BLIND DAVE’S BLOG

12-05-2007

Black Country runner Blind Dave Heeley offers more reflections on last month’s London Marathon, as the countdown begins to next years amazing 7/7/7 challenge.

Hello Stirrers,

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and more stories are unfolding from the marathon. It appears my fall is the topic of conversation and the consensus of opinion is I should not have drunk cold water so quickly afterwards - I’ll stay with the Guinness in future!

I was talking to the events manager for Guide Dogs, Pete Emmett, who told me about taking Wicksie for a little walk on the morning of the marathon, when he was looking after him for me.

He took him to a grassed area, in what he thought was St James Park, close to the palace. Debb told Pete that Wicksie had been a good lad in the park by the hotel, doing all his ablutions and she had cleaned up as she always does, so Pete had no worries that way.

As Pete came across some railings with a gap underneath for Wicksie to get through and knowing Wicksie’s recall was very good, he let him go for a run and a stretch of the legs.

Suddenly, he had a tap on the shoulder from two coppers, who asked him what he was doing here. Peter, thinking quickly, told them it was a guide dog and his owner was running in the marathon and it was safer for £35,000 worth of dog to run safely in this area than by a road.

The coppers politely warned him not to do it again, and Peter was emphatic that the dog wouldn’t do any thing - there was certainly no worry of that, he’d been earlier in the day. But of course, Wicksie being Wicksie, the next minute he stooped. Peter told me he was praying for Wicksie not to do any thing, but he did - and what a mound!

Peter, red faced simply looked at the coppers and shrugged his shoulders and said nothing. Wicksie came back very obediently, and Pete thought he was actually smiling. Fortunately, the coppers were smiling as well and told him to go on his way. Pete mentioned my name apparently, through gritted teeth!

Steve, another of the Guide Dog helpers at the marathon, told me of his embarrassing moment - it was the wrong thing to do mention it to me.

Steve had just passed the finish line directing the Guide Dog runners to the reception area. Now Steve is a rather large gent, around 26 stone large! He had been standing relatively still for around 5 hours and he was told there was only one more of our runners to come in.

As soon as the lady in question had finished, he told me he started to escort her to the reception point. Unnfortunately he forgot that he hadn’t moved for over 5 hours and to his surprise his legs ached and basically wouldn’t move very easily.

He carried the young lady’s bag and when they came to the steps at the entrance to the park (and there were quite a lot of them) he just hoped and prayed she wouldn’t ask him to help her up, as he was struggling more than she was to climb them. He told me he felt so embarrassed; she had just run 26.2 miles and was still in better shape than he was. In the reception area, he almost asked for a massage, but thought better of it.

That’s the marathon over and the next challenge picks up more momentum. Central TV did us proud, filming an item for the local news. The crew arrived on the Tuesday morning, and it was just like the movies. The street was full of technicians’ cars - well one any way.

The canteen arrived, just like it does for the stars (ie two coffees, one glass of water and my box of biscuits). And then the scene was set in our kitchen; all the team put their heads together to sort out the best plan of action, and Mac and myself were told what to do.

We ran up the street, down the street, up the street, round the corner, off the kerb, on the kerb. Sandy, the reporter, joined us from off someone’s drive - Star Wars eat your heart out. The technical department was fantastic - well the one cameraman was very busy.

He shot us from every conceivable angle to make believe there were cameras everywhere. In fact it was nothing like the movies, but it got the curtains twitching in our street and after running here, there and everywhere, I couldn’t believe I’d lost my bearings two streets from my own house. Yes, lost again, mind this time through no fault of Wicksie’s; on this occasion it was down to Mac.

We took two hours to film for approximately two minutes on the Central news, but to be honest it was great publicity for the challenge ahead and I must admit, joking apart it was interesting to talk to the reporter and camera man, finding out how the filming was done and how they put it all together in such a short time.

We had two spots, the midday news and then again at 6.30. Debb and the girls and watched it - as did just about everyone else we could think of to phone. Well, why not? It’s not every day we get to appear on the TV - mind with a face like mine and certainly one like Mac’s, we’ve been told to only do radio in future - cheeky so and so’s.

Since the marathon it’s been a little busy with talks. I got invited back to school twice in one week - first to talk with the younger students and then with the 6th formers, of my old high school, George Salter’s.

It’s incredible to think I left there nearly 33 years ago. Am I really an old fossil? Where’s the time gone? Mind, I don’t feel like an old fossil but I’m told I sure look like one - there’s definitely some cheeky so and so’s about this week.

I was invited in to take part in the school assembly, and it was certainly different being greeted with, “Good morning Mr. Heeley, thanks for coming and would you like a cup of tea”.

The last time I was at school, it was Master Heeley and the only invitation was for the stick!

I was told the layout of the school was still pretty well the same but I was very surprised to feel carpet under foot in the corridors - no carpets in our day, just good old fashioned lino - but there’s no getting away from the smell of a school and the hall seemed the same. The only difference was that there are plastic chairs instead of long benches.

Sitting at the front of the hall I wondered if any kids present were offspring of people I went to school with.

Sitting listening and talking about what I’d done and what I was about to do next year with the 777 challenge (which I must add created a lot of interest) my mind wondered back all those years to what I’d done, what I’d achieved and what mischief I’d got up to.

Yes, although we don’t admit to it at the time, some good years were spent at school and I wonder how many of my reports said, “should have tried harder”. That saying still haunts me as Deb keeps on saying to me every time I do some job or other “you must try harder!”

I’ve been invited back again, because I’m told my talk stunned the kids into silence. To be fair, I think they took one look at Wicksie and wondered! Still the next talk is to the special needs kids and I will bring in all my talking gadgets. Hopefully that will entertain them - it entertains me. I’m still trying to fathom out how to work them, so it will certainly be an interesting talk.

Now let me tell you about “Our Jane”. You might remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned Debb and “The Neighbour” were going out at night exercising their jaws, er, I mean power walking. Well Jane is the neighbour, and I was told in no uncertain terms, it’s Jane, so remember to say hello to Jane, and don’t forget she’s not “the neighbour” it’s JANE!

Well that’s it for another fast and furious week. The next DIY project’s in my head -well in fact it’s more than that, I’m picking the timber up this week so I’ll let you know how I’m getting on soon.

So with Ken Livingstone chasing me for the price of a new slab, New Scotland Yard now chasing me with a pooper scooper, I’m going back to school definitely to do the next talk or I’ll have the truant man after me, the next programme you’ll see me on at this rate is “Police Five”. So here’s Blind Dave the convict signing off for another week.

Blind Dave needs your help in reaching his target of £70,000 so that he can become the first disabled athlete to run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents next April. Send a donation via www.justgiving.com/777