Our beautiful daughter Jessica was born in September 2011 with a severe heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This was diagnosed at her 20 week scan and we were initially told that she was unlikely to be suitable for surgery. However, a pioneering in-utero operation at 28 weeks to enlarge a hole in her atrial septum was carried out and she was able to make it to term and get through her first open-heart surgery at just eight hours old. Jessica underwent five more surgeries during her life. Her final surgery - the Fontan procedure - took place in December 2017. She initially made a good recovery but sadly passed away suddenly on 14th April 2018 at the age of 6. This is the story of a little girl whose half a heart overflowed with love. She was, and will forever be, our little miracle and brought joy to all who knew her.

Gold postbox challenge

Back in August 2012, Jessica's godfather Bryan set his friends a challenge to see who could visit the most Olympic gold postboxes.  We thought it would be fun to take up the challenge and so Jessica has been travelling the country with Mummy and Daddy and visiting various different Team GB postboxes.  There are 65 Olympic ones and 46 Paralympic ones in total.  It has taken us almost three years but we have now managed to visit them all!  You can read more about our gold postbox challenge here.

Olympic postboxes


#1 - Nick Skelton (Bedworth)
#2 - Jessica Ennis (Sheffield)

#3 - Ed Clancy (Huddersfield)

#4 - Andrew Triggs Hodge (Hebden)
#5 - Alastair Brownlee (Horsforth)
#6 - Nicola Adams (Leeds)

#7 - Luke Campbell (Hull)

#8 - Katherine Copland (Stockon-on-Tees)


#9 - Scott Brash (Peebles)

#10 - Chris Hoy (Edinburgh)

#11 - Chris Hoy (Edinburgh)

#12 - Katherine Grainger (Aberdeen)

#13 - Tim Baillie (Westhill)

#14 - Tim Baillie (Westhill)

#15 - Heather Stanning (Lossiemouth)

#16 - Andy Murray (Dunblane)

#17 - Bradley Wiggins (Chorley)

#18 - Bradley Wiggins (Eccleston)

#19 - Jason Kenny (Bolton)

#20 - Jason Kenny (Bolton)

#21 - Steven Burke (Colne)

#22 - Philip Hindes (Manchester)

#23 - Jade Jones (Flint)

#24 - Tom James (Wrexham)

#25 - Anna Watkins (Leek)

#26 - Greg Rutherford (Milton Keynes)

#27 - Geraint Thomas (Cardiff)

#28 - Peter Charles (Alton)

#29 - Ben Ainslie (Lymington)

#30 - Henley Rowers (Henley)

#31 - Nick Skelton (Alcester)

#32 - Alex Gregory (Cheltenham)

#33 - Charlotte Dujardin (Newent)

#34 - Pete Reed (Nailsworth)

#35 - Pete Reed (Nailsworth)

#36 - Laura Bechtolsheimer (Ampney St Peter)

#37 - Laura Trott (Harlow)

#38 - Laura Trott (Cheshunt)

#39 - Laura Trott (Cheshunt)

#40 - Charlotte Dujardin (Enfield)

#41 - Anthony Joshua (Watford)

#42 - Dani King (Hamble)

#43 - Peter Wilson (Sherborne)

#44 - Ed McKeever (Bradford-on-Avon)

#45 - Helen Glover (Penzance)

#46 - Ben Ainslie (Restronguet)
#47 - Pete Reed (Chiswick)

#48 - London - 2012 host city (Westminster)

#49 - Joanna Rowsell (Carshalton)
(no - we didn't make a mistake - this postbox was originally painted gold in summer 2012
but has since been repainted red - the gold paint is still visible on the back of the postbox)

#50 - Joanna Rowsell (Cheam)

#51 - Sophie Hosking (Wimbledon)

#52 - Andy Murray (Wimbledon)

#53 - Mo Farah (Teddington)

#54 - Mo Farah (Isleworth)

#55 - Heather Stanning (Larkhill)

#56 - Peter Charles (Bentworth)
#57 - London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Stratford)

#58 - Ben Maher (Elsenham)

#59 - Victoria Pendleton (Stotfold)

#60 - Etienne Stott (Bedford)

#61 - British Cyclists (Manchester)

#62 - Victoria Pendleton (Wilmslow)

#63 - Carl Hester (Sark)
#64 - Tom James (Coedpoeth)
#65 - Peter Kennaugh (Onchan)

Paralympic postboxes

 

#1 - Sarah Storey (Disley)

#2 - Paralympics Birthplace (Stoke Mandeville)

#3 - Sophie Christiansen (Fulmer)

#4 - Naomi Riches (Marlow)

#5 - Sophie Christiansen (Maidenhead)

#6 - Natasha Baker (Uxbridge)

#7 - James Roe (Stratford-upon-Avon)

#8 - Natasha Baker (Cowley, Uxbridge)

#9 - Deborah Criddle (Trull)

#10 - Jonathan Fox (St Stephen-in-Brannell)

#11 - Helena Lucas (Easton)

#12 - Sophie Christiansen (Sunningdale)

#13 - Sophie Christiansen (Egham)
#14 - David Weir (Wallington)

#15 - David Weir (Wallington)

#16 - David Weir (Wallington)

#17 - David Weir (Wallington)
#18 - Josef Craig (Jarrow)

#19 - Craig MacLean (Wilmslow)


#20 - Sarah Storey (Poynton)


#21 - Barney Storey (Disley)


#22 - Sarah Storey (Macclesfield)

#23 - Lee Pearson (Bagnall)
#24 - Lily van den Broecke (Oxford)
#25 - Jessica-Jane Applegate (Belton)

#26 - Jonnie Peacock (Doddington)

#27 - Sophie Wells (Lincoln)

#28 - Richard Whitehead (Lowdham)

#29 - Oliver Hynd (Kirkby-in-Ashfield)

#30 - Anthony Kappes (Chapel-en-le-Frith)

#31 - Mickey Bushell (Telford)

#32 - Ellie Simmonds (Aldridge)


#33 - Pam Relph (Weston Turville)
#34 - Heather Frederiksen (Leigh)

#35 - Sarah Storey (Eccles)

#36 - David Smith (Aviemore)

#37 - Craig MacLean (Grantown-on-Spey)

#38 - Neil Fachie (Aberdeen)

#39 - David Stone (Rawdon)

#40 - Danielle Brown (Skipton)

#41 - Hannah Cockcroft (Halifax)

#42 - Hannah Cockcroft (Halifax)

#43 - Josie Pearson (Hay-on-Wye)

#44 - Aled Davies (Brigend)

#45 - Ellie Simmonds (Swansea)

#46 - Mark Colbourne (Tredegar)

Golden locks


Boveney Lock
Bray Lock



1 comment:

  1. Good to see you have the correct Natasha Baker postbox shown at #8.

    Natasha lives in Cowley not Uxbridge - which is where the Post Office thought she lived! The Royal Mail site fails to list the correct one too - you are one up on them.

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