RABIES

What a week! The busiest pre-India week yet began with the start of my luxury free for three challenge. This is a task I set myself to surrender luxuries for three weeks. The first five days were to be lived iPhone-less. Now, as any iPhone or smartphone user will know, that little machine of wonders is the new-age Holy Book. Aside from the obvious lack of tweeting and the annoyance at myself for my instinctive search for the thing in-between clients at work, I generally found it quite easy. It is incredible how much we use smartphones within this digital age.

I'm now in my second week of "luxury free for three" - the living below the line part. Over the next five days, I will be living on less than £1 a day on food & drink. My good friend & colleague Aziza took me to do my shop and, with her help & nutritional advice, I managed to get a weeks food on £4.99 - a whole 1p spare. I'll update you on how it goes in my next post.

As much as this will be good practise, there is a purpose to going luxury free - fundraising! If you wish to sponsor me, visit http://www.JustGiving.com/BambiRaleigh and please give what you can!

What else is happening? Well, I'm 1/3 more protected from Rabies than I was 7 days ago. There's something exciting for you. I've begun the immunisation course for this and fortunately, because of my backpacking trip to Thailand last year, it's the only jab I need this time round.

I've had medical clearance from my GP, so I'm officially fit enough & insurable for India. The doc was kind enough to countersign the med form free of charge as it's for charity - that was nice.

Another huge moment from the past week has been successfully hitting over 75% of my fundraising total! Completely overwhelming - even more so as this has been raised in less than 4 weeks! This takes the total sum to over £600 and I'm now only £200 away from my goal.

Thank you so much to everybody who has donated, you're changing lives and changing worlds. Thank you!

I've been continuing to organise That Friday Feeling and have been busy advertising, sorting a press release and selling the first tickets. If you want to find out more or purchase tickets, visit the Eventbrite page

It's exciting arranging my own event and I can't wait to throw one hell of a party!

As I write this, I'm clawing my eyes open to avoid the temptations of sleep. The weekend just passed has been fantabulous, celebrating my dear friend Millie's 22nd birthday alongside her friends and family with a superb meal on Friday night at Little Bay in Brighton (a wonderful hybrid of opera and food, being serenaded over a tantalizing three course dinner) followed by an antic-filled Saturday night of live music and Tuaca. We headed to see Brother & Bones - this uber cool bang Mill & I saw in Camden a few months back, imagine a cross between Mumford & Sons and Red Hot Chilli Peppers and you're halfway there. Fantastic and utterly ear-pleasing. After heading onto a club and the kebab shop, the night ended passed out on the living room floor. I love Saturdays.

All-in-all, the best weekend in a long time and too much craziness for me to write (or even want to write #whathappensinBrighton)

So, yes. Another week of preparation ahead, and I can assure you I'll be very hungry and still hungover!

Please excuse me, my bed and Footprint India are calling..

Ciao