tag:,2008:/355 2007-10-23T09:26:33Z While I'm holding my breath back home Movable Type 3.31 tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.28256 2007-10-22T21:37:41Z 2007-10-23T09:26:33Z

It was going to be a crazy day - I just could sense it! The story of Mike performing the highest gig in the world was just about hitting the news wires and by the time I had dropped Dylan...

Jules Peters It was going to be a crazy day - I just could sense it! The story of Mike performing the highest gig in the world was just about hitting the news wires and by the time I had dropped Dylan off at school (discussing Alun the bear's travels with Dylan's teacher on the way) my blackberry was buzzing! I love days like this. It's such an adrenaline rush, following up leads and trying to maximise every moment. I hadn't heard from Mike since early Sunday morning. The line had gone dead. The website www.everestrocks.com was silent. I had no idea what Mike’s circumstances were. I rushed to the office with Evan in tow and began making calls and firing off emails. In America, news of Mike’s concert had hit the front page of Life section of USA Today! Tomorrow, rumour has it that TV show Good Morning America will cover Everest Rocks. Here in the UK, Radio 5 Live called me to try and arrange a telephone conversation with Mike. The calls went back and forth until we decided to hold off and try again tomorrow. Even the British Armed Forces Radio called for an interview and by early afternoon, I received an email to say that Sky news were keen to speak with Mike. I managed to get hold of Mike at Base Camp and by the time he had said “Hello Dylan, Hello Evan” we lost the contact again. Sky news wasn’t able to make contact but nevertheless ran a feature at 4.30pm showing stills from the Everest Rocks website. It looked very poignant and luckily I was able to catch it on TV live. It was a chaotic moment with the children running riot, Dylan kissing the TV, phones ringing, emails pinging... Back at home, Wales Today rounded up the programme with a similar news piece to Sky News and I finished up my day emailing and calling as many people as possible to spread the word. Our national Welsh paper was keen to run a big piece tomorrow and download photos of Mike on top of the world with Alun the bear in tow! Unbelievably www.everestrocks.com had crashed under the force of hits and finally after a lot of scraping around I was able to lay my hands on a couple of Base Camp concert photos and email them direct to the journalist, Roland Hughes. Fingers crossed, in time for publication and hot off the press tomorrow. The best thing about days like this is the team work. Everyone working together to a common cause. Humanity at its best. I’m still working away right now but it’s all worth it. Mike and I have arranged to attempt a phone call tomorrow at 10am and I already have half a dozen phone interviews set up for him. Katrina (Love Hope Strength UK PR) and I have even planned a day of interviews for Mike on Halloween once he has landed at Heathrow airport! Whilst the crazy day was spiralling I was lucky enough to have Dylan and Evan sharing in the moment. As Mike smiled down from the TV screen, I noticed a speck of white as Evan beamed back at his virtual Daddy. In the two weeks since Daddy had been away, I realised that Evan is now the proud owner of two front teeth! Time for Daddy to come home. As Mike said in his last daily blog “the world is sitting up and taking notice……… if this is what we have to do to get the message across to the world then let’s do it again. I am proud to have walked with every single one of you and I would hope to walk with you again in the future. Let’s go home!!!” Indeed. Come home soon, Daddy. We miss you! tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.28225 2007-10-22T13:35:01Z 2007-10-23T09:26:56Z

I've just spoken with Michael Leslie Peters very briefly and he announced breathlessly that they had just performed the highest gig in the world. I was holding Evan in my arms and Dylan was wrapped around my legs at the...

Jules Peters I've just spoken with Michael Leslie Peters very briefly and he announced breathlessly that they had just performed the highest gig in the world. I was holding Evan in my arms and Dylan was wrapped around my legs at the time so it was difficult to share truly in the full magnitude of the achievement! Mike’s speaking voice has sounded so strange for days now that often I have not been fully convinced that I am actually communicating with my husband at all! What an achievement though in retrospect! I must give thanks that Mike, through all his recent health battles, has been able to fulfill such a life changing ambition. I can tell from my brief punctuated conversations over the last couple of weeks that this whole experience has changed him forever. Hopefully, the Everest Rocks event has helped to show the world that cancer does not have to be the end of the road. I have no idea what is in store for Mike and I as a family with regards to cancer but I can only hope that if the going gets tough I will be able to draw strength myself from events like this. Who knows what beckons for 2008! To the toppermost of the poppermost! tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.28218 2007-10-22T13:13:59Z 2007-10-23T09:27:21Z

I didn't speak with Mike today so I can only hope and pray that all is well out there in Base Camp. I feel relaxed and confident that everything is ok. I'm a firm believer in trusting one's instincts....

Jules Peters I didn't speak with Mike today so I can only hope and pray that all is well out there in Base Camp. I feel relaxed and confident that everything is ok. I'm a firm believer in trusting one's instincts. I heard him on BBC Radio Wales in the morning and I felt happy that we had succeeded in making the connection. Mike still sounded like he had a sock over his head but it was great to hear him nonetheless. Dylan and Evan played on in the foreground, oblivious to the magnitude of the moment. Today is another glorious day in Wales. We have experienced the most magical October. This Technicolor October has definitely made Mike’s absence easier to bear. Dylan had another play date today (his social life is clearly better than mine right now!) and so after mopping up on rock and roll jobs I took advantage of Dylan’s absence to catch up with an old school friend (Hello Maria!) My life is like “Friends Reunited”.I only need to step into my local High Street to encounter somebody that I grew up with. I like that. It suits me. I’m big on roots. I like belonging. It’s reassuring. Mike feels the same way. Mike left for London to try and make it but he forever headed back up the M1 to Wales at weekends, even at the peak of his success. We both share an intense love of all things North Wales and I assume this is why our relationship works so well. We have an understanding of each other that is so primeval it’s very difficult to shake. Our upbringing is so similar and we share so many emotional touchstones. To stand above Prestatyn at Gwaenysgor Hill and look out at the spectacular view mesmerizes the both of us. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of views Mike had encountered in the last few weeks. No matter how spine tingling Everest has been, I knew that Mike would still be missing the greatest view of all, back home. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.28220 2007-10-22T13:00:24Z 2007-10-23T09:27:50Z

Friday the 19th was a full on work day for me. Dylan was being cared for after school by Mike's Mum, otherwise known as Nana Marj. Evan was sleeping and playing alongside me in the office.I was tying up all...

Jules Peters Friday the 19th was a full on work day for me. Dylan was being cared for after school by Mike's Mum, otherwise known as Nana Marj. Evan was sleeping and playing alongside me in the office.I was tying up all the loose ends on the Spirit of 86 DVD, the Gathering DVD, a database mail out and the latest ep release from Counter Attack. There is hardly a moment to draw breath and I have taken to writing everything down in lists on the back of an MPO envelope (Thanks Lulu for the helpful tip!) I am missing Mike but as time elapses it’s uncanny how one’s memory plays tricks and you remember your loved one less and less. Real life takes over and it becomes more and more difficult to visualize our nearest and dearest. I have forgotten what Mike looks like and feels like. I am so firmly entrenched in my new single life that I cannot imagine Mike re-entering. It’s the closest thing to experiencing death in a way. You have to remember that I have visualized losing Mike in very real terms fairly recently. I’m sure it messes with your head to face losing your loved one at an early age. I’ve faced this twice in the last 10 years in very real graphic terms and I’m certain it has made me more vulnerable and yet realistic in many ways. I have observed and experienced emotions that should only truly be revealed much later in life. I don’t mean to sound emotionally self indulgent. Far from it – I am just trying to explain how my life has been forever changed by cancer. The first time I watched Mike being treated at Bangor Hospital (Ysbyty Gwynedd) by leukapherisis to try and reduce his white blood count from a terrifying half a million to a less life threatening and normal range (A normal red blood count varies slightly between laboratories but is generally between 4,300 and 10,800 cells per cubic millimeter) in December 2005, I felt like my heart was being ripped out and pummelled into a million pieces. Mike fainted at one point as he was lying in bed and in my naivety I actually thought he was dead! I felt like my life was over. Complete blackness. I had Dylan, all I ever wanted but I faced losing Mike, all I ever wanted. After this treatment and Mike was stronger but still very poorly with a high white blood count, we took a trip to London for a second opinion. We were sinking under all the medical jargon and didn’t know which way to turn. I remember, crying silent tears all the way back to Wales after we were told that we should ignore our local hospitals and go for immediate transplant (We chose to follow our North Wales doctors’ advice). I look back on those times and still feel afraid by the memories. The fear of those times and the fear that still resides within me is what makes me want to allay myself with Love Hope Strength, despite missing Mike more than words can say. In my time of sorrow, I just wanted one glimmer of love hope strength to sustain me. If Mike can do this for others through his actions then it will all be worth it. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.28135 2007-10-21T21:10:35Z 2007-10-23T09:28:13Z

The day started well with another peachy sunrise together with suggestions that Jose wanted the England job. The football season and countless matches could become all the more bearable with this potential appointment. Please God....

Jules Peters The day started well with another peachy sunrise together with suggestions that Jose wanted the England job. The football season and countless matches could become all the more bearable with this potential appointment. Please God. It was another splendid day and after the school run, I thrust Evan in the pram and took a ferocious walk at speed around the tangoing village to clear my head and set me up for the day with my hiking partner in crime (Lovely Lulu). I had given up calling Mike. I just didn’t have the time to dial the numerous digits to be told that I couldn’t be connected. Too time consuming and too annoying! It was a race against time. Trying to run a professional office and raise Dylan and Evan is forever challenging. Dylan had experienced his first sleep over last night aged 3 and a half. All had run smoothly but I missed him more than words could say even though he was only just down the road. I don’t think Evan and I had spent a night just the two of us since I had given birth nine months ago in January, My plans to check the master CDs and DVDs for our forthcoming releases were smashed to the ground by a series of phone calls to my alpha Female Blackberry. BBC’s flagship Saturday morning radio programme were very keen to speak with Mike from Base Camp. We had already failed with BBC Radio 2 and Janice Long so I was keen to make this a successful link up as I had previously worked with BBC Radio Wales’ producer on Snowdon Rocks n June. We exchanged phone numbers and I agreed to be on call should communication break down on Saturday morning. Coast FM, North Wales’s premier radio programme called me next, frustrated as they had still been unable to speak with Mike on his satellite phone. They asked if I would be interviewed instead and so with Dylan and Evan in the background (being cared for by one of my trusty girl friends (Diolch Del) I took an impromptu interview about Mike and Everest which they planned to broadcast every hour tomorrow morning as a news item. The Daily Post were chasing Mike’s daily blog and several other radio programmes and newspapers were trying to track Mike down. I felt seriously jaded after my daily sleep deprivation and could only try and inspire the press to keep calling the satellilte phone in the hope of a lucky communication break! Dylan and Evan were shattered too and by 7pm they were both out for the count. Dylan was still convinced that Daddy was in New York playing a concert in the clouds for the poor children. He has been such a good boy and I’m sure Mike will notice a huge difference in his development once he returns. He’s quite the little man these days. How time flies. My neighbour and tiara maker friend (handy if I ever get married again) (Hello Nic) came round to join me for a well-earned end of the week cerveza especial and by 11pm, I flopped into bed with the comforting knowledge that only a couple of hours of sleep lay ahead before the night shift beckoned. It was all fine though. The sunset in shades of chocolate orange made everything worth it. A splendid ending to a splendid day. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.28118 2007-10-21T11:19:17Z 2007-10-23T09:28:44Z

Weds Oct 17th Are they even in India? Each day I try to walk around my neighbourhood. Our walks are quite spectacular and the last few days have been breathtaking. In the mornings, I’m treated to a watercolour view from...

Jules Peters Weds Oct 17th Are they even in India? Each day I try to walk around my neighbourhood. Our walks are quite spectacular and the last few days have been breathtaking. In the mornings, I’m treated to a watercolour view from my window as if the Vale of Clwyd has been painted especially for me. To step outside is like wading into an explosion of the senses. At the moment, the colours are purple, orange, navy and olive. The view is like my religion. It is there for me always and soothes me in times of trouble and times of joy. It has been my barometer through all life’s trials and tribulations and when I leave Wales, I miss my view. Desperately. Dylan is asking less and less about his Daddy. He has finally accepted that his Dad is doing a ‘gig’ somewhere in the clouds and is quite content that this may take some time. I’m amazed at how smooth a transition this has been, especially considering that Dylan is such a Daddy’s boy. Evan smiles all day and really is a gift. Evan looks like the Peters side of the family and Dylan is me through and through (poor boy). Whilst Mike is away, I have been communicating with lots of friends and family who have been amazingly supportive. One joke we have is that Mike is not really in the Himalaya at all. One of my good mates who has a member of the family on the trek with Mike emailed me to say “i personally do not think they are even in India! I think they brought some back drops and are actually on a "alternative lifestyle cruise" “ :) Go figure! I personally think they are on a Himalaya-styled 18 to 30 type holiday (even though Mike and many of his trekkers are heading closer to 50!). My friends suggest that I create a banking situation whereby I now ‘bank the credit’ for three weeks of the husband being away. Even Mike himself suggested that I should book a trip away. Ummm... Where would I go...? 3 weeks on a tropical isle with Jose Mourinho (ex Chelsea Manager) perhaps? (Can you imagine how devastated I was a few weeks ago when I claimed our MUFC season tickets for myself the for Man Utd V Chelsea game in the hope of catching Jose’s inimitable managerial style up close and personal from our ‘backstage’ seats, only to have Jose ‘resign’ the day before!!!!!) My apologies, I digress. Michael Peters has clearly been away before too long! However, I can’t imagine me ever leaving my boys and my view. Well, not for 3 weeks, anyway. I think I will have to use up my credit and drip feed it over many single days and nights away instead... Today, I overlooked the masters for Spirit of 86 which is about to be manufactured for a November 5th release. It’s a spectacular piece of film and features 4 separate individual voiceovers from original Alarm members, Dave, Nigel and Eddie. Our sound guy, Martin Wilding and film boys, Paul Sutherland and Rob Spaulding ) have weaved their magic over a magical day which happened over 21 years ago. I was watching the performance and thought about the reality of cancer as three members of the band have been very brutally affected by cancer. This is why it is so important for Mike to be doing what he does best – leading the battle against this dreadful disease and giving hope to others to prove that there can be life after cancer. So as I headed to bed alone but not really alone I looked out at the inky night glimmering with silver stars and I wished Mike and the team health and happiness. After all that’s all we can ask for. A bit of love hope and strength is all that we need. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.28081 2007-10-19T22:43:26Z 2007-10-23T09:29:08Z

Tues Oct 16th - For Better For Worse I felt worse this morning and decided to visit the Doctor straight after the school run. I had a chest infection and needed antibiotics. I was almost relieved that Mike wasn't around...

Jules Peters Tues Oct 16th - For Better For Worse I felt worse this morning and decided to visit the Doctor straight after the school run. I had a chest infection and needed antibiotics. I was almost relieved that Mike wasn't around as I know illness stuff like this makes me very nervous. No doubt, time will help and I will learn to manage illnesses better and be less inclined to wrap Mike in cotton wool. Leukeamia has definitely changed our lives. Nothing will ever be the same again. Mostly for the better. Sometimes for the worse. We will always be vigilant and we will never take anything for granted. To face losing your loved one has to be the biggest reality check of all. Learning to live with the reality is the biggest test of all. On the positive side, hopefully our newfound healthy life will ensure that Mike sticks around for a long long time to come! I finally heard from Mike on the satellite phone and the conversation predictably went: M: Hi can you hear me? J: Yes, I can hear you - Can you hear me? M: Yes, can you hear me - Can you hear me? J: I can hear you YES – can you hear me???? And on! Until I wondered if there was any point in us speaking at all! Whilst I was in the doctor’s surgery, my phone was buzzing with messages from Nick Harper’s PR, Linn. (Nick is a super talented musician on trek with Mike). Linn was in the middle of setting up an interview between the trekkers and Janice Long’s show at Radio 2 (Well played, Linn!) Linn needed my help in trying to communicate with Mike and the gang in order that we could establish a line of communication between the BBC and Mike. This was proving to be more difficult than I anticipated as communication via satellite phone and Wales was extremely frustrating. Behind me in the queue was a host of media people trying and failing to speak with Mike. I had planned to do yoga tonight and empty my mind but baby-sitting challenges and my chest infection determined that my mind would remain full and no stretching for me tonight. I have become fond of a bit of stretching and mind-emptying. It’s good for the soul. Tonight though, the Gods on high had other plans for me which included finishing off my jobs that had not been completed for the day. I’d have to save my stretching and mind-emptying for bed. Heading into the night has become the opposite of restful since giving birth to two boys. I don’t think Mothers ever truly relax and since Dylan and Evan settle well at 7pm, I’m lucky in one respect, but as breast-fed babies, Dylan (not currently breast fed, I hasten to add!) wakes at least once and Evan (currently breast fed!) still several times. I haven’t had a full night sleep in over 3.5 years!!!! Sleep deprivation. Wow! A whole new experience. Pre-Dylan and Evan, I could sleep whenever I pleased and I could have a lie-in!!!! What an eccentric idea. I view 8am as a lie-in these days. 12 noon is like late afternoon. 5pm is supper time and 11pm is like the middle of the night! Going to sleep, knowing you are going to be awake every few hours is a nervous-making atmosphere. I know, I probably should have been sterner and implemented the 'controlled crying' technique but it wasn’t for me. I didn’t fancy going through all those horrendous IVF attempts to then let my babies cry, ‘Gina Ford’ style. I can see it working for some but for me it suited to bring the boys into bed. So here I am , home alone but tucked up with my precious cargo at some stage during the night. Everything is worth it at that moment when I have them both cradled in the crook of my arms and I look out at the starry vale of Clwyd with the sea and the mountains laid before me. I can do ‘sleep deprived’. Well, for a few more years at least ;) When people stop me in the street to marvel at how brave Mike is going to Base Camp, I sometimes chuckle to myself on behalf of all mothers out there, and think, what?... Mike has to sit on a plane for 14 hours (oh, to read a book, watch a film), Mike has to trek each day (oh, unninterrupted conversation), Mike has to sleep each night in lodges (oh, uninterrupted sleep!) You get my drift.... ;) As I popped another tablet I wished my Mikey Boy Peters good health wherever he may be tonight enjoying his new child-free, sleep-full environment and hoped that one day I would take Dylan and Evan to retread Mike’s footsteps, for better for worse. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.27892 2007-10-18T20:48:50Z 2007-10-23T09:29:53Z

Mon 15th Oct One Step Closer Monday morning and the school run. A whole new world for me! I love it! I loved school, back in my day and now I love walking into school with Dylan and Evan, throuh...

Jules Peters Mon 15th Oct One Step Closer Monday morning and the school run. A whole new world for me! I love it! I loved school, back in my day and now I love walking into school with Dylan and Evan, throuh the Autumn leaves, chatting about the week ahead. Dylan's teacher enquired about Alun and we discussed the possibility of broadcasting one of the Everest podcasts featuring Alun to the class in the assembly hall. I felt under the weather today, a bit below par and after worrying about Mike catching an illness in the run up to Everest, it seemed that I was the victim instead. I felt exhausted. Must have been all the bed hopping and tiring run up to Mike’s departure for Base Camp. I needed to nip this in the bud as I couldn’t afford to be poorly with Dylan and Evan in tow. I decided to monitor the situation after a day in the office. Thankfully, the boys seemed in good spirits and healthy, touch wood. Evan often comes into the office with me and can be heard cooing happily in the background. It’s a 24 hour job, running MPO and managing all things Alarm. The day is never done and it is difficult to switch off. The positive side is that I can come and go as I please, especially now I have my blackberry in tow. Alpha femail and all that ;) The office is always busy with a varied collection of calls and emails from Alarm fans all over the world. We try and answer everyone as best we can. Running alongside the fanbase element of the office, is the production side of things (we currently have four projects on the go, all of which need checking and managing - the mix, artwork, manufacturing etc.) We also have the management of tours and the production of one-off events like The Gathering to concentrate upon. It’s never-ending. Today was to be a busy day which immediately started off badly when all our internet connections went down. Full on frustration! I had a chest infection. I couldn’t get on line! I couldn’t connect with Mike on his satellite phone. Give me love. Give me hope. Give me strength. Indeed. Mike finally telephoned in and it was all I could do to raise the energy to join in with his enthusiasm. It was a new feeling for me. To be displaced from Mike. We had always shared a passion and excitement for pretty much everything. The time delay was really hampering our conversation and the fact that we hadn’t been able to have a natural chat for days on end now was beginning to take its toll. Afterall, we thrive on discussion and here we were having stilted and broken conversations. I could tell Mike was missing his little family too. Leaving the boys is a whole new experience for Mike especially as he is such a hands on father when he is at home. I wanted to go and sleep for days on end but instead I was being called on my blackberry with requests to interview Mike up the mountain against a background of other mounting work pressures. This was proving more difficult than I expected and I tried to juggle the media requests to be patient until Mike and the gang move higher up the mountain where hopefully the satellite phones will burst into life finally and do their job. The local media were becoming frustrated and wanted to interview me instead as the next best thing to Mike, about the Everest Rocks trip. The media storm was thickening and news of Everest Rocks was certainly spreading further and further... Tomorrow was another day and sleep beckoned. Tucked up with my two boys beside me, I tried to imagine where Mike would be, tucked up with his hot water bottle inside his sock (another of Johnny’s tips) and his meticulously packed kit bag. As I gazed up at my Welsh starry sky, I hoped that he was safe and sound in the Himalaya. We missed each other today and I was glad that he was already one step closer to home. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.27777 2007-10-17T19:44:51Z 2007-10-23T09:30:33Z

Sun 14th Oct Sunday morning and I was missing Mike today. Weekends are always the worst for missing your loved ones. I’m used to being apart from Mike but it still doesn’t get any easier. Dylan however was adapting to...

Jules Peters Sun 14th Oct Sunday morning and I was missing Mike today. Weekends are always the worst for missing your loved ones. I’m used to being apart from Mike but it still doesn’t get any easier. Dylan however was adapting to his Daddy being away from home. It’s amazing how quickly children respond to a changing environment. The day before Mike left for Kathmandu, Dylan’s school teacher had asked me if Mike would mind taking the class teddy, ‘Alun the bear’, along with him on his travels. I said that I was sure Mike wouldn’t mind, thinking that Alun was a small teddy bear. Alun, in fact was the size of a small child and Mike was travelling light! The things you do for your kids! The next day, a Daily Post photographer was dispatched to Dylan's class and a photo of Mike, Alun the bear, Dylan and all his school friends was taken to feature in the Welsh national paper. The children and staff would now be tracking the progress of Alun and Mike to Base Camp. I felt a sense of displacement when Mike was preparing for Everest. I was usually the packer of the family. I like to pack weeks before we leave for a tour or travels. Mike, you guessed it, is quite happy to pack the night before. As Mike was only allegedly packing three pairs of underpants (one to wear, one to wash and one to dry!) I felt a tad redundant. It was important for him to pack himself though and he approached it with great aplomb. He consulted with his Everest trainer and “know it all about Base Camp” , Johnny ‘Marine’ Hughes (Johnny having reached base camp a few years previously). It was Johnny who knew about the underpants trick ( you may remember Johnny from a Gathering concert when he and Mike swam in the Llanddudno sea!) and thanks to Johnny, the night before Mike’s departure, his kit bag was packed with meticulous attention. Mike was truly fully prepared! I was grateful that Johnny was taking Mike in hand and focusing Mike’s attention upon preparing for the nitty gritty of the trip. However I was slightly concerned to hear that Johnny had struggled with the altitude upon his trip to Base Camp. Afterall, Johnny is superfit. Mike is fit. Johnny had arranged a timetable of exercise as well as running a multitude of tests to check Mike’s fitness. Johnny even took Mike on a shopping expedition to a local outdoor pursuits shop to make sure Mike had purchased all the detailed minutae like stuffit bags (for Alun the bear), masks (for the Yak poop) and something to dry his smalls! A few nights later I was very relieved to hear that Johnny’s Base Camp trip has been hampered somewhat by his night on the tiles in Kathmandu rickshaw racing until the early hours of the morning prior to flying to Lukla to begin day one of the trek! A lesson to be learned for Mr.Peters. I didn’t speak to Mike all day Sunday but I was able to check on his progress via www.everestrocks.com It was almost like Mike was on another planet but then I saw Alun briefly, waving and I felt that Mike wasn’t that far away, afterall. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.27526 2007-10-15T15:45:16Z 2007-10-16T11:56:50Z

Twenty One Days: Mike Rocks Everest Day Four Sat 13th October 3pm It’s quite strange waking up in Wales and thinking that your husband is already a few hours into his trek to Base Camp, Everest. Each morning, over breakfast,...

Jules Peters Twenty One Days: Mike Rocks Everest Day Four Sat 13th October 3pm It’s quite strange waking up in Wales and thinking that your husband is already a few hours into his trek to Base Camp, Everest. Each morning, over breakfast, I look out onto the peaks of Snowdonia... Mike and I completed the Snowdonian ‘Fifteen Peaks’ a few years ago, one Midsummer’s Day and it was an experience that will last with me forever. We trekked the spectacular peaks within 36 hours and it has remained an addiction of ours ever since. There is nothing quite like losing oneself up high and whenever we can, Mike and I try to escape three thousand feet upwards... I wonder what twenty thousand feet elevation must feel like. Mike had been training hard and I felt quite confident as the Everest trip dawned that he would be physically prepared for the trip. He had been training every day at his local gym, we had both been trekking locally whenever we could spare the time, Mike had slept in an oxygen tent and he had also been tested vigorously to check how he would most likely cope with the altitude. I’m happy to say, Mike passed with flying colours. He has a remarkable resting pulse rate of 46 which must explain his positive laid back and calm peace of mind. Now Mike is in remission, I was still initially concerned about him embarking upon such a trip, so soon after chemotherapy. Mike still has maintenance therapy every two months which involves a day in hospital where he receives the super drug, rituximab intravenously. Rituximab most likely saved his life initially when this was administered with the full-on chemo therapy. Rituximab is a fairly new drug, a very expensive drug and Mike was very lucky to receive it. In the whirlwind days which followed his diagnosis, the lumps on Mike’s necks were bulging (funny how we had never noticed them previously). It was only on the morning of Christmas Eve (the day after Mike’s first chemo) that Mike called me excitedly to touch his neck! Incredibly, there was no sign of the lumps! In that instance, I felt deep down that we had some kind of fighting chance. I understand Mike’s need to live his life to the full. The shadow of cancer will never fully leave us. I will never forget the two separate most frightening days of our lives; bizarrely set 10 years apart – first in 1995 and then in 2005 – when we were taken into a small white room by a doctor and told that Mike had cancer – with no certainty of the future ahead. In 1995, Mike refused all treatment and we headed off to the North East to fulfill a concert engagement and then on to America for an acoustic tour. Mike consulted a faith healer and decided to kit himself out in green army fatigues (after being told that green was his lucky colour). I privately thought he was mad and wished he had started the chemotherapy. In fact Mike had been advised to have a transplant. All Mike could do was trust his instinct. Looking back, Mike experienced a spontaneous remission and probably over the last ten years, the cancer had been slowly creeping back, this time as CLL and not non hodgkins lymphoma. Whatever, Mike’s instincts were right and I’ve never really doubted his decision making from that day. Until Everest, that is ;) Mike consulted with his Guardian Angel, Doctor Edwards who provided him with all the necessary medication Mike may need, should he fall ill on his trip. Whilst Mike is in remission, he is most likely as fit as you and I, as his immunity is normal. With two young children bringing in all kinds of childhood diseases (Dylan just developed chicken pox half way through last months’ trip to New York and Evan has just recovered this week). I am still slightly paranoid about Mike being ill. Years ago, a common cold, cough, sore throat wouldn’t have been given a moment’s thought. Now, I’m on high alert for a cough being a warning sign of something more sinister that maybe his immunity is weakening. This is why I was nervous about Everest. Mike is not a fuss pot. That’s my job. Miles away from me, there was no way for me to check that he was taking care of himself 100%. Now Mike has departed, I’m less concerned. What will be will be. I held my breath for slightly longer the other night when he was flying into Lukla as I knew the landing strip was like a postage stamp! I tried calling him on the satellite phone to check that he had landed safely but of course was unable to make a connection. This was such a contrast to Mike’s absence on tour in July this year as I was able to call, text, email at any moment in time. It does make a difference having hardly any contact at all. Just as I was leaving the house, my home phone kept ringing and after half an hour of punctured “Hi Jules! It’s me”, I grasped the concept that Mike must have landed safe and sound. The next call was from Radio Wales, trying to track Mike down on his satellite phone. Before I knew it, with Evan cooing loudly in the background and in the absence of Mike, I was being interviewed live on air about the progress of Everest Rocks. Life is never boring. Later that night and higher up the Himalaya, I was able to chat for some time with my other half and my first impression was that Mike’s voice sounded different. Must have been the altitude as he claimed to have had only one Everest beer! Mike sounded elated. In his 48 years Mike has travelled extensively but I could tell that he hadn’t quite experienced anything like this culture collision. He sounded humbled and awed and despite missing the three of us, I knew he was having the time of his life. Long it may be continue... tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.27417 2007-10-14T14:36:24Z 2007-10-23T09:31:06Z

Twenty One Days: Mike Rocks Everest Day Three Friday 12th October 11pm Dylan, Evan and I all ended up in one bed together. It made life ‘easier’ after the bed hopping from the night before! The fertility clinic certainly didn’t...

Jules Peters Twenty One Days: Mike Rocks Everest Day Three Friday 12th October 11pm Dylan, Evan and I all ended up in one bed together. It made life ‘easier’ after the bed hopping from the night before! The fertility clinic certainly didn’t carry any warnings about sleep deprivation!!! The positive part of experiencing IVF treatment though, is that it turns you into a fairly calm parent, as personally I realise how lucky Mike and I are to have become parents at all. It’s actually a huge feeling of humility and gratitude to carry on one’s shoulders. This is probably difficult to understand for those of you who were able to bring children into this world naturally. Trying to explain the diagnosis of infertility is impossible. If having children is what you always dreamt of, to be told that having children may not possible, is the most shattering experience ever. Myself, I felt like I had been hit over the head with a sledgehammer, after my consultant told me the news. I struggled to pull myself together and pick myself up off the floor. I felt blackness like I had never ever known. Thick blackness all around me. No hope. No future. Even Mike couldn’t understand my bleakness. I felt like my heart had been torn out. You see, I could imagine Dylan and Evan from the beginning. Back in 1986, when I first met Mike, I could visualise my blonde imaginary family. The idea that I had to wave goodbye to my imaginary boys was unthinkable. Our infertility problem was my problem. I just assumed that Mike would be part of the problem, due to his cancer diagnosis (back in 1995, Mike was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma and again, we weren't given a great deal of hope at the time). You can imagine my shock, when after a battery of tests and then finally a laparoscomy, I was woken from my post-general anaesthetic state to be told my fallopian tubes were blocked (as a result of an appendicitis operation just before I met Mike in 1985). IVF was our only hope. So the reason I’m not up 'the' mountain, is because all my prayers were answered and IVF became our salvation. What would Mike and I have done without medical science? Unfortunately, my miracle babies woke me up at 6am!! Consequently, there has been no time to miss Mike and I even forgot to call him at our pre-arranged time of 7am UK (12.30 noon ish) for Mike. Hilariously, as I discovered later, Mike had also forgotten to expect my call (ie. to step outside a building in order to receive my satellite call) and instead was happily ensconsed in a recording studio with his fellow musicians, Slim Jim, (Stray Cats), Glenn Tilbrook, (Squeeze), Nick Harper, Cy Curnin (The Fixx), Jamie West-Oram (The Fixx) Some things never change! I spent the day rushing between the school runs, fielding calls and emails, taking a meeting with our insurance guy, Glyn Berwyn (Diolch Tonto!) who covers all our rock and roll insurance needs, with boys in tow and then finally helped out by Nana Marj (Mike’s Mum) and Nana Dot (my Mum). Thank you parents! What would we do without you???! I tried and failed to hook up the Daily Post with Mike in his hotel in Kathmandu and then finally contacted Mike myself via James Chippendale and Alex Coletti (whilst both our boys were having a bedtime 'bath' ball in the background) as we exchanged with difficulty (amidst the bathtime high jinks) our news of the day. The time delay tonight made it difficult to get a good conversation rhythm going but Dylan was able to chat with Daddy and ask about his ‘gig in the clouds’. Mike and the gang had experienced a terrifically busy day. Today they had been in the studio and had also filmed the first podcast (check it out at everestrocks.com). Perversely, just before heading up the wooden hill, I was able to watch Mike sharing his Everest experiences on line. It was so good to see him, looking fit, healthy and happy. It was gone 11pm for them and they would be up in a few hours to catch a plane and begin their trek finally! By the time, I wake up, they will be well on their way. What an amazing world we live in! tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.27410 2007-10-13T17:27:56Z 2007-10-23T09:31:42Z

Thurs 11th October 2007 Location: Home, North Wales: Thurs Midnight What a day! I'm wasted but excited at the thought of hearing from Mike and working on Everest Rocks from 'Base Camp North Wales'! My two sleeping babes soon woke...

Jules Peters Thurs 11th October 2007 Location: Home, North Wales: Thurs Midnight What a day! I'm wasted but excited at the thought of hearing from Mike and working on Everest Rocks from 'Base Camp North Wales'! My two sleeping babes soon woke up and I spent the night bed hopping between them! Nothing like sleep deprivation to set you up for the day! How Mike has continued to be a rock and roller with Dylan and Evan in his life, I’ll never know. He’s a hands-on father but somehow, he has managed to sneak in the writing and recording of 50 brand new songs over the last few months. The project is called ‘Counter Attack’ and has been written as a follow-up response to the most recent Alarm album, ‘Under Attack’, which he penned whilst unwittingly knowing about his impending leukaemia diagnosis. It’s quite incredible to think his inner psyche must have been aware of something happening to his body... Why else did he write songs like 'Without A Fight' and 'Under Attack'... I started the day with an hour’s walk around our beautiful hilly village to clear my head. This made me feel close to Mike as we had trekked a lot together in the last few weeks in preparation for Everest Rocks. I‘d been awake over 8 times during the night (it was almost as if the boys sensed that Daddy had gone) and I felt like I had a hangover this morning (I should be so lucky!) Striding the paths of my locale, as I try to do on a daily basis, I soon felt in better spirits. I live in a fantastic community and everybody loves Mike, asking me about his travels and sending their best wishes. (Mike was born in our village back in 1959 and spent his formative years here). You can’t beat a bit of community spirit to set you up for the day. Dylan has just started school and so I like to be there at the school gate. Juggling the school run and rock and roll is a whole new experience. Thank the Lord for the blackberry which enables me to get so much done on the move. I remember reading a hilarious piece suggesting that you could spot the Alpha Mum in the playground as the one on her blackberry! Tuesday afternoon is my ‘Mummy’ non-work time with Dylan and Evan and so thanks to the glorious Autumnal weather here in North Wales, I set out on a play date to our local beach with Dylan’s mate, Carwyn and ‘mother of Carwyn,’ / my mate’, Delyth. I thought, “Mike’s on a plane from Barhain to Kathmandu” I won’t be needed for a few hours. How far wrong could I be! Within minutes, I received a call from Katrina (who runs Love Hope Strength UK, amongst many other things – thanks Katrina!!!) to say that BBC Radio 5 Live had been in touch, wanting to speak with Mike. The promenade was promptly turned into a mobile office and thanks to my trusty friend, Delyth, I was able to track James Chippendale down in Kathmandu and hook up the BBC Team with Mike so that by 17.50 UK time, Mike was live on air! We even managed to send out a global email to Alarm fans worldwide, courtesy of the ever dynamic www.thealarm.com webmaster, Steve Fulton in California (Thanks Steve!!!!!) What an amazing world we live in! And all of this because news of Everest Rocks had hit the international newswire. Metro Magazine, one of London’s biggest free newspapers picked up on the piece and featured a story about Mike and his rock and roll trekkers and then the domino effect began... Once Dylan and Evan were back from the beach and tucked up in bed, I began the mopping up process of the day. As well as Everest Rocks, we have 2 CDs and 2 DVDs in production, a postcard and mass mailout and the usual day to day activity of the Alarm Office (which attracts hundreds of daily calls and emails from Alarm fans all over the world). It’s hard to switch off, especially in this 24 hour world. By 11pm, I was feeling exhausted and still hadn’t touched base with Mike Peters (I forget sometimes that he’s also my husband :) After some frustrating calls to his satellite phone, I finally gave up and tried the hotel in Kathmandu (I had researched on the website that satellite phones (obviously) only worked outside buildings. Instead of Mike, I connected up with the lovely Alex Coletti (Mike's room mate). Alex is a great friend of ours from Brooklyn. He is also the famous 'Alex MTV Unplugged Coletti' and is on the trek with Mike to direct the filming of Everest Rocks. Alex is like family and so we had a good old giggle and wind-up session, as you do. Alex was pretty overwhelmed by Kathmandu, and this was saying something, considering he worked in Time Square, NYC! He compared Kathmandu to the Star Wars bar! Mike being a MASSIVE Star Wars fan, must be in his element. I finally spoke with Mike and despite the irritating time delay, it sounded like he was in the next room. Mike and I are used to a telephone relationship. When we met in 1986, he was on a huge USA tour and I was at University, so we are used to conducting our relationship, ‘long distance’. We are quite a rare couple in that we have no problem working together. Most people I know can’t understand how we can work so closely together and be married! We thrive on the creativity, I think and I know that our relationship has survived because we have a shared understanding of life in the music business. I think it’s difficult to sustain a marriage in rock and roll, when one of you has a ‘day job’. We were soon chatting away about the events of the day and it was such a delight to see how things were developing so well. Talk about small acorns! Mike was buzzing and I privately said a little prayer to remember how lucky we are that we have been able to reach such a point where Mike can climb to Base Camp Everest!!!! You can’t imagine how amazing this is, given the dark cancer days of 2006 when I thought I was going to lose Mike completely. That’s why I feel so committed to Love Hope Strength. When I was reeling from Mike's cancer diagnosis (there was a period of weeks when we didn’t know how bad the CLL actually was, ie. what grade etc or even whether it was the more worrying Mantle Cell Lymphoma), I clung to the ‘google’ process and desperately wanted to find a ‘feelgood’ story about someone who had been diagnosed with CLL and actually survived! The doctors are not in a position to give you false hope but at that desperate low point, you need some false hope in a way, just to sustain yourself through the storm. It is my greatest wish that LHS and Mike and James' stories can assist people in riding the storm until they are able to think clearly and grasp the situation they find themselves in. It’s late now and with my two boys tucked up asleep, I head for my bed, contented in the knowledge that my man is tucked up a million miles away too. It's a starry starry night here. I wonder what it's like in Kathmandu right now? I’m glad Mike stuck out for his dreams. I’m behind him every step of the way. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.27399 2007-10-12T17:09:12Z 2007-10-14T14:46:14Z

Weds October 10th 2007 Location: Home, North Wales: Weds 11am It was with a heavy but excited heart that I waved off Mike and the crew this morning. Goodbyes are never easy even for a good cause. If I was...

Jules Peters Weds October 10th 2007 Location: Home, North Wales: Weds 11am It was with a heavy but excited heart that I waved off Mike and the crew this morning. Goodbyes are never easy even for a good cause. If I was honest, I had never wanted Mike to embark on a trip of this nature, so close to his diagnosis of CLL back in December 2005. On top of that, we had given birth to our much wanted second son, Evan in January 2007 (brother to Dylan, aged 3.5), after four gruelling rounds of IVF and personally, I felt the urge to head back to Wales and baton down the hatches for 12 months or so. Mike being Mike felt completely the opposite! A naturally positive man at the best of times; since his recovery from CLL (after six round of chemotherapy), Mike is even more positive! Writing this blog and reflecting upon the last few crazy months, it has caused some friction between us, (more on my part, probably) ; both of us pulling against each other in terms of direction but that's probably why our relationship works. We don't agree for the sake of it! We have been together 21 years next year! I also felt overwhelmed at the prospect of taking care of Dylan and Evan alone, whilst running the Alarm Empire back in Wales, whilst Mike was venturing miles away from us, in pursuit of playing the highest concert in the world and helping people to see that cancer does not have to be the death knell. I only had myself to blame. Back in March 2006, whilst Mike was undergoing chemotherapy, he announced one day that he would really like to go and play a one off show in Austin, Texas at the SXSW Festival, (an important date in the music calendar). I thought he was crazy and after initial consultation with Mike's doctors and nurses, they agreed with me! Mike could not be moved however, and felt that this positive step forward would aid his recovery. Who was I to challenge him? It wasn't me who had cancer afterall, but as his carer, I felt violently opposed to him putting himself in danger. There was nothing for it but to put out the feelers to friends and business acquaintances in Texas with regards to hospital care, should we need it, and within 24 hours, an email from James Chippendale, an insurance executive, arrived. James was a cancer survivor too. James had been diagnosed a few years ago with AML and had a very SCARY time reclaiming his life after a stem transplant (see www.lovehopestrength.com for the full amazing story on James). To cut a long story, James met us at Dallas airport, arranged a second opinion with his doctors ( Lance Armstrong’s team) and took care of us 24/7. James and I hit it off. It helped that not only was he kind; but gorgeous and dynamic too (I had, afterall been expecting a greying 60 year old insurance executive! :) Little did I realise what I had ignited. The Peters/Chippendale relationship became so special through a shared understanding of cancer. James helped Mike and I through such a difficult time and more than anything gave us both Love. Hope. Strength. Hey presto. The more we talked about dealing with cancer the more we felt like we wanted to contribute something. One crazy idea was to climb a mountain and symbolise the struggle against cancer. The ideas flew back and forth and over a few beers, it was decided that we would create a foundation to help other people who unfortunately may find themselves faced with a diagnosis of cancer. And so we did. So far, we've created Empire State Rocks in NYC this April, Snowdon Rocks this June and here we are on the eve of Everest Rocks. So back to this evening. I have just spoken to Mike. He is excited. Missing his boys and me of course but energised for the trip ahead! I'm here in Wales with both boys sound asleep, looking out on the Vale of Clwyd that Mike loves so much. It's hard being apart but if being apart can help other couples from falling apart amidst a cancer diagnosis then I'm all for it. I feel nervous and a tad uneasy. I always do when Mike is in flight. It's a little like holding your breath. I guess I 'll only truly exhale in 21 days time. tag:mikerockseverest.welshblogs.co.uk,2007://355.27338 2007-10-12T10:49:24Z 2007-10-13T15:26:14Z

My name is Jules Peters and I'm married to rock musician, Mike Peters of The Alarm. I manage Mike and all things Alarm-related. Mike and I have been together for almost 21 years and together we have shared the most...

Jules Peters My name is Jules Peters and I'm married to rock musician, Mike Peters of The Alarm. I manage Mike and all things Alarm-related. Mike and I have been together for almost 21 years and together we have shared the most amazing life. We’ve had our ups and downs and emerged all the stronger for it. Mike is a two-times cancer survivor (most recently in December 2005 when our life fell apart temporarily, after Mike was diganosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (or CLL for short). We have two sons, Dylan (aged 3.5) and Evan (aged 9 months), both born after four gruelling rounds of IVF (due to my fertility problems, not Mike’s cancer). Mike is now in remission. As a way of thanking his medical staff and inspiring others that cancer does not have to be a death sentence, Mike decided that he wanted to climb a mountain. This is how Everest Rocks came about. As I write, Mike is about to arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal for an amazing adventure and to attempt the highest concert in the world, all on behalf of his charity foundation, Love Hope Strength. www.everestrocks.com Meanwhile, I’m at home in Wales, holding the fort. This is our story...