To Infinity and Beyond

So just come back from my second trip to Downing Street in three weeks. Is this a habit? Was delighted to accompany Adrian Sudbury (leukaemia patient) to hand in his petition about educating 17/18 year olds to be blood, bone marrow and organ donors. Felt a bit like an extra but was delighted to be able to be the senior face of the Charity at a meeting with Ed Balls.

Loads of security, loads of pics but also loads of rules to stop us making a boob. Ed Balls received the petition, but could not stand on the doorstep to No.10, less we think he may be measuring up for curtains following Gordon's departure! So we got to go in and up the magic staircase with the pics of all the previous PMs - there was Harold Wilson, Churchill, Lord Palmerston and Earl Grey - yep he really did exist! And at the top of the stairs a picture of Anthony Charles Lynton Blair - looking smug and mischievous. Did he ever believe that things would turn out as they have with GB?

So meeting with Ed Balls (nice man) followed by a brief tour of a bit of No.10 - amazing art, even more amazing carpets and decoration and yet more amazing silver collection - Turner, Whistler and Archibald Knox amongst them. Finally a chance to get a half decent pic of my in front of the big door with the number on. 3 weeks ago the pics ere dreadful and I was covered in shadow - today, spot on....well done Steve, you do take a good picture.

Just makes me want to be an MP even more - bum!

A Baroness to Behold

Was happy to meet with Baroness Tonge today. The day started pretty strange in that I knew she was coming but I found her perplexed and looking lost as I drove through the town. How could I leave her standing all confused on the corner of the road, so I pulled over my mini and offered her a lift - ever the gentleman! This had two consequences, one that she arrived nearly 40 minutes before we expected, and secondly she had to sit in our reception area for 15 mins. Now our reception area is grim - really grim - I mean what with the packing cases and the lack of legroom, not to mention the descretion not employed by the receptionist, it is the perfect incentive to meet with your visitors as soon as they arrive!

Whizz bang DNA
We had a really interesting meeting which included understanding her views on the Palestinians and the Holy Land - very akin to mine. It is great to know that people think the same as you sometimes....anyhow she did a tour of the premises and seemed very content that we knew what we were doing and would be a great Charity to support - our DNA extraction seemed to greatly excite her (it is pretty whizz bang). Much was achieve and all without even a cup of coffee to oil the wheels...that's international diplomacy for you.

OMG - what have I done?

My bum aches...

...and my back and my legs and thighs...and don't even get me started on my ankles.

I've been climbing mountains. Well one mountain actually, Scarfell Pike in the Lake District. I mean what silly bloody fool would do that?

Back in February, when the days were short and the weather poor I agreed to take part in the 3 peaks - simple. Just climb the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales and Bob's your Father's Brother. So July comes around and off we go to do some training.

All seems pretty simple, arrive in the Lake District for 12midday and we will take a gentle stroll up the Pike walking and talking as we go, so as to aquaint oursleves with the mountain. What we are not told is how steep, long and rough this particular mountain is. It takes us hours to ascend, all the time listening to the endless advice and comments from our mountain guide (or rather our mountain goat) who neither breaks into a sweat nor loses his breathe at all...ever! You try holding a conversation when you can't put one foot in front of the other, let alone espouse the wisdom of backpack size or the relative merits of waterproof trouser manufacturers.

Still we made it both up and down...but boy did we pay for it.

Now walking around is fine today..though bending is not. Luckily had no ocassion to visit anyone on the first floor of Charity Tart's building today - maybe the end of the week before I advance to that. All in all then it looks as though a little more training may be required!

Oh and BTW when we actually do climb Scarfell as part of the challenge it will be in the total darkness having already climbed one mountain and have another to go, all within 24 hours - utter and total madness...bonkers!

Now I've gone and won an award!

Award ceremonies...I love them!

In another world my alter ego has won an award and been runner up in two others - cool hey? What for I hear you cry - actually I don't but hey a boys got to have dreams. My theatre programmes and publicity materials which I design in my spare (?!) time have been listed in three categories at the National Operatic and Dramatic Association Awards (London region).

I have been presented with the most bizarre solid silver Egyptian pedestal which is The F Leslie Cowham Trophy for Programme Design (Souvenir Class) - what a citation? I'm chuffed to bits. The programme was for Oklahoma! and was a gooden...

...and to top that it comes with a bottle of Champagne - proper fizz. Life is better already.

The Glitz of the Awards ceremony

OK so really cross as my post has just disappeared and I need to start allover.

So just come back from the Charity Tart's annual outing to the tartiest event of all - the Institute of Fundraising's Annual Awards ceremony. Held at a central London Hotel (OK Edgware Rd) - the event brings together charity tarts from across the country.

Starting with a Champagne reception - well more of a sparkling wine reception really. Really not to Charity Tart's standards. I mean don't these people know the difference? I bet the conversation went something like this:
"OK so shall we have Champagne or sparkling wine"
"What's the difference?"
"Well...about £7 I think"
"That's good then - sure no one will notice the difference"

I mean I say...it tasted as though the wine had been doused in honey to create a kind of tepid meade rather than a crisp dry cool glass of bubbles.

So suitably fed up the evening progressed. The endless round of award categories for people you have never heard of continued. Made better, however, by my fellow tarts constructing a betting game on each category using matchsticks (hard to get hold of in these non-smoking days of hotels). We placed our bets and soon a system developed - never bet on the first announced and go for the current causes of the moment. So there were prizes for flood relief in Yorkshire and Prostate and Breast Cancer - all wholly predictable.

Lifetime acheivement went to a bod from theNational Trust who had worked there for 16 years (!) and the award for best up-and-coming fundraiser went to the prettiest nominee with the shortest skirt - fickle, moi?

All in all a reasonable night - thank goodness it's only once a year - I don't think I could stand the excitement more often...and who was that celeb doing the intros...Breakfast sport presenter - when?!!

Inside the corridors of power - it's not all it's cracked up to be

The ultimate in tartiness today - a trip to No.10 Downing Street. Sadly not to see the PM, but rather one of his Special Advisors. Security actually seemed pretty stringent. Not sure whether that is because they've got the builders in or it's actually effective.

My second visit as had previously attended a reception for the Charity I was working for. This time however, we were ushered in through the front door and up the stairs to an unglamorous and poorly painted meeting room - Daffodil yellow in a listed building - yuk! Before ascending the stairs however, we were required to leave our mobiles in a rack at the front door. Each pigeon hole was numbered and just the right size for a mobile. I seleted a hole with the number 007 on and thought that that was a fitting space for my mobile - HM Government, licensed to thrill.

Meeting was good and afterwards we were ushered back to the front door - passing through a group coming in in the presence of Malcolm Rifkin and Lord Coe - shorter than I expected. On leaving the building, we posed for the iconic picture in front of the legendary front door - the PC on duty must be a dab hand at all manner of cameras and phones - he kindly oblidged so that we could all be in the shot and record our little bit of history.

As we left Downing Street we carried on our spotting and came face to face with Mayor Boris - also shorter in real life and now with a slightly shorter haircut,although still looking decidedly sheep dog like - all power to him however as he was actually walking along the road rather than arriving in a british limo.

And that was that. All over in a little over 30 mins - although great potential for spinning the story for the next couple of weeks. Picture to follow! Looks like that will be the highlight for the next few weeks. More soon...