Yesterday was the charity event, in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care in Newcastle. Cath and I were surprisingly unflustered (although I did go through phases of shy, giggly and star-struck at various points throughout the evening) which is a testament to her fantastic organisational skills.
I have probably mentioned that I was a fan of Jonathan Morrell’s when he was a TV presenter at ITV, and he once read out my birthday on TV (if I told you how long ago and which birthday, I’d probably have to kill you). So, despite him being a lovely man and very approachable, I did feel a bit starstruck when I met him. And, as I’ve also mentioned, when I get nervous, I tend to waffle – he either didn’t notice (I hope) or was too polite to walk away and leave me to it! He was a fantastic quiz master, and the quiz was very well compiled by Cath (somewhat of an expert in this field, after years of practice).
The buffet (by AMOW Catering) was really nice and was incredible value. They always do an exceptional job and we were very impressed with them, and with Sharon Reed, who is responsible for the functions held at Blaydon Rugby Club. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Everything went smoothly until we experienced a technical hitch, but it wasn’t the end of the world, and we know what to do NEXT TIME…
The band, Toxic Melons, had stepped in at very short notice and, like Jonathan, gave their time and expertise for free. They played a short set and I heard a number of people praising their music – they seemed like a great bunch of lads, and I applaud them for their efforts. Look them up on MySpace.
The raffle seemed to go on forever, thanks to the large number of kind donations, and we closed with an auction, which bumped the total up considerably. Altogether (not including collection tins) the evening raised around £1050 for Marie Curie. We are grateful to anyone who donated to, supported, and/or attended the event, as we couldn’t have done it without you. We had so much fun, we’re hoping to make it an annual event. I may upload some photos soon but they are available on the Facebook events page. A BIG THANK YOU AGAIN!