OurRebekah friends and supporters may be wondering why it is the Just Giving totaliser has not moved for a while.
They also may be wondering why I have started changing the navigation on the website and have yet to finish the work.
Am I slacking ? Am I becoming an underachiever ?
Well, that is for you to decide.
Such a lot is happening and I must confess that all that is happening has taken me away from working on the website. I apologise.
Support does not always mean money. We do not have a totaliser for support and for love. If we did it would need to be very big to display the Secret Santa gifts that have been flooding in over the past week.
Here are just a few of the gifts of love we will be taking to families in Ronald McDonald Houses Bristol, Birmingham and Alder Hey Liverpool.
Each and every gift has been packed with love. I am very much moved by the kindness so many people have been expressing.
The gifts on the right came from Bletchley Smart Rockers.
And these lovely knittedstockings from Maggie.
On the shopping list for today is SELLOPTAPE ! Almost run out.
I am going to have to change the Secret Santa Website. Two things I need to do.
I need to revise the prize draw a bit then before we know where we are it will be 1st December when the Advent Calendar needs to start.
Each day we will open the window to play a piece of Christmas music for families in the houses, families and the wonderful people - staff and volunteers - who make Ronald McDonald Houses work. I can not speak too highly about these lovely people.
Santa will have something in his sack for them.
Ronald McDonald House head office so kindly said they could arrange the distribution of the gifts. That is very generous. In turning down their offer I do not in any way want to fail to recogise the kindness or to disrespect it but OurRebekah will deliver the gifts ourselves. I want involve people from our small team in the work.
When Santa comes down the chimney he does not make a big fuss about it. he leave his gifts and goes. When we go to Bristol, Birmingham and Liverpool we will do the same. We do not want to disrupt the work of the houses. We will say HAPPY CHRISTMAS, unload the gifts and go.
Santa needs little helpers to make these deliveries. Please CHECK THE WEBSITE, would you be able to be a LITTLE HELPER ?
Yesterday I was on duty in my role as Audience Development Manager for Radio Secklow 105.5. I wanted to see if the signal could be heard at the National Trust's Stowe Gardens.
IT CAN BE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR.
That's another story, something not only for the radio station but for OurRebekah's Gala Disco Party next May.
As I drone along the A421 from Milton Keynes to Buckingham and then on to Stowe I had Secklow's County Music show on the radio. A shiver ran down my spine when Phil Walsh played this.
One weeks today OurRebekah will be SINGING THE BLUES.
Even the biggest and long-established charities or good causes do not have the kind of relationship with a football club that OurRebekah has with Sheffield Wednesday.
On Saturday 18th November we will be making a presentation of SINGING THE BLUES to the club.
Next week I will be calling our great friend Club Director Trevor to finalise the arrangements.
Six of us are heading to Hillsborough where Secklow Radio's Tony Ingledow will be making the presentation for us.
I do not believe in coincidence but I do believe in Destiny. It was only because I happened to be listening to the radio when Tony played SINGING THE BLUES that he and I became friends, that he became involved with OurRebekah and now I am involved big time with the radio station !
That was not coincidence, it was DESTINY at work. Anyway here is what Tony played on his show.
Next Saturday Tony and his wife Susan will be able to see how the song really should be sung !
On Saturday OurRebekah friends will be sponsoring every goal Sheffield Wednesday scores for Ronald McDonald House Birmingham. Sponsorship is already up to £100 a goal. YOU CAN CHEER ON THE TEAM - CLICK HERE AND SING THE BLUES.
On Saturday Sheffield Wednesday is playing Bristol City - Bristol City - as in Bristol - Bristol Ronald McDonald House.
Club Director Trevor thinks it is a lovely idea we came up with to send some gifts from OurRebekah into the visitors dressing room.
The Stock and Systems Manager at our local Morrissons Supermarket, aka Rebekah's brother and my son Matthew is busy organising some special football cakes for Bristol City.
OK Wednesday, we'll give you some cakes as well. Adam, Jordan, Gary just score the goals will you ! Barry put in the crosses so they can bang the ball into the net.
I am a proud Wednesday fan and can not say how much I admire the club.
Now here are some more people I admire.
Ro, the manager of Wrigglies Exotic Pets in Old Stratford. Ro is an incredible man. His knowledge and passion for animals, a passion he just can not stop sharing with everyone he meets, is something even David Attenborough does not posses. He is seen here sharing his passion with Milton Keynes Mayoress Susan as she cuddles a skunk.
This picture was taken at OurRebekah's Frog Challenge on Saturday September 30th, the first OurRebekah event.
Susan's husband, Mayor David - in my opinion anyway - is the finest mayor any city, anywhere in the country has. This picture of him at the Frog Challenge is in danger of going viral !
I have so much respect for David, Susan and Ro.
Next Wednesday Daid and I are meeting o chat about Secklow Radio. No doubt he will smile as he recalls that python wrapping itself round his chain of office.
On Saturday 16th December Ro is holding at Wriggiles Exotic Pets a birthday party to celebrate three years of the shop. He asked if OurRebekah could be a part of it.
We will be providing the birthday cakes.
I asked Mayor David and Susan if they would like to come along to the party. Their answer - YOU BET !
I am busy setting up Secklow Radio Roadshow to take the station out into the community. Wrigglies Exotic Pets birthday party will be the first outing for the roadshow. Ro has asked if we could play some animal music.
Animal music ? Does he mean something like this ?
Or this perhaps ?
After next Saturday, after the boys in blue have scored all of the goals, that totaliser on Just Giving will jump up a bit - a lot I hope. Hey lads can you pop five into the Bristol goal ?
Later today Tony and I will be on duty for Secklow Radio, we are attending Fenny Poppers.
Ahead of that we are vising an Aladin's cave of vinyl records - Bulldog Records.
I think I am going to ask Tony if he can introduce me to the technical wizz-kid at Seclow Radio. I will ask him if he can make us a totaliser to add to the wesbite, a totaliser which can show the love that pours through the door of OurRebekah every day.
The money totaliser may have been a bit still, still ahead of Hillsborough on the 18th but a totaliser for the love would never stop moving.
On Monday I am being interviewed for Secklow Radio's MY INSPIRATION programme. My love of music is going to come out within that interview. Look - I have played SEVEN pieces of music alone on this blog. I am going to end today's blog by playing my all-time favorite piece of music. Listen to the music but more importantly listen to the words.
This video comes from the IF IT AINT VINYL IT AINT MUSIC collection for an OurRebekah project we will be running in January, February and March. This is a very important piece of music to me, it has been since the day I first heard it almost fifty years ago. Does it not describe exactly what Ronald McDonald Houses do ? Does it not describe the love those Santa gifts bring to the work in Ronald McDonald Houses ? Does it not describe the goals the boys will score next Saturday ?
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