Can Kidz? Of course KidzCan!

We had several responses to the question of the collective noun for a group of grasshoppers - the first past the post being from 'Berea Digital Collection' in South Africa - who suggested "cloud". Hmmm - not so sure. How can a cloud be flopping about on the ground as my grasshoppers have been doing all week? (Though possibly that would be a "fog of grasshoppers"?)

From Robin Steinert in America we had "riot", and from my kitchen staff we had "munch". However I do think that a "munch of grasshoppers" is more wishful thinking than with any basis in fact!

It was, indeed, my own suggestion that was selected as the correct terminology - "hop". Quite honestly, a "hop of grasshoppers" simply sounds right, and so I have given myself the prize of a week in Penhalonga - with very few expenses paid!

Sorry for that.

Now today's blog. Earlier this month I lost my camera - and during that period I travelled to Peterhouse, the boarding school that my children attend, for the 'Jenny Calderwood Memorial Run/Walk'. Today's pics are therefore thanks to Catriona Borman who sent them through to me.

This is a fund-raising function for KidzCan - an organisation which assists with looking after children with cancer. The function is named after the wife of the previous Rector who passed away from cancer, and is growing from strength to strength every year.

Everyone who attends this particular KidzCan function pays money to walk or run either 5km or 10km through the Marondera bush. At the start, everyone also buys a helium-filled balloon, and these are released just before the walk/run. This year there was a very moving speech by a father who had lost his child to cancer while the child was still at school.

The signal for everyone to release their orange balloons was a bubble of balloons (bet you didn't know that 'bubble' is the collective noun for a bunch of balloons??) floating into the sky - and pretty soon they were overtaken by the solo balloons....

At the given signal - everyone released their balloons in relays (totally unplanned) - and they were let go over a 10 minute period, such that the first ones were out of sight by the time the last ones slowly drifted skywards....

Once the balloons were aloft - everyone set out to run or walk. This is the start of the 5km walking crowd making its way through the African bush - by the end of the walk, the line spread back well over a kilometre and a half.

So this week's question is this - just how many people ran/walked for kids with cancer? Obviously the correct answer will win this weeks prize - which be a chance to wear my clothes for a day. In order to calculate the correct number - just count the heads - this is roughly a quarter of the crowd, and then multiply your answer by four.......

Isn't community spirit such a wonderful thing? Congratulations to Peterhouse and KidzCan for a truly wonderful and uplifting event.

Have a great day yourselves!