Goat of a chance (From Bournemouth Echo)

Goat of a chance

7:00pm Thursday 9th July 2009 in

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TALK about a nanny state… Local woman Nicky Croom is raising money for charity using the help of some local GOATS (and we’re not kidding).

The 27-year-old from Bere Regis has organised a special goat-themed day to be held at Farmer Palmers on August 4.

Nicky and 10 friends in the south have pledged to raise £100,000 for the charities Help for Heroes and Cancer Research. In October next year they will face a gruelling 10-day trek up Kilimanjaro in Tanzania – a task which gave Nicky the idea for the fun-filled local day.

“I wanted a quirky idea to help raise money while we prepared for Kilimanjaro,” she explained. “I pondered over things which might be connected to mountains and then thought: I know! Goats!”

Sandra Palmer of Farmer Palmers was only too pleased to back the Who’s Got Your Goat? campaign and dozens of live little goats will be waiting to meet visitors at the event.

There’ll be goat face painting, mask-making workshops, and informative talks about this loveable animal.

It’s also a chance to take home your very own cuddly Gillie the Goat for just £3. Money raised will go toward the charities Help for Heroes and Cancer Research, as well as the Tank Museum in Bovington where Nicky is an events co-ordinator. “I signed up for the Kilimanjaro trek with Help for Heroes in mind, while a friend of mine wanted to raise money for a cancer charity,” she said. “We thought we’d pool our resources and enlist some more people to come on the trek to help raise money.”

Help for Heroes is a charity formed to help those who have been wounded in Britain’s current conflicts. “I am constantly being reminded of the military’s work and their sacrifice, having worked at the Tank Museum for a number of years,” said Nicky. “We have many visitors to the museum who have lost limbs, and we speak to families whose loved ones have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Nicky and her companions will take the steep Machame route up Kilimanjaro – the highest mountain in Africa and the highest ‘walkable’ mountain in the world.

They will face very different environmental extremes, including desert, rainforest, scree and snow, and a 20-degree temperature difference between the base of the mountain and the summit.

“We need to take double the kit – for hot and cold temperatures and face the risk of altitude sickness.

“We won’t be able to wash properly for 10 days and there are no toilets.

“The thing I’m worried about most is the creepy-crawlies coming into our tents at night. We’ll have to check our shoes every morning.

“But it will be a small price to pay to raise money for such good causes.”

• No ifs or butts. No bleating around the bush. Hoof it to Farmer Palmers on Tuesday August 4 for the special goat day running alongside the farm’s usual activities.

If you’d like more information, or to buy a Gillie the Goat, contact Nicky Croom on 07900 321 703.