I want to do great things

I'm not a promoter. Not a musician. Not an events organiser or full-time entertainer and yet.... I had an idea that what our village really needed was to have a live band and indie disco evening.

Oh yeah, PowerPoint has a Reading Festival template!

I wanted to do this because 18 months ago I'd been at a friend's party where we danced until 3am to a playlist of '90s music and sank drinks like we were at the Hacienda, rather than in someone's tastefully decorated home. People I'd only spoken to on the school playground or at the local pub became teenagers once again, and friendships were strengthened as we realised that we loved the same music. It felt like we all shared a little of the spirit that we allow to shine so freely when we're young and unencumbered by mortgages and the gradual build up of life's worries.

I also wanted to do it because since taking up stand-up I'd seen some great live performances from local musicians and felt that other people ought to see how talented these bands are. The comedy night I put on was well received so how hard could it be to put on a couple of bands?

Harder than I thought. During the process of organising the event I discovered that there was an awful lot I didn't know. Like what a 'DI box' or a 'stage monitor' is, or is for. I didn't know how to pronounce 'cajon' (it's "cah-hon" - a type of box drum) and I didn't know how to connect a guitar amp to a mixer. I didn't know that you needed a sound guy to make all this work well enough that the band won't sound like they're playing underwater in a dustbin. Fortunately for me (and for everybody else), the DJ and another villager who works in radio were experts, and kind enough to make up for my considerable lack of knowledge.

Awesome sound quality nothing to do with me...

The event itself was incredible. We danced like we didn't have any responsibilities beyond perfecting our Happy Mondays moves or being able to recite all the words to "Get Your Rocks Off". We tried to drink the bar dry but one thing that I *do know* is how to make sure a bar is well stocked. We tried to eat enough food to avoid getting drunk - only some of us were successful on that front. The next morning my feet were half a size bigger, the recycling bin had over 200 bottles and cans in it and I heard how someone had stopped on the way home to "have a go on the swings" for old times' sake. Someone had also been sick in their bathroom but I'm not supposed to tell you that....

That's not even the half of it......

The evening was a fundraiser for Smart Works Reading so there wasn't any financial reward in it for me, but I did get something else extremely valuable: a reminder that sometimes we don't need to wait until we think we're 100% there to go after the things that we want to achieve. By showing my enthusiasm, people became interested. By being clear on the outcome, others wanted to take part. By being honest about the stuff I didn't know, others offered to help.

This process has inspired me to go after the things that I really want to achieve - chief among which is to ramp up the number of speaking engagements that I do. So that's why I'm off to see the Berkshire WI speaker selection committee this week to see if I can't get myself a little tour underway.  I want to do great things, how about you?

Soundtrack: Great Things by Echobelly

The Walk of Life

This morning, I finished the Moonwalk - 26.2 miles through London and part of an incredible 15,000 people who raised £3.5 million pounds collectively (and counting!)

My legs are singing with aches & pains, but my head sings with the story of the team I was part of, and you can sing along too!  It is of course - Walk of Life by Dire Straits.  

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Here come Emma saying
"Roll-up, sign up
Join Compton Crackers, we'll be on our way"

Here come Lindsay saying
"I'm gonna do it, 
I'll get us training in the hills today"

We put on trainers
We hit the footpaths
Oh yeah we hiked all day
We got lost and got blisters
But Claire could read a map, and soon we found our way

And Lorraine got over her fear of bush-wees
And our long walks gave our husbands some strife
All for the walk, all for the walk of life, all for the walk of life

Here come Vic J saying
"Pimp those bras girls
I got a bucket of pink dye today"
Here come Sarah and she's raided a craft shop
Beads, bows and buttons and prosecco - yay!

We glued the ribbons, we sewed the buttons
Oh yeah the bras looked great
Some were big and some little
But all were made with love on decorating day

And Becky thinks it's all so embarrassing, 
And Evie's skills are sharp as a knife
Close to the walk, close to the walk of life, yeah the walk of life

Here comes Toni saying 
"Facebook, Twitter
Let's raise some funds the social media way"
Here comes Ben and he's the 'Cracker Tracker'
Puts us in the S-Max, takes us to the train

We get to Ascot, it's full of drunkards
Those boys, they can't behave
Get to Twickers - it's rugby
There's so much fancy dress to watch the game today

And finally we get to Clapham Common
And then we make our way to the start line
To do the walk, to do the walk of life, mmmm to do the walk of life

Here come London and it's close to midnight
We hear the horn & then we're on our way
Hi-vis helpers saying "You're gonna do it"
Seeing the landmarks take our breath away

We count the miles off
As couples walk home
Oh yeah - wine makes girls sway
They're all drunk and, we're sober
But we cheer each other on and we forget our aches

And we crossed the line knowing all of our efforts
Might help your husband, daughter, mother or wife
We did the walk, we did the walk of life, yeah we did the walk of life..........

For Becky, Claire, Emma, Lindsay, Lorraine, Sarah, Victoria, everyone who supported us and everyone who supported the Moonwalk!!

Come Together

Did you know that this blog is now a whole year old?  It feels like a bit of a landmark occasion to me and I had been scratching my head about how to mark it when I had a little brainwave.

The title of this blog is inspired blatantly lifted from Ian Dury and the Blockheads' Reasons to be Cheerful, Part Three.  It feels like this year has been my 'Part One' and so with that in mind I'm going to publish the best of the essays in an ebook and will follow it with a print format a bit later on.  My huge thanks go to the polymath that is Mr Tony Cocks of Binge Thinking.  You can check out his facebook page here or drop by and visit his incredible pics on flickr here 

And for those of you that know me, and that have followed this blog over the past year you will know that my life has been lit up by good, good people and the generosity of others so by way of acknowledging that I intend to donate at least 50% of the profits to be shared between Macmillan Cancer Support and Daisy's Dream.  Macmillan has directly supported my family and friends at one time or another and Daisy's Dream provides incredible services supporting bereaved children.

So where do you fit in to all of this?  I would love it if you would let me know what your favourite posts have been, the current 'most read' are listed down the right-hand side of this blog and I thought I'd give you the all time Top 10 below but do have a browse through and tell me if there's one that you'd particularly like to have included, I plan to include the name of everyone who lets me know their favourite in the book.

Now, if we could have some Top of the Pops music please......

1. IT's Different for Girls (a tribute to working in IT and avoiding cavemen)
2. Because You're Worth It (telling L'Oreal to stop patronising us)
3. Not Forgotten (on remembering those we've lost)
4. My Beautiful Friend (just read it)
5. What a Girl Wants (on caving in to practicality when all I want is an evening gown)
6. Paid in Full (on why corporate bonus schemes are impossible to understand)
7. Little Green (Dustbin) Bag (on the reason my shoulder aches so much)
8. The Future's Orange (a celebration of all persons ginger)
9. You Can Say What You Want (about not hiding your light under a corporate bushel)
10. You Want to Live Like Common People? (because Iain Duncan Smith annoyed me)

And here's some that didn't make that list but which I particularly enjoyed writing:

* Who You Gonna Call? (on the power of good friends when you're stuck on the A34)
* Wild Boys (on why small boys are powered by superhero thoughts)
* All You Good, Good People (for all those with generous hearts)
* Lost in Translation (since when did asking for batteries become so rude?)
* Oliver's Army (Jamie Oliver made me set fire to my kitchen) 

Leave a comment or drop me a line via the facebook page: www.facebook.com/cheerfulblog , to let me know your favourite!

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Soundtrack: Come Together by The Beatles

You Can Get It If You Really Want

For the past two Monday nights, I have found myself sat in a very welcoming kitchen with excellent company.  Some of us know each other well, some of us only met last Monday but we each have the same thing in common; one beautiful friend.

For those of you that read the blog post dedicated to her, you will know that last year our beautiful friend helped to arrange some events for our village.  The Easter one was so successful that the local tourist information office called one of the girls to ask if it was happening again this year.  It was only ever intended to be a one-off but the call sparked an idea to hold it again as a tribute to her, raising funds for the local cancer charities that so helped her and her family.

The only slight snag is that from phone call to event we have but three weeks.  We are almost two weeks in and it has been frankly incredible what a small group of people with access to some technology and a network of extremely generous local people can achieve.

So far, between us we have managed to source the most eclectic array of goods since Del Boy closed the doors to his lock-up.  We have...

1 venue
6 gazebos
3 banners and dozens of posters
3 chickens
A lamb
200 eggs
An unspecified number of rabbits (well you know what they're like for breeding..)
Face paints
Raffle prizes
An Olympic Gold medal and hopefully the athlete to go with it

1 PA system
1 'tug-o-war' rope

 

- At this point would you mind if I indulged myself to bellow "FIVE GO-OLD RINGS"? -

Vintage china
A coconut shy
A coin-sorter
The commitment of the entire Key Stage 1 of the local school to produce Easter Bonnets
1 tractor
2 ponies


And, should disaster strike due to the wonderful British weather - we've even got a back up thanks to the kindness of our local Scout troop.

Everything we have been able to acquire at little, or no cost which means the charities make more, and everybody gets a little bit of something that money can't buy; the pleasure that comes with giving something out of kindness.

The levels of generosity, understanding, willingness to help, good humour and teamwork has been good for the soul and will result in something that hopefully will do our friend, and her family proud.  Who knows what the next Monday meeting will bring and who knows how the event will work out but what we do know is that we'll do it just as she would have done; with laughter, positivity, and by the seat of our pants! 

How 'Mo' Can You Go?

There is a 'Mo' growing in my house.  Not quite 'salt and pepper', but definitely more than a hint of grey going on within the black; it is a blatant and bristly intruder.  The children complain of its itchiness when they kiss Daddy goodnight and I try not to stare in incredulity at the changed face of my husband, but we know that it is there for a good cause and so we wait patiently for December to arrive when normal service will be resumed and kisses will be smooth once again, all the while being grateful that the 'Mo' is there to support, rather than to remember.

I love the creativity and participation that Movember encourages, the way it tackles a serious issue in an positive way and the variety of spin-offs that it has created, from MoRunning (witness Mr French in the middle with his friends Dave & Paul at the Battersea Park MoRun.  So 'Mo', that they are doing a MoBot.  At a MoRun.  With big Mo's.  If you have a picture that ticks more 'Mo' boxes, please send it over)

to the individual efforts of people like my friend Gary who will recreate a moustachioed pose of your choosing, subject to a donation to his page.  If you like his '118 118 Man' , you can make a request by donating here:

 

 

I know that this topic, and this month, is much documented and so I didn't think I would have anything different or interesting to add until I came across a company that is run by a friend of a friend.  Just setting up in the business of selling condoms, one of their recent Facebook posts carried a picture that manages to combine sexual health and Movember in a way that some people thought was a bit close to the edge but I found very salutary and funny.  After giving it some thought I have decided not to publish the picture because I'd like to give you the choice as to whether you look at it or not, but I think you will be able to imagine it when I tell you that the gentleman's rather full and lustrous 'Mo' does not belong to him, rather it is the pubic hair of a woman.  It is well-shot, humourous rather than sexual, and supportive of women in that I think it is possibly the first instance I've seen where a company is using an image of a woman being anthing other than devoid of hair positively.  If you would like to take a look - you'll find it at www.facebook.com/safesexappeal 

 

Whether you check out (or agree with) the picture or not, I hope that you will join me in celebrating Movember.  Whether you grow a Mo, run for miles, donate dollars or simply acknowledge the efforts of your friends' and neighbours' facial hair experimentation in the name of cancer awareness and prevention - I salute you!

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Soundtrack: Born to Hand Jive by Sha Na Na (Grease Soundtrack)

Picture this...a week of giving

I couldn't go a week without painting or drawing something. Whether it's a sketch, a full-on landscape or a picture of a monkey riding a tricycle for the children's entertainment, there will be a canvas or a scrap of paper with something on it by Sunday evening.  

This has always been an important part of me, but it became increasingly sidelined as I pursued a 17 year career in IT.   Creativity gave way to being a good 'corporate citizen' and whilst the money was good it didn't seem to compensate for the growing sense of dissatisfaction that I had.



Thank you DoKHC
www.dokhc.org.uk

A watershed moment came when my brother-in-law's wife died.  She was just 40, with a daughter the same age as mine. We had become very close during our pregnancies, and in raising our girls, and her death made me face some facts about how I lived my life.  I was tired, stressed, unwell and unhappy and decided that if this was to be my last year on earth then I wasn't going to spend it feeling burned out and regretful for not giving more time to my children. So I went freelance thinking that it was a career destination when in actual fact it has been the start of a whole new chapter.

The past year has seen me become healthier, happier and more able to dedicate time to things that are so much more important than pay rises, stock options and annual reviews. That in turn has brought greater clarity about the things that I want to do, a greater sense of urgency to be authentic and to live the best life I can. The creative spirit that's been strapped into the back seat of the car for the past 17 years wants to drive......

Being creative is incredibly fulfilling but let's get real; with two small children and the need to contribute to the family budget, painting has to remain a hobby. But what to do with the work I create?  I don't want to spend my weekends manning a stall at a craft fair to sell them, and whilst my husband appreciates art, he doesn't want to live in a gallery dedicated to my imagination.

Then last week the perfect solution arrived.  I heard that the hospice that cared for my brother-in-law's wife so well during the final weeks of her life was having an auction to raise funds and needed donations. So I offered a piece of my artwork, they said 'yes' and I felt elated. Knowing that something I had created with love could help an organisation that gives so much, that relies on the support of volunteers, and that my family has directly benefitted from felt brilliant.

Inspired, the four remaining pieces were donated within the week to three separate charities and a local school to help with their fundraising efforts.

http://www.tvacaa.org/

www.daisysdream.org.uk

www.clicsargent.org.uk

Being able to donate these works felt far better than selling them for my own personal financial gain - I cannot honestly say that I need the money more than these incredible organisations. It reminded me of the generosity that I have been shown throughout my life and how lucky I am that me and my family are in good health today.

This has been a lesson for me in how giving is not just about money, and on Friday, feeling great from dropping off my final painting, I popped into the village hall and donated a pint of blood. A fitting end to a week of giving.

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If you're looking for ideas on how you could take steps towards a more generous life and proof that it isn't just about money, check out http://www.pleasetakeonestep.com/ -