CHARITY CEILIDH SUCCESS!!

I am pleased to say last night’s charity ceilidh was a great success! The venue was perfect, the band fantastic and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves enormously! I sold over 70 tickets and only a few people pulled out at the last minute so there was a good crowd! Everyone turned up in good spirits with their dancing shoes ready and some went the extra mile donning their smartest tartans! We stamped our feet, clapped our hands and spun across the dance floor with great enthusiasm and were all a few pounds lighter by the end of the evening! Several guests, including 3 from China, had never been to a ceilidh before but were happy to give it a go and with the help of the caller Davey, soon fell in love with the ol’ Scottish fling!

The Eden Ceilidh Band consisted of an accordion, fiddle and drums and were first rate. They entertained us with a variety of vibrant and energetic dances, including Strip the Willow and my favourite The Dashing White Sergeant, and some slower, smother dances such as the Scottish Waltz to give us all a bit of a breather. The band got everyone involved without making anyone feel under pressure and everyone commented on how good the band were!

After a finger buffet served up by the very accommodating staff, my guests tried their luck at my raffle and a coin toss and my DJ from A2Bevents www.a2bevents.mfbiz.com entertained us with the latest chart toppers. Rachel Webb, the Area Manager of The Scottish Society for Autism in Tayside and Fife, then took a few moments to remind us what the evening was in aid of and to thank me for my efforts which I really appreciated. This was then followed by a few more ceilidh dances and then DJ Tom played our requests and a variety of music from the past 4 decades until 1am.

The night was everything I had hoped it would be and more and I am so grateful to The Windlestrae Hotel, Eden Ceilidh band, Tom the DJ, my sister Ruth & close friends Laura P, Ruth M, Ali O & Laura K for all their support and hard work! Most of all I would like to thank everyone who came to my ceilidh and made it such a success! After settling my invoices I raised a grand total of

£635.35

bringing my total to date to over £2000 and I am absolutely delighted!!!!! A traditional Scottish Ceilidh is always good fun but when it is partnered with such an important charity a night to remember is guaranteed!

CHARITY CEILIDH - Saturday 25th July

Over 60 tickets sold already but tickets still available to buy in advance or on the door. Hope to see you there! :-)

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Mandela Day - Make An Imprint

In an effort to celebrate the legacy of South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela, the great man himself and his Foundation are urging people all over the world to join them tomorrow (on his birthday) in recognising their individual power to make an imprint and change the world around them. Mr Mandela has spent 67 years making the world a better place and urges each and everyone of us to take 67 minutes tomorrow to embrace his values and to take action in our local communities. This could mean any number of volunteer activities, including, feeding the homeless, doing the grocery shopping for an elderly person, being a big brother/big sister, or visiting someone who is sick. Whatever you do it will make a difference. Positive change begins with small actions!

Throughout my fundraising endeavours I have witnessed first hand how generous some people can be with their time and money but also sadly how apathetic the general population has become. It has taught me to be more aware of my local community and to make more of an effort to attend local fundraising events and be supportive. Even when my challenge is over in October I will take the important lessons I have learnt and seek to become involved in other projects and volunteer my time to help others. As Nelson Mandela so wisely said "The heroes are those who make peace and build" and we all have this in us.

Ticket sales & the PA

Since I last wrote I have been busy promoting my ceilidh, sending articles to local newspapers, replacing posters that have been hidden or ripped down, emailing friends and family & generally encouraging anyone I meet to buy a ticket! Interest has been good but thus far it’s proving difficult to secure definite yeses and payment from people! As I have deposits to pay for the food and entertainment I really need money to be coming in to cover my costs, I also need an idea of numbers in order to plan my catering! I am beginning to realise how much work goes into throwing a proper party, especially when you are trying to make a profit!

Speaking of local newspapers I received an email yestreday from an employee at the Scottish Society for Autism complementing the coverage of my challenge in the latest edition of the Perthshire Advertiser. Although I had written to the editor I was not aware that anything had gone to print and so I raced out to buy a copy today. Thankfully one of the local newsagents still had a copy of Tuesday's paper and I eagerly tore through the pages to find my article on page 6. What I was not expecting was to see a picture of myself staring back at me! It was quite surreal but hopefully it will give the piece a more human touch. I guess the editor took my pic from my justgiving page, cheeky cheeky! The article is entitled "CHARITY CHALLENGE BRINGS ON THE WALL" and I am quite happy with it although it doesn't give the reader any insight into what autism actually is which is a shame because one of my main goals is to raise awareness. Still I am delighted that my story went to print and I do understand that there are limits on word counts and available space.

Considering the effort I went to convince local businesses to donate raffle prizes I am thrilled that this has paid off and I have some very attractive prizes up for grabs. Recently I have also received

- a family pass for Deep Sea World www.deepseaworld.com

- a family pass for Blair Drummond’s Safari Park www.blairdrummond.com

- 2 family passes for Loch Leven Leisure Pool www.liveactive.co.uk

- A day trip for two round the Highlands with Rabbie's Trail Burners www.rabbies.com

As mentioned in an earlier entry I had hoped to split the prizes between two raffles, one on the 4th July and one at my ceilidh on the 25th. Unfortunately I got a bad chest infection and was unable to attend my work night out so had to cancel my raffle at the last minute. I will keep the prizes I had planned for the time being and will arrange another event in later in the summer.