Uni Update

95 Days, 17 Hours, 19 Minutes and counting until my first day of uni… Oh man, time is just going so fast. HURRAH!

My Re-Awakening Begins…

Yes, my new wheelchair arrived yesterday for the final fitting and is officially now mine to keep: HURRAH! You all have no idea what this means to me, and how happy and alive I feel right now. Last night, I took for a spin outside just up the street and it drives like a BMW (well, it was made in Germany); it’s amazing, but I just need to get used to all the settings of my cool, new wheelchair. All in need to do now, is not rush anything and build up my tolerance of sitting in the wheelchair, as well as greatly taking advantage of the Power Tilt feature even more throughout the day than I used to b/c realistically I’m not ever again going to be able to sit completely vertically in my wheelchair for long periods due to the severity of my Scoliosis (and gravity being my worst enemy). It sucks, but I’m very thankful that at least I’m mobile at last.

It’s just so wicked and totally dog’s bollocks! Photos coming soon…

Wheelchair Update

I just found out that my new wheelchair will be coming on Tuesday for the final fitting! I cannot wait and hope everything works out…

Uni Assessment

This afternoon an Educational Assessor came to visit to assess my needs for uni study and for Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) . Once the Assessor does some calculations, she will type a report of what equipment/support I need for uni and then send it to the student finance people. I think it went pretty well, so let’s hope for the best…

Understanding My Condition

All day yesterday I attend the Living with MD Day London w/ Sarah, which was the pilot peer group program by the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to have adults dealing with muscle diseases to come together to discuss issues and find out where we can get the most appropriate needs.

All in all, there were 12 of us w/ Muscular Dystrophy in total who attended the peer group b/c the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign has to have a small group of attendees otherwise the charity can’t offer a free event, but I think it is much relaxed and intimate that way. That being said, I learned so much and made some great friends too. I had had a fab time and everyone was so wonderful, and I definitely plan to stay in touch w/ them all!

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):

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…

New Champions of Europe

Last night, I watched the UEFA Champions League Final on telly between Manchester United and Barcelona .

What an amazing game! Thankfully, Barça thrashed Man U by beating them 2 – 0. HURRAH! Hopefully, they can win the Champions League again next year, though it’s never been successfully defended twice, but Barça is the team that could probably do it if it was too happen…

Wheelchair Update

Yesterday, my new wheelchair finally arrived today! The seating people and wheelchair dealer guy come at 10:00 and were here until about 17:00 working on getting the seating to best work w/ me on the new wheelchair. Sadly, though they had to take the new wheelchair back b/c the severity of Scoliosis makes it quite complex to get the seating right since once I start sitting vertically gravity is my worst enemy (by me collapsing so much due to not being able to hold myself up), and work on it more to get a better chest harness and headrest. Hopefully, it won’t take too long to get it.

However, I’d rater wait a bit longer to get my new wheelchair in perfect order, than to get it right away and it doesn’t really fit my needs. Just feeling quite down today, as I’m so closer yet so far from getting my new wheelchair, but at least it’s in the same country and only a short while to wait now…

New Wheels, New Champions...

What a day today was! Lots to tell you, but am quite knackered right now. Will try to fill you in tomorrow or as soon as I'm able. Stay tuned... ;-]

111 Days, 5 Hours, 31 Minutes and Counting…

Until my first day of Uni… HURRAH!

I so just cannot wait and think that it’s going to be an utterly amazing experience…

3 Days, 10 Hours, 48 Minutes and Counting...

Until my wicked, new wheelchair arrives… It’s about time. HURRAH!

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…

Uni Update

About an hour or so ago, I just received a phone call from the head of the first year of my course at university, who was the one that interviewed me and offered me a place on the course. He called in reply to my email as I had some queries about my course. We talked for quite a while, he told me more details about my course (including timings and first term courses I’d most likely be having) and gave me some very cool links to check out, such as the course website. It was just really great to talk to him and I cannot wait to begin my course!

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!

Transportation Report Launch

Yesterday, I attended the Trailblazers Transportation Report Launch at Parliament. I arrived in Westminster around 11:30 and walked over to Westminster Abbey where other Trailblazers were waiting. About 12:00, we had a press conference in front of Westminster Abbey where we took lots press photos and were interview by the media. I was interviewed by ITV and was on London Tonight later in the evening yesterday; it was very exciting since it was my first telly interview, but I forgot what I learned at the Media Training Days back in December at Muscular Dystrophy Campaign HQ by remembering that even before the camera starts rolling you ask the reporter what the first question and format will be, so you have a 20-30 second buffer period to brace yourself before the lights go on; although, I think I did pretty well considering I’ve never done this previously and hopefully I’ll be even better next time. Highly enjoyed indeed, but it was so windy in Westminster!

This all took over 1 1/2 hours to get done, and then around 14:00 we walked to House of Commons for a conference w/ Ministers and I got to the Committee Room I was the last one the b/c getting security always takes ages and I had go right through the back of Parliament to get to the Committee Room since there are stairs in the main entrance up to room. When I got to the room, everyone had already handed our report over to MPs and Peers, and were discussing the findings of the report and recommendations for “future courses of action to improve accessibility on public transport for disabled people.”

Sadly, during the discussions my rubbish current wheelchair started hurting really badly, so much so that I had severe breathing difficulties and had to get Dad to leave the room w/ me to lay me down in the hallway, reclining me flat in my wheelchair so I could breathe. After resting for a bit, I decided to go home early b/c I didn’t want to risk my health further. Despite this, everyone from Muscular Dystrophy Campaign were really understanding and lovely about it. Oh, how wonderful they all are at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and how much I love working there…

Anyway, it was just a brilliant experience and it was very nice to meet Trailblazer friends and other wonderful Trailblazers from across the UK. Also, we got the attention of the country’s press and were covered by 12 national and regional telly and radio broadcasts…

Day at The Market

Earlier today I went to Walthamstow Market w/ Dad, as it was such a beautiful day for a change and I just needed to get out of the house. Once we arrived, we walked to the market from a side road where we had parked and I couldn’t believe how bustling it was; it was just how I remembered it when I was younger. Walthamstow has the longest outdoor market in London, possibly even the UK, and is wonderful because there are so many different types of people that go there.

We first went to the main entrance of the outdoor market, where they had a merry-go-round and fun fair type activities for families and a giant screen showing the scores from to Match of the Day . After walking through the market for a bit, we went into the mall that right next door and looked around for a bit in a bookshop and BHS , exiting out into the outdoor market when finished. Exploring the market some more, I was just taking in all the amazing sights and sounds – from Reggae to Bhangra and from Fish ‘n’ Chips to Chicken Tikka Masala. Also, the market is the best local market in the country because there are people here from every part of the world and all connecting with the East London language, raw Cockney English; for example you have all the animated Cockney market-sellers shouting out “Pound ya bananah” and “Lovely jubly darling, tah!” at their stalls. The diversity of the market is really quite surprising, though the BNP or UKIP would really hate there.

Overall, it was a great day well spent in great weather…

Uni Update

I cannot believe that there’s only about four months left until I start university! I’ve just been so busy lately working on uni stuff (getting accommodation set up, applying for support and sadly applying for student finance, etc.) and all… Wish me luck!

Wheelchair Update

I recently found out that I have to wait until the end of May not the end of April to receive my new wheelchair b/c the manufacture didn’t actually put the order on their system until 31 March (NOT two weeks earlier like I was told)… Buggers! Oh well, at I’m definitely getting it, but I hope sooner rather than later…

100 Days and Counting…

Today is the day of President Barrack Obama’s first 100 days in office. Congrats! Keep up all the excellent work…

UEFA Champions League Semifinal

I just finished watching the UEFA Champions League semifinal round, first-leg game between Chelsea and FC Barcelona at Camp Nou in Spain on telly. What a brilliant game it was and the way Lionel Messi played was just utterly amazing! He’s only 21 too, no wonder he’s considered to be the best player in the world right now.

Though, frustratingly the score ended up 0-0 at full-time, no thanks to the bloody referee, but hopefully Barcelona can kick Chelsea’s arse on the return leg that will be played in London on Wednesday, 6 May…

Day at Parliament

This morning I went to Parliament to attend the next evidence session for the Inquiry of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Muscular Dystrophy (APPG). Today’s evidence session was about “Research, Treatment and International Perspective.” It was quite interesting and I cannot wait to attend the next one…

United We Stand…

Happy Earth Day everyone! My prayers and thoughts are with everyone in world who are alone and suffering, and I hope that we as society can better take care of our planet and all of its people in the next year more than we did in the previous year…


Love,
The Red Haired Londoner

XOXO





"Shalom" (in blue) and "Salaam" (in green) mean "peace" in Hebrew and Arabic respectively.






Peace flag, a series of seven rainbow colors (red on bottom) with the word PACE (Peace in Italian and Romanian, derived from the Latin word pax, pronounced pah-chay) boldly printed across the middle.

Eddie Arrives...

Guess what? Today, I just received my tickets to see Eddie Izzard on 3 December 09 at The O2 Arena. Hurrah! I was really wicked b/c it was the first time I booked tickets to an event by myself w/o Sarah’s help, though The O2 are generally quite good in helping people w/ disabilities. I cannot wait…

Why I Love UCA Farnham Already…

…

By Laurel Robinson - UCA Epsom

(Above is my future note-taker when I start uni at UCA Farnham … Well, a man can hope!)
;-]

---

Also, yesterday discovered that they’ve finally put the term dates for uni 2009/2010 and are as follows:


This made me so happy and excited! Stay tuned…

Wheelchair Update

My new wheelchair should arrive in about two/three weeks since wheelchair dealer said I’ll get it by late April / early May… Hurrah! I cannot tell you how much I’m looking forward getting it and wait until I can go out more, as I’ve been practically bed bound for two+ months… I’ll keep you posted.

Bunnies & Chocolate Eggs…

Happy Easter to everyone! Have a lovely and peaceful day all…

Love,
TRHL

Foreign Guests

Today, some guests arrived (Mum, son, and daughter) from Dubai, U.A.E. to stay with us until the 15 April. I think they’re dad’s friends or our relatives (extended distant, distant family) or something. Well, we’re all related somehow… :-]

Anyway, we’re going to be quite overcrowded, as we barely have enough space for ourselves being a family of six plus Granddad. Wish me luck!

Day w/ The Boss

Earlier today, I met with Phil Butcher, the Chief Executive of Muscular Dystrophy Campaign where I’m doing work experience/volunteering, after I wrote him a letter a few weeks ago and he kindly agreed to meet with me at my home. What nice and amazing man he is!

And the meeting couldn’t have gone any better. I gave a presentation using Keynote on my PowerBook G4 via the assistance of my younger sister extraordinaire, Sana, and my presentation was mainly about my ideas for bettering the organisation and what I would like to do to help further with my work experience. Afterwards, we chatted for quite some time; he telling me about his daughter who also has Muscular Dystrophy and told him more about my background. All in all, he seemed very positive indeed and said he’ll definitely get back with the answers to my queries after the Easter holiday next week.

I cannot wait until he gets back to me and when I’m able to go into the office more once I get my new wheelchair…

She’s Back!

My lovely big sis, Sarah, just came back from three week trip across the pond in the good ol’ US of A – NYC, Manchester (Connecticut), LA, and DC… HURRAH!

So glad to see her since I missed her lots, especially as she got me some really wicked gifts from America… Just kidding. ;-]

Welcome home Sarah!

Lunch w/ Friends

Earlier today, my friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign HQ came over for lunch. There was Nila (who works there as a Marketing & Communications Coordinator), James (who is a final year English Lit. student and like me also does work experience at the office), and Bobby (who also works at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign HQ as Project Manager of Trailblazers ).

It was really nice b/c Mum ordered pizza for us and we chatted away, laughing and having a brilliant time for a few hours! How great it was of them to visit me at home and I hope they can over more since currently I can’t get out much. I had a really fab time w/ my friends and I hope they enjoyed themselves too…

2009 RBS 6 Nations Results

The final Saturday of 2009 RBS 6 Nations is here! Three games were played today: Italy and France, England and Scotland, and then Wales and Ireland for the Grand Slam tile.

The first of the games between Italy and France I missed b/c my friends came for lunch (that I’ll tell you about later), but anyhow the score was: Italy 8 – 50 France. OMG, I can’t believe I missed this game, though I definitely plan to watch it later on BBC iPlayer!

In the next game I only caught the second half since I was hanging out w/ my friends; the score ended at 26 – 12 to England who strongly won against Scotland.

And finally for the Grand Slam tile game that was such a very awe-inspiring battle… Ireland had a thrilling Grand Slam victory over Wales clinching it in last ten minutes with a score of Italy 15 – 17 , which broke Ireland’s 61-year wait for a Grand Slam title!

Well, that’s it for Europe’s premier rugby tournament of 2009. What ups and downs there were, and I cannot wait until next year’s RBS 6 Nations and the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand…

Wheelchair Update

Two day ago I found out that my PCT (Primary Care Trust) sent all the paperwork to the wheelchair dealer, so it can finally be ordered; and I found today that it will arrive in about six weeks since it’s “bespoke wheelchair” that has to be completely custom build… Yay, just six more week until I can start get out of bed and finally start living life to the fullest: HURRAH!

Now, I just hope nothing goes wrong and I awing it eagerly…

2009 RBS 6 Nations Results

Today’s much anticipated game was between England and France, which was so infixing.

The score was shockingly 34 – 10 to England who absolutely annihilated France…

What a cracker it was! I now eagerly am awaiting the final weekend next Saturday…

Good Times, Sarah!

Sarah just left for the airport for a three-week trip to America… First, she goes to New York City w/ her uni, next she goes to Connecticut, LA, and then D.C.! And she gets back on 8 April: lucky cow… ;-]

Have a fab time Sarah and I’ll see you soon!

What A Kick Off!

Last night, my cousin Amir Khan, the boxer who won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, who turn pro had his toughest fight yet against seven time world champion Marco Antonio Barrera; this was for the WBA and WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight title…

As the fight was on pay-per-view I didn’t watch live on Saturday night, as it is the credit crunch, and I watched earlier today on YouTube.

Thankfully, my cousin won the fight via a fifth-round technical decision. Congrats, Amir!

To read more about Amir’s fight .

Saturday Family Night

Last night, we mixed it up a bit for Saturday Family Night. We celebrated Mother’s Day (since Sarah’s not going to be here on the day) that is really on 22 March here in the UK.

Mum made this amazing homemade cod with rice that was so bloody good, and we surprised Mum with this 10X8 inch solid hallmarked sterling silver photograph frame that was fabulously pre-wrapped, which I actually bought but said us siblings chose together; though, not that I mind… I thought we could have a nice family photo with just the 6 of us, which we’ve never had and is not too formal. I hope she liked it!

And later we watched “Red Eye” b/c Sarah had to get up early the next day and it’s a relatively short film. Though not very realistic, it is still an enjoyable film of assured entertainment factor that we watch whenever we need good reliable interesting film we all like…

2009 RBS 6 Nations Results

Two weeks later another two great games between Italy and Wales and then Scotland and Ireland…

In the first game Italy lost Wales in the last ten minute of the game, 15 – 20 .

And in second game it was 15 – 22 to Ireland beating Scotland.

What games these were!

Au Revoir Nila

Today, I just found out that my friend Nila, who works at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign HQ, sadly is going to be leaving the charity for another charity at the end of the month. :-[

This is quite sad to know, but Nila said that she would be doing more web-based marketing that she find really interesting, so I’m so happy for her. And I’ll still see her and be in touch b/c she local to East London…

CONGRATS, NILA!


Best wishes,
TRHL

Day w/ Nila

Yesterday, my friend Nila, who works at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign HQ with me, came over for lunch.

It was really nice because Mum ordered pizza and we just ate and chatted for ages… How brilliant it was!

Nila eventually left around 18:00 after an interesting afternoon together. I always enjoy the company of my friends from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, but sadly I don’t get to see them often b/c I cannot go the office since my current wheelchair is very painful to sit in and it has broken down since 19 February. However, I hope I will be getting my new wheelchair soon, so finally I’ll be able go out and about more…

Charity of Year

Today, I just found out that the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (where I’m doing work experience stuff) was named Tesco Charity of the Year 2009... HURRAH!!!

I cannot tell you enough how happy I am to hear this and I think it will really bring a greater awareness about Muscular Dystrophy throughout the UK too. So, a huge thank you to everyone at the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, especially to you for everything, and do keep up all the excellent work!

Find out more information about the Tesco Charity of the Year 2009 .

He’s Back!

Great news… I just booked tickets to see the brilliant Eddie Izzard on his new comedy tour on 3 December at The O2 Arena for Sarah and me… HURRAH!!! IT IS GOING TO BE SO FAB!



Find out more information about the Eddie Izzard – STRIPPED Tour . (scroll down to read)

Saturday Family Night

For Saturday Family Night last night we watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off” that Sarah recently bought, which is directed by John Hughes, and stars Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, and Edie McClurg.

I totally forgot how good this was, as I’ve not seen it in ages, and it was really nice to watch it again my younger sibling who’d never seen it before… A true classic favourite! *** FOUR 1/2 STARS ***

2009 RBS 6 Nations Results

Two games today…

The score of first game was 26 – 6 to Scotland who “outclassed” Italy.

And second game Ireland punished England for their great lack of discipline with a score of 14 – 13 at the end of the kick off match rather than a game of rugby.

All in all, another two great games of the RBS 6 Nations!

2009 RBS 6 Nations Results

After a two-week recess, RBS 6 Nations is back with vigour…

Yesterday, the game was between France and last year’s champions Wales, a highly anticipated game indeed. It was in inspiring Stade de France, and was the first Friday game in the RBS 6 Nations history.

Such a wicked game it was and oh how brilliantly “The Caveman” from France kicked arse!

The final score was France 21 – 16 Wales. What a fab riot…

Marketing Agency Showcase

On Thursday night (19 February), I went to an advertising talk that’s part of an exhibition that celebrates the work of marketing agency KesselsKramer, which was held at UCA Farnham where I’m starting in September.

The exhibition is really wicked, and was so inspiring… And the talk, the first in a series of three, was so bloody interesting and funny – the speakers talking about their fantastic work, everything from a sex club to corporate America to silly amateur footballers in Europe! How brilliant it was, indeed! And I hope I'm able to attend the other two talks as well…

NCVO Day

On Wednesday (18 February), I attended the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Annual Conference all day in London.

Luckily, my friend James (who does work experience at the same place as me) came with me too, and we represented our organisation - Trailblazers / the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. After the keynote address by Vince Cable MP (a famous politician from the Liberal Democrats party), James and we decided to the day into spilt 2 workshops each since that I way we could attend a total of 4 workshops during the day, so we’d make the most of the conference.

The 2 workshops I attended were: “AM6: What is the future of campaigning in civil society?” in the morning, and “PM5: Exploring international collaboration” in the afternoon. Both these workshops were really good and highly informative, lots of ideas I can implement with my work experience and with my own organisation I plan to hopefully start one day!

Overall, it was a very unique and interesting experience that I’ll long remember…

I’m Gonna Let It Shine…

Recently, Sarah and me watched “Sunshine” directed by Danny Boyle, which stars Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki, Benedict Wong, and Michelle Yeoh.

I really enjoyed this film, and what a killer ending! *** FOUR STARS ***

2009 RBS 6 Nations Results

Today’s score: Italy 9 – 38 Ireland…

This was such a rigourous game to watch, as both sides had to make at least six substitutes each because severe injures due to blood that profusely flowed! And now RBS 6 Nations is taking two-week recess, and will be back on Friday, 27 February 2009…

Saturday Family Night

For Saturday Family Night last night, we watched “City of Ember” directed Gil Kenan, and stars Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, and Mackenzie Crook.

The visuals in the film were somewhat quite interesting, but sadly it was just did not have a good flow or plot at all, and I think the book would be a much better to read instead. *** THREE STARS ***