Cunning Money

Huge thanks to Cliff D'Arcy, an erstwhile full-time Fool, now plying his trade as a freelance financial writer and broadcaster

What for?

Despite only recently starting out with his own company, Cunning Money Limited, Cliff has very kindly donated some of his hard earned dosh to World Vision for the Kili 5's attempt to climb Kilimanjaro in February 2007

How's that for generosity of spirit!

Thanks, Cliff...and good luck out there on the mean streets of financial journalism

Have you hugged a mountain today?

Beach, forest, lake...or mountain?

Sand, wood, water...or granite?

Which floats your boat, rattles your cage or yanks your chain?

Prefer slopping suntan lotion on your pale wobbly bits and rolling over after every 15 pages of the latest Sophie Kinsella chick-lit bonk-fest novel;

bonding with the family in a drafty log cabin in the middle of a vast Scandinavian forest, eating another plate of pickled herring while Sophie (10) and James (12) argue about who's going to use the laptop instead of going for yet another canoe trip on the deserted lake;

or yomping amongst snow-tipped peaks, rucksacks laden with hard-boiled eggs and baguettes stuffed with local ham and cheese, stretching your hamstrings for 5 hours at the same time as the blank canvas of your mind?

OK, so I've loaded the question just a tad....but I have definitely been seduced by mountains in recent years

It wasn't always like this. Probably just an age thing. Mention walking, or climbing or, worse, camping a few years ago and I would have slapped you in the face with my sodden Bacardi towel, dripping from a cooling swim on Elbow Beach under the midday sun

Yet here we are, planning a slow painful trek up nearly 20,000 feet of African volcano. And I can't wait. I almost want to hug a mountain as soon as I see one, and I just know I'm going to fall in love with Kilimanjaro on the first date, especially after exploring her forests, plains, heaths and crevasses with ever increasing breathlessness

Hopefully the climax will be reaching the summit at Uhuru peak as the sun bursts into life over the Serengeti landscape a long, long way below. But there's every chance that I'll be dumped before then, leaving a sad old man rejected by the timeless beauty of the proud mountain like many before me, out of oxygen but ridiculously still in love and awe

I wonder if Interflora would deliver a nice seasonal bouquet to Tanzania next week...

Wow! Sponsorship update

Wow...and not just at this stunning picture of the sun rising below the clouds and the mountain peak

Still just over a year to go to departure date for the Kili 5's assault on Mount Kilimanjaro - February 23, 2007 - and I'm really pleased to confirm that over £1,000 has already been committed or pledged to World Vision

Read this post last week for more details of who, why, how and when we're aiming for a target of £25,000

Early kind sponsors are Ed and Mon Murray, my Mum and Dad (aka Eve and Ralph Morris), Bruce and The Motley Fool (listen to this audio blog for a hi-tech verbal thank you), Janet Cooper at Linklaters and Rob Hubbard from Arc 1950 - many thanks to all of you for your generosity of spirit and wallet

I'll post regular news of progress (hopefully) towards the target of £25,000, and also update this blog with any more information about the specific projects in Tanzania that these funds will help, thanks to World Vision

That's it for now and huge thanks once more to everyone who has, is thinking of, or definitely will help us on the way to the target...and just click the link on the right sidebar Sponsor Andrew here or here for the charity giving page

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give

Winston Churchill