April Charity

I've just received an email from The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign telling me that my birthday party raised...

£491.00

I am thrilled - and so grateful to all the people who chipped in. Some people couldn't make it to the party but sent contributions anyway!

The Royal Marsden's Supporter Relations Executive, Lucy, who was so helpful with providing balloons and collection boxes and T-shirts etc. etc., took time to look at my blog entry for 12th April and now has taken a fancy to

Big Glyn

Spring is in the air!

Thanks to my mother for providing me with this party, to Jacky for organising it all, to Lucy for all the help, to Glyn for his advice and support on the night, to Ed for photographing it all and to everyone who supported the Royal Marsden and comforted me in my old age!!

The Time Has Come

I've been holding back for a few months but now it's time to confess. I've made a mistake - an error of judgement.

I think that's the fairest way to put it. I don't consider that I've been deliberately cheated - the decision was mine - it seemed like a good idea - but so far it just hasn't worked.

Here's the story:

Back in September 2009 I was phoned up by a salesman who suggested that my business would benefit from advertising within a local supermarket. It sounded like a good idea. The supermarket (national and orange) is just ten minutes walk away from my home. Lots of people go there - lots of people should see my adverts.

Salesman came round, had coffee, told me the details, knocked the price down significantly and I signed up to 2 years of advertising.

I paid £150 up front and agreed to pay 6 monthly instalments of £75.

Total for 2 years advertising: £600

One new client per month would cover it.


I designed my own business card (otherwise it would have cost me another £99) and I took their advice and included a 10% discount: "Bring this card with you..."

Well, I've paid the last instalment. It's been running for 6 months.

Number of enquiries: 1 (one)

Number of clients gained: 0 (zero)


I'm not the only advertiser. There are 20 other local businesses there on the board.

You could say it's early days yet...but if nothing's happened over these 6 months, is it likely to improve over the next 18 months?


I think I've given it a fair chance. And it seemed like such a good idea!!

Of course I'll leave my business cards up there - after all, I've paid for 2 years advertising space. But soon I'm going to collect a card from the 20 other advertisers, bring them home and go through them all, phoning or emailing to compare notes!

I wonder what success rate the others have had...

Has anyone else had any experience of this advertising?

Colin

Milestone

What's a birthday, huh? Just another day marking just another year. But anyway, I thought I'd make a bit of a thing about this one and follow my friend Tim's lead. Tim had a 'milestone' party earlier this year and asked for no presents but donations to a charity.

Here's Tim, shaking his fist at someone. He's from New Jersey, so we have to make excuses for him...

I thought I'd do the same - shake my fist at people and demand donations to a charity! And so lots of people came to my birthday party and stuffed 'folding donations' into collection boxes for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. That's my April charity, because the Royal Marsden has been so good treating my brother-in-law Barry.

Here's Barry with my sister Mary.

Barry's undergone intensive radiotherapy for 6 weeks, travelling up to London from Dorset for consultations and check-ups and fittings., as well as the actual treatment.

I bet we all know someone - or of someone - who has some form of cancer. The Royal Marsden has been brilliant to Barry and I'm sure they are just as brilliant with everyone they treat.

Now some pics of some of the 'party animals' - they were brilliant too with their contributions. I have no idea how much we collected but I shall let you know asap.

John, my back, Jeremy, (another)Mary, Jacky, Liz and Geoff's ear.

Big Glyn, who made sure everybody filled in a Gift Aid form. You wouldn't want to argue!

Geoff, me and Sue.

Duncan, Stephen and Tracy. Look in those eyes! The camera does not lie!

Ed's girlfriend Laura - pretty as a picture.

One person who didn't appear in the pics was my cameraman son Ed. He was brilliant too.

So I've taken a whole week off from work - amazing! But back to it now with a full week ahead of me. One guy's just phoned to book up all the Mondays in June! How's that for enthusiasm?

Busiest month ever!

...or have I said that before?
But it must have been, because it's three weeks since I last posted something here. I have new pupils - and some old ones returning - and two commissions! One is a website for a choir and the other is a spreadsheet for a local business.

I really haven't had any spare time to write here, which in a way is good because it shows that this computer tutoring has become my full-time job. And also it's bad because everyone needs some "down time" - and what's the point of keeping a blog if you don't make time to keep it going?

I expected an easy time today. I had one lesson booked at 2.30 with a lovely lady who always gives me tea - and I mean real genteel tea with biscuits and cake and milk-in-a-jug an' all. Very civilised.



But by 5pm yesterday I had Maundy Thursday all booked up. The morning was taken up with a Cathedral service - long, tedious but y' gotta be there 'cos that's the job - and then a lunchtime dash out of town for an emergency retrieval of lost letters for a new pupil, back into town for my 'tea lady' and then straight on to a gentleman who was so impressed by yesterday's lesson that he booked another one for today!

So no time for tea - but my lady wouldn't let me leave without taking some cake!!


But "down time" starts now and will continue for ten whole days! I have a landmark birthday to celebrate and I have cleared all of next week and two weekends. Phew!

My charity for March

One pupil I've been seeing since well before Christmas has photosensitive epilepsy. She told me something about it when we first met, listing some of the things that can 'set her off'. I make sure that I don't wear stripey shirts - I'm not a 'loud stripe' person anyway. Her home has brass or gold-colour fittings - door handles, taps, even the carpet joiners - she lives in a cul-de-sac so there aren't many cars going by, and the windows have vertical blinds instead of horizontal ones to reduce any flickering.

I had no idea about this before I met her. We've all heard the warnings about strobe lighting, which can cause epileptic seizures, but there are so many things out there in the world that photosensitive people are susceptible to. My pupil tells me that when she was looking for a house to buy, she went to view one she saw advertised...and found it was fitted with brass, brown sinks, horizontal blinds etc. etc. The vendor also had photosensitive epilepsy! And that's the house where my client lives now!

So Epilepsy Action is my charity for March.

April's is already fixed - news of that when I get back from my break!

And I've met two other pupils with links to a charity which I shall support in May.

Happy Easter!

Colin