198 - This time tomorrow i'll be poached ... and i'm against poaching

The last 24 hours before the Virgin London Marathon ... crikey ... where has the last 6 months gone!

In order to chill-out and remember why I've taken on this task I went to London Zoo yesterday, to gain some sagely advice from the Silver-backs...

So what did I learn from the lads?

• You can lie on you back naked, and scratch.
• Picking your nose and eating it in public is allowed;
• If you are disagreeing with someone, you can pull up your rope so they can't get to you;
• My gait is wrong, as i'm not using all four paws.

It was just what I needed, to see the actual creatures i'm running for .. to remind me. 

Their expressions and mannerisms are not at all different from our own, they want to play and are just as curious as we are. It was great to see how much London Zoo share the passion of the Gorilla Organization and are emphasizing the same areas for support.

Later as a surprise for Helen (my ever supportive and resourceful wife) we went to see the Lion King (a night off from Gorillas for her), and a good friend Beth-Monster (long story) had arranged a special back stage tour for us (WOW!) and as it's Helen's birthday next week, Beth 'sneakily' got all the cast to sign a poster for her. I now have a very happy and bouncy wife!!!

Now, it's Saturday and I'm starting to feel nervous, and all the little gremlins of doubt are waving at me, but THRUPPP I say to the gremlins. All the support over the last few months is holding me together ... I can see from my friends on Twitter that they are all sharing the same feelings of panic and excitement, and the banter on there is both hilarious and emotional - check it out  here (you don't even need to have a twitter account).

To keep on with the detractions - tonight my short film 'mISSING pIECES' will be showing at the 'Red Carpet Screenings 2011 International Short Film Festival'  - featuring my furry self running around Basingstoke as a gorilla - I'm really excited about this, and more importantly I get to catch up with my Mum for a bit as she prepares to go into hospital next week to have a pacemaker fitted - we don't do things by half in this family.

So, that's about if for the pre-race banter, panics and celebrations ... next time I blog it will be post VLM whatever that brings... 

It's going to be EPIC!