Yesterday, about 13:00 a photographer came to my home to take my photo for the interview I gave to Community Care Magazine on 3 September 2009.
I was expecting the same type of quick photo shoot from the photographer that came on Monday for the Ilford Recorder. However, he practically brought a whole photography studio with him including a Nikon D3, lots of lenses, external flashes, light umbrellas and more… It was so wicked!
After some tea and a chat, he took lots of photos of me: me using my new MacBook Pro 17", me in the dining room and me in the garden, et cetera. The guy seemed much more of a better professional, freelance photographer than the other guy who came on Monday; and this photographer was much more interesting and nicer too.
By the time he finished, it was about 16:00: Well over two hour of taking photos of me... I really enjoyed it and it was an amazing experience!
Stay tunes for the article soon…
Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Friday, 11 September 2009
Ilford Recorder Interview
When we made the trip to Bradford on Friday, 4 September to attend the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign National Conference, I received a phone call from the Ilford Recorder who interviewed me about receiving my President’s Award for 2009 Young Person of the Year. I discussed many things including my passion for volunteering.
After I was done, the guy said that he’d send a photographer on Monday to take my photo and when he came around on Monday morning (7-09-09) he just spent barely 10 minutes taking my photo in my garden in the rain; and that was that.
When I got that from uni tonight, I read the article in the Ilford Recorder from yesterday. It’s pretty good and a big thank you to Dave (my brilliant Connexions Advisor) for contacting them to call me. Though, they wrote the wrong uni that I’m attending; it’s actually University for the Creative Arts at Farnham not University of the Arts London. Well, that’s the media for you; they can’t ever get anything right…
Will try to upload it later.
After I was done, the guy said that he’d send a photographer on Monday to take my photo and when he came around on Monday morning (7-09-09) he just spent barely 10 minutes taking my photo in my garden in the rain; and that was that.
When I got that from uni tonight, I read the article in the Ilford Recorder from yesterday. It’s pretty good and a big thank you to Dave (my brilliant Connexions Advisor) for contacting them to call me. Though, they wrote the wrong uni that I’m attending; it’s actually University for the Creative Arts at Farnham not University of the Arts London. Well, that’s the media for you; they can’t ever get anything right…
Will try to upload it later.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Uni Update
10 Days 17 Hours, 59 Minutes and Counting until I start freshers’ week at uni… HURRAH!
That being said, I’m getting my key to my accommodation on Sunday morning and will be moving in to my ground floor penthouse at uni on Monday night. Wish me luck…
That being said, I’m getting my key to my accommodation on Sunday morning and will be moving in to my ground floor penthouse at uni on Monday night. Wish me luck…
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
DSA Equipment
I’m so excited b/c today I received delivery of my new DSA equipment for uni that's mine to keep forever including a brand new MacBook Pro 17”, multifunction printer, Final Cut Studio 3, Adobe CS4 Design Premium and so much more. I cannot wait to start really using it… FANTASTICO!
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
The Walton Report Launch
Yesterday, I went to the launch of the Walton Report at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) next to Regent’s Park in London. This is the final report from the inquiry of All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Muscular Dystrophy (chaired by Dave Anderson MP) that looks into specialist care for muscle disease and related neuromuscular diseases.
It was named after Lord John Walton of Detchant (Honourary Life President of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign) who was a part of the APPG evidence inquiry sessions from December 2008 to July 2009, and is one of the three people that founded the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign 50 years ago.
Upon arrival at around 10:40, once I got into the building at the RCP I was dying to go wee having gotten up quite early and being stuck in London traffic, but the bathroom was one floor down about 8 steps below. So, I had to use the glass lift to go down about just 3 metres, but the bloody door wouldn’t close making the lift unusable. 10 minutes later, after many members of staff attempted to solve the problem w/ no resolve, my dad tried to tell the lady that my wheelchair was too big for the lift by having me in and out of the lift and showing her the magnetic lever, which she finally half-hearted agreed with. At that point, my dad held down the lever w/ his foot to see if I could drive over the lever with my wheelchair and see if the door would close. However, when I went over the lever the damn lever broke, so I had to reverse out of the lift quite precariously that was interesting to do. Then, the half-hearted lady said she’d show me where another bathroom was and Lord Walton took the lead and was very helpful, trying to get someone to tell me where the bathrooms were. We ended up going onto using a different lift and we left Lord Walton in the reception area. The lady really had no idea where she was going and we ended up going on the wrong floor before we actually found a bathroom in some backdoor corridor and I said to Dad, sarcastically, “Welcome to the Royal College of Physicians…” once we got to the bathroom, as he laughed. When we left the bathroom, the lady had suddenly vanished, so we had to find our way back, which we did. Yet when we went to a different floor, she said she was looking for us and told us to go down to the basement level, but that was the wrong floor; and we found ourselves being told by a brisk fellow this was the wrong floor, who was guarding what looked like a giant storeroom for champagne. At this, my dad said, “My goodness, physicians do drink a lot…” to which the guy pretended he didn’t hear and continued filling out paperwork on his clipboard. Thankfully, we finally found our way back to the reception area, though this scenario took over half an hour (and is often the story of my life). All before the actual event had even started – fun times!
Anyway, after I chatted to all of my friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign in the reception area, we went for a photo call in the gardens of the RCP around 11:30. Once that was done, we all went to the first floor into a beautiful, domed conference room. Dave Anderson MP, Chair of the APPG for Muscular Dystrophy, then gave the Welcome Address and then passed it onto Lord Walton, who gave a very moving and interesting speech. It was followed by a speech from the Director of Policy and Operations of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, Robert Meadowcroft, about the key facts of the Walton Report and what needs to be done now, as well as comments from Sir Michael Rawlins, the Chairman of NICE. That concluded the first half of the event because it was time for the best part of the day, Lunchtime…
During lunch, I met the Chief Executive of the Snowdon Award Scheme and we had a very insightful conversation about Higher Education and Trailblazers; hopefully Trailblazers and his organisation can team up to do some good work together. Dad and I left the reception area once we finished the conversation and quickly made our way to the lifts to head back to the conference room before the rush started.
The second half of the event was more interactive part of the day with a panel discussion, which I really thought was quite fascinating and surprisingly I found Lord Walton to be quite a witty person (and I was laughing in tears from all the humourous things he was saying throughout the day). Concluding remarks and the next steps to be taken, presented by Mr. Anderson concluded the event.
Finally, Phil (Chief Executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign) gave a passionate speech and made the closing remarks. What an amazing event indeed!
Overall, I really enjoyed the day greatly and thought it was a brilliant experience; and it was a pleasure to represent Trailblazers at the launch too. I especially enjoyed meeting all my friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and meeting with Lord Walton of Detchant, Baroness Thomas of Winchester and Dave Anderson MP. On a side note, sad yesterday at the launch Joe, our wonderful intern at HQ, told me that he’d be leaving soon because he is only on a short-term contract; very sad news indeed, although I wish him all the success and happiness in his future endeavours. Anyhow, we just need to now get some clout among politicians to bring the Walton Report high up on the political agenda, which can make a real, positive change for the better for people w/ Muscular Dystrophy and related diseases right away…
Find out more about the Walton Report.
It was named after Lord John Walton of Detchant (Honourary Life President of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign) who was a part of the APPG evidence inquiry sessions from December 2008 to July 2009, and is one of the three people that founded the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign 50 years ago.
Upon arrival at around 10:40, once I got into the building at the RCP I was dying to go wee having gotten up quite early and being stuck in London traffic, but the bathroom was one floor down about 8 steps below. So, I had to use the glass lift to go down about just 3 metres, but the bloody door wouldn’t close making the lift unusable. 10 minutes later, after many members of staff attempted to solve the problem w/ no resolve, my dad tried to tell the lady that my wheelchair was too big for the lift by having me in and out of the lift and showing her the magnetic lever, which she finally half-hearted agreed with. At that point, my dad held down the lever w/ his foot to see if I could drive over the lever with my wheelchair and see if the door would close. However, when I went over the lever the damn lever broke, so I had to reverse out of the lift quite precariously that was interesting to do. Then, the half-hearted lady said she’d show me where another bathroom was and Lord Walton took the lead and was very helpful, trying to get someone to tell me where the bathrooms were. We ended up going onto using a different lift and we left Lord Walton in the reception area. The lady really had no idea where she was going and we ended up going on the wrong floor before we actually found a bathroom in some backdoor corridor and I said to Dad, sarcastically, “Welcome to the Royal College of Physicians…” once we got to the bathroom, as he laughed. When we left the bathroom, the lady had suddenly vanished, so we had to find our way back, which we did. Yet when we went to a different floor, she said she was looking for us and told us to go down to the basement level, but that was the wrong floor; and we found ourselves being told by a brisk fellow this was the wrong floor, who was guarding what looked like a giant storeroom for champagne. At this, my dad said, “My goodness, physicians do drink a lot…” to which the guy pretended he didn’t hear and continued filling out paperwork on his clipboard. Thankfully, we finally found our way back to the reception area, though this scenario took over half an hour (and is often the story of my life). All before the actual event had even started – fun times!
Anyway, after I chatted to all of my friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign in the reception area, we went for a photo call in the gardens of the RCP around 11:30. Once that was done, we all went to the first floor into a beautiful, domed conference room. Dave Anderson MP, Chair of the APPG for Muscular Dystrophy, then gave the Welcome Address and then passed it onto Lord Walton, who gave a very moving and interesting speech. It was followed by a speech from the Director of Policy and Operations of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, Robert Meadowcroft, about the key facts of the Walton Report and what needs to be done now, as well as comments from Sir Michael Rawlins, the Chairman of NICE. That concluded the first half of the event because it was time for the best part of the day, Lunchtime…
During lunch, I met the Chief Executive of the Snowdon Award Scheme and we had a very insightful conversation about Higher Education and Trailblazers; hopefully Trailblazers and his organisation can team up to do some good work together. Dad and I left the reception area once we finished the conversation and quickly made our way to the lifts to head back to the conference room before the rush started.
The second half of the event was more interactive part of the day with a panel discussion, which I really thought was quite fascinating and surprisingly I found Lord Walton to be quite a witty person (and I was laughing in tears from all the humourous things he was saying throughout the day). Concluding remarks and the next steps to be taken, presented by Mr. Anderson concluded the event.
Finally, Phil (Chief Executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign) gave a passionate speech and made the closing remarks. What an amazing event indeed!
Overall, I really enjoyed the day greatly and thought it was a brilliant experience; and it was a pleasure to represent Trailblazers at the launch too. I especially enjoyed meeting all my friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and meeting with Lord Walton of Detchant, Baroness Thomas of Winchester and Dave Anderson MP. On a side note, sad yesterday at the launch Joe, our wonderful intern at HQ, told me that he’d be leaving soon because he is only on a short-term contract; very sad news indeed, although I wish him all the success and happiness in his future endeavours. Anyhow, we just need to now get some clout among politicians to bring the Walton Report high up on the political agenda, which can make a real, positive change for the better for people w/ Muscular Dystrophy and related diseases right away…
Find out more about the Walton Report.
UCA, All The Way!
Today, I officially enrolled as student at University for the Creative Arts (Farnham Campus; UCA Farnham) on their BA (Hons) Advertising & Brand Communication course beginning September 2009… HURRAH!
The Snow Leopard is Here…
Just ordered the Mac Box Set that includes Apple Inc.’s new operating system Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, which will ship by 28th August. WICKED!
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
MDC Presidents Award
Yesterday, I found out that I have been chosen as the 2009 Young Person of the Year at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s Presidents Award , jointly sharing the award w/ another Trailblazer.
As Bobby ( Trailblazers Project Manager) wrote, “You have been chosen because of your consistent and brilliant dedication to the Trailblazers network and for the leading roles both of you have taken in the research and online work of the network.
Therefore we’d like to invite you and your family to attend our ( National Conference on 5th September in Bradford to receive the award from our President Sue Barker .”
HURRAH! I wasn’t expecting that at all, but its really made my week…
What do you think?
PS: Congrats, to Jagz too!
As Bobby ( Trailblazers Project Manager) wrote, “You have been chosen because of your consistent and brilliant dedication to the Trailblazers network and for the leading roles both of you have taken in the research and online work of the network.
Therefore we’d like to invite you and your family to attend our ( National Conference on 5th September in Bradford to receive the award from our President Sue Barker .”
HURRAH! I wasn’t expecting that at all, but its really made my week…
What do you think?
PS: Congrats, to Jagz too!
Monday, 27 July 2009
Wembley Cup Weekend
On Friday and Sunday I attended the Wembley Cup w/ Sarah, an invitational football (soccer) tournament that took place between 24 and 26 July 2009 at Wembley Stadium, London. This was the inaugural year of the Wembley Cup, where each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw; and the four teams that played where Al-Ahly, Barcelona, Celtic, and Tottenham Hotspur.
In terms of accessibility it was very accessible w/ our seats on a platform w/ an excellent view of the field, and all the staff were so friendly and helpful. I was happy to see there was quite good services for disabled people at Wembley Stadium.
On Day 1 (24 July 2009) the first game was between Celtic and Al-Ahly (Celtic thrashed Al-Ahly by a final score of 5 – 0, but two of Celtic’s goals should have been offside) and the first game was between Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur (w/ a 1 – 1 draw). Day 2 (26 July 2009) was an interesting day w/ Barcelona beat Al-Ahly 4 – 1 and Celtic killed Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 (a great Anglo-Scot rivalry, indeed). Also, it was wicked to see Messi play for a bit on Day 2 during the 2nd Half of the first game, he’s amazing! Well, the final scores of the tournament where as follows:
Overall, I had a fab weekend at Wembley Stadium and hopefully I can attend next summer’s Wembley Cup too…
In terms of accessibility it was very accessible w/ our seats on a platform w/ an excellent view of the field, and all the staff were so friendly and helpful. I was happy to see there was quite good services for disabled people at Wembley Stadium.
On Day 1 (24 July 2009) the first game was between Celtic and Al-Ahly (Celtic thrashed Al-Ahly by a final score of 5 – 0, but two of Celtic’s goals should have been offside) and the first game was between Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur (w/ a 1 – 1 draw). Day 2 (26 July 2009) was an interesting day w/ Barcelona beat Al-Ahly 4 – 1 and Celtic killed Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 (a great Anglo-Scot rivalry, indeed). Also, it was wicked to see Messi play for a bit on Day 2 during the 2nd Half of the first game, he’s amazing! Well, the final scores of the tournament where as follows:
Overall, I had a fab weekend at Wembley Stadium and hopefully I can attend next summer’s Wembley Cup too…
Sunday, 19 July 2009
On Top of The World…
I stayed up until 3:00 AM this morning in elation after last night I watched my cousin, British boxer Amir Khan , claim his first world title – the WBA light welterweight belt to become the WBA light welterweight World Champion...
HURRAH: Congrats, Amir! :-)
HURRAH: Congrats, Amir! :-)
Sunday, 12 July 2009
Friday, 10 July 2009
A Day at The Museum
Yesterday, I attended the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s 2009 Young Pavement Artists Competition (YPAC) Awards Ceremony at the Natural History Museum w/ Mum and Sarah.
Upon arrival, we went to a reception we mingled for a while and around 14:00 we into the theatre for actual awards ceremony to see the children who were the runner-ups and winners in each category received their prizes. It was so inspiring to see all the children’s amazing artwork!
Guess who was also awarding the children their prizes? Well, it was Chico of the “It’s Chico Time” fame! He is so funny and I met him afterwards as well when Mum was chatting him up…
About 40-45 minutes later, we went back to the reception area to have tea and cake and chat some more. Then at 16:30 the runner-ups and winners were given an exclusive tour of the museum, and I was offered to go on the tour too on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign; so Mum, Sarah and me followed the brilliant Matt (Learning Operations Manager at the Museum), who gave an excellent Museum Tour. The NHM was exclusively closed for us; he showed us all the cool parts of the Museum and he took us to a special room that not many know b/c it’s hidden where the had all kinds unique, interesting items that we could touch and explore – from fossils to bones and to butterflies to a taxidermy fox. The friendly Guido was our lovely museum guide; he showed me (and the me touch) all kinds cool items including a dried starfish, a head of a crocodile, a mold of a dinosaur’s teeth, Baleen from a Sperm Whale and so much more… It was just utterly amazing and I definitely plan to go back!
All in all, it was a wicked day that I really enjoyed. Plus, it was very nice to meet old and new friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign – Phil (Chief Executive), Adam (Designer), Abby (Director of Marketing and Communications), Sally (Marketing and Communications Manager), Eleanor (Web Manager), Laura (Volunteering Recruitment Manager) and twins Laura and Judith (Trailblazers National Ambassadors) – and others such as Jo (from the tictoc , the company that designed and manages our websites) and more interesting people at the ceremony. YPAC was a well dog’s bollocks of an experience that I’ll never forget…
Upon arrival, we went to a reception we mingled for a while and around 14:00 we into the theatre for actual awards ceremony to see the children who were the runner-ups and winners in each category received their prizes. It was so inspiring to see all the children’s amazing artwork!
Guess who was also awarding the children their prizes? Well, it was Chico of the “It’s Chico Time” fame! He is so funny and I met him afterwards as well when Mum was chatting him up…
About 40-45 minutes later, we went back to the reception area to have tea and cake and chat some more. Then at 16:30 the runner-ups and winners were given an exclusive tour of the museum, and I was offered to go on the tour too on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign; so Mum, Sarah and me followed the brilliant Matt (Learning Operations Manager at the Museum), who gave an excellent Museum Tour. The NHM was exclusively closed for us; he showed us all the cool parts of the Museum and he took us to a special room that not many know b/c it’s hidden where the had all kinds unique, interesting items that we could touch and explore – from fossils to bones and to butterflies to a taxidermy fox. The friendly Guido was our lovely museum guide; he showed me (and the me touch) all kinds cool items including a dried starfish, a head of a crocodile, a mold of a dinosaur’s teeth, Baleen from a Sperm Whale and so much more… It was just utterly amazing and I definitely plan to go back!
All in all, it was a wicked day that I really enjoyed. Plus, it was very nice to meet old and new friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign – Phil (Chief Executive), Adam (Designer), Abby (Director of Marketing and Communications), Sally (Marketing and Communications Manager), Eleanor (Web Manager), Laura (Volunteering Recruitment Manager) and twins Laura and Judith (Trailblazers National Ambassadors) – and others such as Jo (from the tictoc , the company that designed and manages our websites) and more interesting people at the ceremony. YPAC was a well dog’s bollocks of an experience that I’ll never forget…
Birthday Wishes
Happy 18th Birthday to my younger sister, Sana! I hope that today is great day for her and she has a wonderful year…
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Funeral of the World
Just finished watch Michael Jackson’s funeral / memorial on telly live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Quite a varied extravaganza; May he rest in peace…
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Friday, 26 June 2009
King of The World
Sadly, yesterday the legend that is Michael Jackson died of cardiac arrest. Love him or hate him, you have to respect him for all he achieved: being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as well as his other achievements that include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career, and the sale of 750 million records worldwide.
He influenced so many bands more than anyone else I can think of (from rock to pop and everything in between), and what I find most interesting is the brand of Michael Jackson and how he had probably the biggest impact on global popular culture as a whole of a personal brand. This is quite fascinating, indeed.
May he R.I.P. and may his music live forever…
He influenced so many bands more than anyone else I can think of (from rock to pop and everything in between), and what I find most interesting is the brand of Michael Jackson and how he had probably the biggest impact on global popular culture as a whole of a personal brand. This is quite fascinating, indeed.
May he R.I.P. and may his music live forever…
Friday, 29 May 2009
Think Beyond Your Boundaries
Today, I also booked tickets for the whole family and me to attend Beyond Boundaries Live 2009 on 4 July 2009, which looks like an awe day out and a brilliant experience…
Check this video to learn a bit more (below):
Check this video to learn a bit more (below):
Football Days
Just booked tickets for the Wembley Cup taking place on 24 July 2009 and 26 July 2009 at Wembley Stadium. I’m going to be supporting Barcelona (and will be sitting in there side) and I cannot wait…
Friday, 22 May 2009
Day at Tesco
As I previously mentioned, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (where I am during my work experience, working with the Press and Communication Team and as Trailblazers' London Ambassador) has been named Tesco Charity of the Year 2009. As such, I also volunteered to be a ‘Tesco Buddy’ and this afternoon I went to my local Tesco to give my support because all the Tesco stores in the Southeast of the country were having a ‘Wild West Weekend’ event day of fundraising.
Sadly, my local Tesco completely did a horrible and shameful job of managing and running the event. Where do I start? Well, firstly when I called up my local Tesco store yesterday to talk to the manager just to introduce myself and find out the agenda of the event, but when I called she was not even there and I ended up talking to another lady who supposedly was knowledgeable of the event. Yet, she had no idea what was happening during the event and when I mentioned that a volunteer from Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is coming to assist, she had no idea who it would be, but when I told her my name she suddenly remembered that was the person’s name. I just took it with a pinch of salt and thought today would be better. However, I was greatly mistaken.
Upon arrival, I was quite surprised that there no sign showing that we were Tesco Charity of the Year 2009, only one small ceiling sign that you could barely read. As the lady on the phone said yesterday, I walked over to the Customer Service desk to let them know I had arrived as one of the staff behind the counter called the lady who was helping with the event, since the manager was not there. 15 minutes later, a lady (the one who I spoke to yesterday) came up to me and I introduced myself; she basically said she wanted me collect money from customers and told me to sit by the main entrance and ‘look pretty.’ So basically the whole time, all I did was collect money.
Furthermore, things I really hated about this event and thought should have happened are as follows:
1) The manager was not even there: First rule of good event management, the manager should always be there during an event
2) There was no signage or visuals in the store: Customers have no idea that we are the charity of the year or who we are
3) There were no special activities during the event for customers to enjoy: We as a charity provide Tesco stores with balloons, stickers, posters, materials etc. for events and as it was ‘Wild West Weekend’ I was expecting my local store to have all that as well as activities for all like country music and lime dancing, but there was none of that
4) Staff were completely oblivious: I was basically left by myself and after half n hour, the lady just came back to give me a box with presents in it for a lucky dip (20p per a gift) and staff didn’t really seem to know what they were doing; through some were wearing cowboy hats
5) There were no auditory PSAs: That’s public service announcements for all non-advertising people out there. There was only one announcement on the PA System 50 minutes after I arrived by this idiot guy who basically said, ‘Dear Customers and Staff…as you can see some of our staff are wearing cowboy hats and outfits today. This is for ‘Wild West Weekend’…’ and that was it, he failed to mention that it for Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and what it was about. What should of happened is that someone should have made a PSA every 15 minutes, since the average customer is only in the store for about that long
6) There was nowhere for customers to donate money when they wanted: Despite each checkout point having a collection box, it was quite hidden away from customers and cashiers never mentioned it. For example, as I was leaving to go home after I’d given the lady my collection box, one 80-something sweet little lady followed me back to my vehicle to give me a donation, but I told her that I’d already given back the box and my Dad added she could make her donation in the collection box at every cashier; she then said she didn’t know where it was, so my wonderful Dad stopped traffic to help walk her back to the store to make her valuable donation. What should happened is A) the collection box at each checkout should be more visible, B) each cashier should ask customers at the end of each purchase if they would like to make an donation for their charity of the year and have a coupon like notepad where they could just scan it to add £1 to their purchase as most people use credit not cash and C) they should be a large collection box with large signage in the main entrance for customers to donate what they like when they like
7) Some customers were quite obnoxious: One lady came up to me and was looking for change to put in my collection box and as she put coins into the box, I thanked her very much and she quite patronisingly said to me, ‘It’s okay, it must be quite hard for you…’ looking at me with pity; as I just bit my tongue and took her money, remembering I was representing our organisation, but swore internally when she was gone. Another scenario that happened was after I gave this guy’s grandkids some free stickers, they put a few coins in the collection box and got some presents from the lucky dip, the man goes, ‘Oh, you don’t get anything for nothing…’ and walked off while he smiled at me, as I smiled back and said thank you to him. Though some people were really nice, especially the kids and elderly who were so cute; one guy came up to me and said that he’d be right back from getting some coins from his car and when he came back, he gave me a whole jar of coins telling me he’d just found it under the stairs of the new house he’d just moved in to. So it pays to be nice
8) The event was utterly rubbish in the way it was organised and run: My local Tesco store did an absolute bad job of the event. I have a keen interest in event management too, and as an advertising student I think could have created a much better event. What should have happened at this event is Tesco should have A) had a marketing plan, B) advertise it in the local media, C) set up activities and visuals in the store for the event, D) invite local media to the event, E) have a manager on site during the actual event who can supervise everything, F) train staff to better participate in the event, G) have PSAs every 15 minutes during the event, H) incise customers to participate in activities during the event and to make a contribution, I) enjoy the event and J) get feedback from customers and staff how to better future events
And 9) This year is quite unlucky for us to be charity of the year: This year it really is a very bad time for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to named Tesco Charity of the Year 2009 because of the credit crunch and all. People are losing their jobs and really don’t have much money to give away to charities, even if they do people are becoming quite stingy. Through, there are still lots of kind people out there who will always help others
That’s about it. There are just so many things I would have done better for this event instead of making it so bullocks! I just hope that future events at Tesco stores across the country can be fixed to produce a better outcome and keep our good reputation intact…
Sadly, my local Tesco completely did a horrible and shameful job of managing and running the event. Where do I start? Well, firstly when I called up my local Tesco store yesterday to talk to the manager just to introduce myself and find out the agenda of the event, but when I called she was not even there and I ended up talking to another lady who supposedly was knowledgeable of the event. Yet, she had no idea what was happening during the event and when I mentioned that a volunteer from Muscular Dystrophy Campaign is coming to assist, she had no idea who it would be, but when I told her my name she suddenly remembered that was the person’s name. I just took it with a pinch of salt and thought today would be better. However, I was greatly mistaken.
Upon arrival, I was quite surprised that there no sign showing that we were Tesco Charity of the Year 2009, only one small ceiling sign that you could barely read. As the lady on the phone said yesterday, I walked over to the Customer Service desk to let them know I had arrived as one of the staff behind the counter called the lady who was helping with the event, since the manager was not there. 15 minutes later, a lady (the one who I spoke to yesterday) came up to me and I introduced myself; she basically said she wanted me collect money from customers and told me to sit by the main entrance and ‘look pretty.’ So basically the whole time, all I did was collect money.
Furthermore, things I really hated about this event and thought should have happened are as follows:
1) The manager was not even there: First rule of good event management, the manager should always be there during an event
2) There was no signage or visuals in the store: Customers have no idea that we are the charity of the year or who we are
3) There were no special activities during the event for customers to enjoy: We as a charity provide Tesco stores with balloons, stickers, posters, materials etc. for events and as it was ‘Wild West Weekend’ I was expecting my local store to have all that as well as activities for all like country music and lime dancing, but there was none of that
4) Staff were completely oblivious: I was basically left by myself and after half n hour, the lady just came back to give me a box with presents in it for a lucky dip (20p per a gift) and staff didn’t really seem to know what they were doing; through some were wearing cowboy hats
5) There were no auditory PSAs: That’s public service announcements for all non-advertising people out there. There was only one announcement on the PA System 50 minutes after I arrived by this idiot guy who basically said, ‘Dear Customers and Staff…as you can see some of our staff are wearing cowboy hats and outfits today. This is for ‘Wild West Weekend’…’ and that was it, he failed to mention that it for Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and what it was about. What should of happened is that someone should have made a PSA every 15 minutes, since the average customer is only in the store for about that long
6) There was nowhere for customers to donate money when they wanted: Despite each checkout point having a collection box, it was quite hidden away from customers and cashiers never mentioned it. For example, as I was leaving to go home after I’d given the lady my collection box, one 80-something sweet little lady followed me back to my vehicle to give me a donation, but I told her that I’d already given back the box and my Dad added she could make her donation in the collection box at every cashier; she then said she didn’t know where it was, so my wonderful Dad stopped traffic to help walk her back to the store to make her valuable donation. What should happened is A) the collection box at each checkout should be more visible, B) each cashier should ask customers at the end of each purchase if they would like to make an donation for their charity of the year and have a coupon like notepad where they could just scan it to add £1 to their purchase as most people use credit not cash and C) they should be a large collection box with large signage in the main entrance for customers to donate what they like when they like
7) Some customers were quite obnoxious: One lady came up to me and was looking for change to put in my collection box and as she put coins into the box, I thanked her very much and she quite patronisingly said to me, ‘It’s okay, it must be quite hard for you…’ looking at me with pity; as I just bit my tongue and took her money, remembering I was representing our organisation, but swore internally when she was gone. Another scenario that happened was after I gave this guy’s grandkids some free stickers, they put a few coins in the collection box and got some presents from the lucky dip, the man goes, ‘Oh, you don’t get anything for nothing…’ and walked off while he smiled at me, as I smiled back and said thank you to him. Though some people were really nice, especially the kids and elderly who were so cute; one guy came up to me and said that he’d be right back from getting some coins from his car and when he came back, he gave me a whole jar of coins telling me he’d just found it under the stairs of the new house he’d just moved in to. So it pays to be nice
8) The event was utterly rubbish in the way it was organised and run: My local Tesco store did an absolute bad job of the event. I have a keen interest in event management too, and as an advertising student I think could have created a much better event. What should have happened at this event is Tesco should have A) had a marketing plan, B) advertise it in the local media, C) set up activities and visuals in the store for the event, D) invite local media to the event, E) have a manager on site during the actual event who can supervise everything, F) train staff to better participate in the event, G) have PSAs every 15 minutes during the event, H) incise customers to participate in activities during the event and to make a contribution, I) enjoy the event and J) get feedback from customers and staff how to better future events
And 9) This year is quite unlucky for us to be charity of the year: This year it really is a very bad time for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to named Tesco Charity of the Year 2009 because of the credit crunch and all. People are losing their jobs and really don’t have much money to give away to charities, even if they do people are becoming quite stingy. Through, there are still lots of kind people out there who will always help others
That’s about it. There are just so many things I would have done better for this event instead of making it so bullocks! I just hope that future events at Tesco stores across the country can be fixed to produce a better outcome and keep our good reputation intact…
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Europe Rocks!
I don’t how I can tell you this, especially to my American friends, but I just utterly love living in Europe b/c there’s always so much to see and do – including the cuisine, sports, events, sights, museums, languages, creativity, and the music – it’s bloody amazing! It is like a giant, diverse mixing pot of society; well, that’s the ideals I hold the EU to, though it’s not perfect no thanks to likes of the BNP and Neo-Nazi wankers across Europe…
To that end, about the music: Last night, we watched the Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 that was really a spectacular feast for the eyes, which was in Moscow, Russia this year b/c there was voting block by Eastern European countries who voted for Russia to win at last year’s event.
So, this year they “Changes in the voting procedure were made with the re-introduction of a national jury alongside televoting…” for the Final. Here are the top five songs that won:
1) “Fairytale” by Alexander Rybak (Norway)
2) “Is It True?” by Yohanna (Iceland)
3) “Always” by AySel & Arash (Azerbaijan) (I really do NOT like this song b/c it’s so irritating!)
4) “Dum Tek Tek” by Hadise (Turkey)
5) “It’s My Time” by Jade Ewen (United Kingdom) (Don’t ask me why)
Here’s Norway’s final performance after he’d won (below):
And here’s the song from this years host country, Russia, “Mamo” (Mother) by Anastasia Prikhodko (below):
Additionally, here are some more songs from Eurovision that I thought were quite interesting too (in no particular order):
A) “Jan Jan” (My dear) by Inga & Anush (Armenia)
B) “La Noche Es Para Mí” (The Night Is For Me) by Soraya (Spain)
C) “Rändajad” (Nomads) by Urban Symphony (Estonia)
D) “What If We” by Chiara (Malta)
E) “Et s'il fallait le faire” (And if it had to be done) by Patricia Kaas (France)
F) “Todas as ruas do amor” (All the streets of love) by Flor-de-Lis (Portugal)
G) “Lose Control” by Waldo's People (Finland)
And H) “Miss Kiss Kiss Bang” by Alex Swings Oscar Sings! (Germany) (Check out his wild trousers…)
I also really loved the interval act of the show a lot as well. It was by Fuerzabruta (Argentinean dance/music/visual experience group) and was so amazing! Check it out (below):
How fab it was, the event was quite a creative piece of magnificence and was visually stunning to view! As an advertising student, having a keen interest in event management too, I’d love to create amazing events like this sometime in the future to like hobby on the side of my advertising career…
So, it was just a utterly brilliant show and I cannot wait for next year’s ESC in Oslo!
To that end, about the music: Last night, we watched the Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 that was really a spectacular feast for the eyes, which was in Moscow, Russia this year b/c there was voting block by Eastern European countries who voted for Russia to win at last year’s event.
So, this year they “Changes in the voting procedure were made with the re-introduction of a national jury alongside televoting…” for the Final. Here are the top five songs that won:
1) “Fairytale” by Alexander Rybak (Norway)
2) “Is It True?” by Yohanna (Iceland)
3) “Always” by AySel & Arash (Azerbaijan) (I really do NOT like this song b/c it’s so irritating!)
4) “Dum Tek Tek” by Hadise (Turkey)
5) “It’s My Time” by Jade Ewen (United Kingdom) (Don’t ask me why)
Here’s Norway’s final performance after he’d won (below):
And here’s the song from this years host country, Russia, “Mamo” (Mother) by Anastasia Prikhodko (below):
Additionally, here are some more songs from Eurovision that I thought were quite interesting too (in no particular order):
A) “Jan Jan” (My dear) by Inga & Anush (Armenia)
B) “La Noche Es Para Mí” (The Night Is For Me) by Soraya (Spain)
C) “Rändajad” (Nomads) by Urban Symphony (Estonia)
D) “What If We” by Chiara (Malta)
E) “Et s'il fallait le faire” (And if it had to be done) by Patricia Kaas (France)
F) “Todas as ruas do amor” (All the streets of love) by Flor-de-Lis (Portugal)
G) “Lose Control” by Waldo's People (Finland)
And H) “Miss Kiss Kiss Bang” by Alex Swings Oscar Sings! (Germany) (Check out his wild trousers…)
I also really loved the interval act of the show a lot as well. It was by Fuerzabruta (Argentinean dance/music/visual experience group) and was so amazing! Check it out (below):
How fab it was, the event was quite a creative piece of magnificence and was visually stunning to view! As an advertising student, having a keen interest in event management too, I’d love to create amazing events like this sometime in the future to like hobby on the side of my advertising career…
So, it was just a utterly brilliant show and I cannot wait for next year’s ESC in Oslo!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
