Help Me Buy a Goat! (part 3)

In my last blog I wrote that I would soon start posting the sum raised so far - as promised, that sum is £143, which I am very chuffed with. I've only just started collecting sponsors and cannot believe how generous people have been already - thank you! That's already enough for one water pump, one pig and four and a half goats! (for example). Although apparently, they don't let you buy goats in halves...

Hopefully I'll be posting a brand new amount soon!

And, wouldn't you believe it, now people have started saying how much they like my hair...

UPDATE: Reading my copy of the Salvationist (Salvation Army magazine), I noticed that a youth worker from another Salvation Army church has just had his head shaved and raised £600. I have my new target, people!

Help Me Buy a Goat! (part 2)

First of all, thank you for your support! Within a couple of minutes of sending the email out and posting on here, I was getting emails, texts and comments from people saying that would sponsor me for the hair cut in September. And thanks to Glyn for mentioning it on his website!

Today some posters about it went up at my church, so I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens there - Soon I'll start posting the sum raised so far.

Thank you for helping me out with this cause.

Of course, the down side is that I now actually have to go through with it!

(And Andy, yes, I am nervous about what it will look like - one of the reasons why I'm not looking forward to September coming round - but I figure it can't be worse than the Bill Bailey do that will develop if something isn't done soon!)

Monopoblog

Two friends of mine from Australia were recently over and me and my bro (yes, my brother and I) gave them the guided tour of London. This was no hardship for me as I still get really excited when I see Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. I love walking through St. James’ Park (where, incidentally, I met Layo – that was weird!) and looking up and seeing Buckingham Palace emerge on the horizon…

Back to my original point – these two Australians had set themselves the task of visiting as many Monopoly places as possible. Looking at the big attractions and sitting for ages in Subway just to avoid the heat cut down the amount of time we had to spare on our Monopoly hunt (plus the fact that I had no idea where Marlborough Street, Vine Street and Coventry Street were – not knowing that Marlborough Street is actually Great Marlborough Street and the site of my favouritist shop in the world, that Vine Street is like an inch long and that I have actually walked down Coventry Street many, many times without noticing it – did anyone else know that it’s the road connecting Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square?!). That said, we managed Whitehall, Pall Mall, Northumberland Avenue (all the pinks!), Trafalgar Square, the Strand, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Bond, Regent and Oxford Streets (all the greens!) – and we have the photographic evidence to prove it.

Then I decided that I would like to visit every single place on the Monopoly board in one day (including stations, a London jail, a copper, tax office, electric company and water works – not sure I’ll ever find free parking in London or a ‘go’. The Angel, Islington doesn’t exist anymore, but there’s a plaque on the bank that replaced it, so that would do). However, this could prove slightly boring on my own (plus I wouldn’t be able to get the photographic evidence), so I’m asking if anyone wants to join me on my Great Monopoly Adventure Day.

Seriously!

And, of course, The Salvation Army started outside the Blind Beggar Pub on Whitechapel Road in 1865, so you get a day of fun and a history lesson too! That can't be bad...

(Before you ask – yes, I do have quite a lot of free time at the moment.)

Help Me Buy a Goat!

Well, as most of you know, I’m very proud of my long, flowing locks (with good reason!). Most people (believe it or not, Katie) have actually been very complimentary about my hair, but unfortunately, there is a small, but growing, group of people (led by my sister), who believe that all good things must come to an end. That end has come – the hair should go (they say).

I REALLY, REALLY don’t want to cut off my hair – I think it would be a crime. But it dawned on me that maybe some good could come out of this. If we could raise some money for a good cause, then I would be prepared to see how far back my hairline has actually gone.

Here’s the deal: The Salvation Army has a project, where people can buy animals for people in Africa: a goat for £14, a pig for £30, chickens for £6.50, and so on. ‘A gift that keeps on giving’ is the slogan and the idea is that these animals can be bred, sold, etc. and provide an ongoing income for needy families. It would be great to see how much money could be raised for this very good cause. The Salvation Army works all over Africa (and in 111 countries around the world!), so the money is going directly to the people who need it. The project doesn’t just involve animals, but water pumps, books for schools, seniors' meals, etc. I guess I’d have to see how much money we can get and then see how it can best be spent.

So, there you go. Why am I telling you this? I think you know :-) Next time you see me, sponsor me! It can be a little embarrassing (for both parties) to go around asking for sponsors, so I thought now you can approach me if you want to sponsor me to go through this sheer ordeal – and you can also know a little about it beforehand.

I’ll keep this page updated with how it’s going, just in case you want to check it out, and I’ll put some more information on here, as well as some photos once the horrible deed has been done… ;-)

Any money would help - £1 buys a senior citizen’s meals for a day, £170 buys a cow! Let’s see what we get… I’m aiming to get it done in late September, to enable me to get as much money as possible and so that I can prey on my new university friends once term starts!

Thanks for reading, take care and hope to see you all soon! (armed with my sponsorship form – guys at uni, just to let you know that I’m expecting graduation day to be a sponsorship-fest) ;-)

Help me make a pig difference :-D

Mission... Accomplished! (I think)

You know what? I think I did it! Slightly freaked out when I arrived there to find out that the choir were sitting directly behind me... Therefore, not able to have my fingering chart on the stand. After a little panic and frantic studying in a side room for ten minutes - I think I may have pulled it off! Apart from the poor violin player sitting to my right, I think I may have convinced the rest of them that I am, in fact, a top French horn player! Not only that, but I got paid for it! Not bad, not bad. I think Agent Mitchenstein is ready for his next mission now...

And I realised this week that I have made it as a blogger. Unfortunately, I didn't have anytime to blog earlier this week and when I come to my blog and find out that three people (including one in Iceland!) want to know how it went, I know that I have finally been accepted into the blogger fraternity. Thank you.

On this momentous occasion, I think it would be fitting to see whether I have achieved any of the aims I mentioned in my first blog. The answer to that would be no. BUT I am on page 25 of my book! (I can't tell you what it's about in case someone reads this and gets there first, but rest assured, it's coming!) On a different note, without having eaten any more pies, I fear I would still be chief suspect, were any pies to go missing.

Your Mission: Convince the choir you're a top French horn player

Today I've been set a bit of a challenge... Tonight I'm playing French horn in a concert. Now admittedly, I used to be a pretty good French horn player, if I do say so myself - I was top horn in the regional youth orchestra :-D But that was a long time ago!

This morning I got a phone call saying that there's a big concert tonight, but the French horn player has dropped out due to an illness - would I be prepared to play in the concert tonight? I said yes.

The problem is that I really haven't played French horn for ages. Almost three years it must be, perhaps longer. I don't even have a French horn. I've completely forgotten the fingerings (and there's two sets of fingerings to learn). The concert starts in 8 hours and I'm panicking ever so slightly. Obviously, the concert organisers don't know these facts (apart from the fact I don't have a French horn - they're providing one tonight).

So, armed with my internet print-out of French horn fingerings (which I'm hoping I'll be able to have on the stand without anyone seeing it), I am going to attempt to pass myself off as a good French horn player. The sort of player that can step in at the last moment and save the day. Much in the style of that Faking It show or James Bond, I like to think (not that James Bond was ever required to play a French horn, but if you think about it (really hard), what I'm doing is very similar to the kind of stuff he does...)

This should be good.

Don't Cry For Me, Argentina!

Last night I went to see the truly fantastic Evita at the Adelphi in London. It was brilliant! Ever since I saw the lead actress, Elena Roger, singing on Parkinson, I was desperate to see the show. And it rocked.

Lots of people didn't like the film version with Madonna - and I am REALLY not a big fan of Madonna's - but I thought the film was really good. But this was SO much better! Now I'm desperate to go to Argentina...

I was kinda worried that I would only get to see the understudy (that happens to me a lot - well, not a lot, I don't go to the theatre all the time, but it happens enough) - and when I saw that the understudy's previous work included a Twix commercial (if you're including that in the programme, it's clear she hasn't done much else!) I was even more desperate to see Elena Roger as the star. And she was!

Very cool. So, if you're looking for a great night out and fancy seeing a show in the West End, may I recommend Evita!

What with Eva Peron dying and the football, not a great night for Argentina...

(See Katie, I managed a post without mentioning the London Underground) :-D