jones' pants.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The night before the big day - (12/09)
6:00am start to be at Channel M studios, dash across Manchester to the BBC studios, Tony off to Granada, me and Tom some last minute checks at the venues Manto, Sunshine Studios, American Graffiti and to pick up some evening wear from American Graffiti.
Back home for a quick change, back down Manchester for a team meeting/briefing session, quick bite to eat into Virgin Active to meet a nice chap called Martin - dash down the A6 and A57 putting up posters - bring it on Manchester, bring it on !!!
Friday, September 12, 2008
The last post
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Time for bed
PS. Just had a great email asking for 30 tickets for Tiger Tiger
Auction Two
Matchday Package for 2 people to watch Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers on Saturday 27th September 2008. Package includes Official match ticket, Match Programme, Megastore Discount Voucher and Meal Voucher for Harry Ramsdens. Donated by Co-op Travel, Denton
Matchday Package for Blackburn Rovers versus Manchester City on Sunday 28th December 2008, with a host of extras supplied by Blackburn Rovers FC
A gold Farida electric guitar donated by Dawsons Music. This guitar will be played by White Van Man's very own guitar legend The Twad for one song during the Tiger Tiger
Signed Emmerdale script of the Tom King Murder episode screened on Christmas Day 2006. Signed by Patrick Mower (Rodney), Sian Reece Williams (Gennie) , Steve Halliwell (Zak), Tony Audenshaw (Bob), Andy Devine (Shadrack), Alex Carter (Jamie), Paula Tilbrook (Betty), Billy Hartman (Terry), Duncan Preston (Douglas), Nick Miles (Jimmy King), Steve Farebrother (McNally) and seven more artistes.
Brand new Intel Celeron notebook with Windows XP Home and MS Works plus full one year warranty selling for under £200 (Inc VAT) • Intel Celeron M 350 (1.3GHz) processor, 256MB DDR RAM • 40GB hard disk and combo CD-RW/DVD ROM • 14.1" TFT colour display (1024 x 768 resolution) • Touchpad pointing device, integrated sound and speaker • 4 x USB 2.0 ports, parallel, serial, VGA and PS/2 ports • Internet and e-mail hot keys, Kensington lock security slotSupplied with MS Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works 8.0, NTI CD/DVDMaker and Bullguard Anti-Virus (trial version)
With bonus USB Wifi attachment.
ECS Elitegroup are a large Taiwanese OEM manufacturer of motherboards and notebooks - supplying many household names in the computer trade.
Brand new One year warranty
Further details on the ECS website
Donated by Morgan Computers
Auction One
Three items in a ten minute auction as part of Tarzan's Bananathon
Lot One: An Emmerdale script signed by 16 cast members
Lot Two: A framed photograph of Manchester United Legend Norman Whiteside with signature.
Lot Three: A gallon of beer, provided by the Ape and Apple.
Shopping spree... (11/09)
Great Yorkshire Run - (11/09)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Ticket sales - (10/09)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Music. The Third Instalment.
Music (The Second Instalment)
You can vote for the song you would most like us to play by visiting a special page from Dawson's website here. You can also vote in the shop by ticking the box next to the song you would prefer to hear.
Music. The First Instalment
Monday, September 8, 2008
Who wants to be Number 1 - (08/09)
Spooky
Tarzan
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Mistaken Identity (Saturday September 6th)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Rainbow's End (Sunday September 7th)
Bedroom
just £75 (inc VAT) for a one bedroomed apartment that sleeps two
and just £95 (inc VAT) for a two bedroomed apartment that sleeps four.
The offer goes live on the internet on Monday morning, but if you can't wait until then phone in your booking (again quoting 'Banana') on 0161 236 6439.
Kitchen (Attractive woman with tea towel not included)
These apartments are absolutely fantastic, have a look here to see what you get in the rooms. The two bedroomed apartments have two bathrooms, so only the kitchen and lounge is shared. Four people for £95. That's less than £24 each. It's amazing.
Book early to get the most out of this wonderful offer.
Big, big thanks to Jane at Blue Rainbow and to Suzy at Tiger Tiger for the introduction.
Tarzan
The Final Venue (Friday September 5th)
"I feel very privileged to be contributing to the Bananathon, it will be an incredible accomplishment for Tony, Sean and Tom. They really should be congratulated on all the hard work they have put in.
I was diagnosed with ‘Hairy Cell Leukaemia’ last year. It is quite a rare form of leukaemia and usually affects people much older than me (I’m 30)
Unfortunately, at this stage there is no cure, but the chemotherapy I received last year is keeping the levels of cancer cells in my blood at a low level and as a consequence allowing me to live as normal a life as possible.
Hopefully this will last for a few years at which time I will have some more chemo which should have the same effect. That is unless a drug is developed which can cure this type of leukaemia once and for all.
It is through the Leukaemia Research Fund that future developments in treatment and cure of leukaemia are discovered. It is therefore a charity which is very important to me and my family.
We are so proud to be taking part in this charity event which no doubt will raise a fantastic amount of money to help the thousands of children and adults affected by leukaemia.
Good luck Tony, Sean and Tom!"
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Tickety Boo (Thursday September 4th)
235 is 25 (Wednesday September 3rd)
Those who remember casinos as smoky holes where desperados head for an after hours pint will be amazed at the style and luxury of Manch235ter. It is in all in one contemporary venue with two restaurants, bars, a live music and comedy room and of course a host of gaming. Tucked between Peter Street and Deansgate in The Great Northern, it is a veritable Tardis and well worth a visit for a great night out.
The 'no fancy dress' policy may be an obstacle to overcome or an added incentive to visit at about 5.50pm on Saturday 13th September as Tarzan, Jane and The Banana may end up appearing there in the buff.
Big thanks to Manch235ter. One more venue to go.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
"After six and a bit hours of sheer hell, you're going to get thirsty..." (Tuesday September 2nd)
....isotonic Lucozade Sport" as John Barnes used to say before he kicked his can into the bin. Well he's not the only one who'll be drinking the sports fuel that 'gets to your thirst fast' as Lucozade Sport are really getting behind Tarzan's Bananathon in a big way. Not only are they supplying product to keep us going throughout the ten hours on our feet, they are providing a branded support vehicle to transport our gear through the streets of Manchester.