I had a smile plastered on my face right from the very start; I mean, you couldn’t fail to be amused by the very high-tech system that the Vodafone Foundation used for attracting us to the appropriate stand to collect our ‘goody bags’ ....
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After chatting to a few of the other 499 winners, the day began with an introduction by Vodafone’s Head of Communications. A couple more presentations (including an encouraging and uplifting spiel by Gok Wan), some photo sessions, a little lunch and a kind of ‘open learning’ session took us up to my favourite part of the day; four presentations by four fantastic speakers. Two previous winners and two people that are well-known for their fights against adversities. The whole point of the WoD scheme is to ‘Make a Difference’ and the whole point of these presentations was to provide us with the inspirational message that anyone - anyone at all - can add value to their lives by enhancing the lives of others. All four were shining examples of how, by making a difference to other people’s lives, we can enhance our own. If we realise the extent of our own potential we can become more fulfilled and, generally, happier people!
I thought a lot about my own family during these sessions. My kids are practically all grown up now, and I’m incredibly proud of all three of them. I thought a lot about how important it was (and still is) to me and my husband to provide our kids with as much love, security, encouragement and - most importantly - fun as possible while they were growing up. I like to think that in doing so, we’ve made it possible for them to venture out into the big wide world with confidence, curiosity and a sense of ‘there’s always a bright side’ to hopefully pull them through everything that life throws at them. Sometimes it’s really hard to see the sun for the rain, but it is always there.
My kids were just babies when Lisa Potts hit the headlines. The nursery teacher, who saved many children’s lives when they were attacked by a machete-yielding paranoid schizophrenic back in 1996, suffered horrendous physical and emotional injuries when she was just 21 years old. She spoke candidly about the whole horrendous experience, and told us how difficult it had been to regain her confidence and find a purpose in life. You could’ve heard a pin drop in the hall as she told us her story. But the message she really wanted us to take away was the fact that she has gone on to do some incredibly fulfilling work – mostly helping Romanian children and deprived inner city kids in the UK – that she’d never have tried if that truly horrendous experience had never occurred.
My kids weren’t alive during the Falklands War, so they weren’t very familiar with Simon Weston’s story. They didn’t know that he’d suffered horrific injuries when the Sir Galahad was destroyed and that he’d spent almost five years on a hospital bed, undergoing many, many painful surgical operations and procedures. I remember both the Falklands War, and Simon Weston well and his talk on Monday was probably the most inspiring I’ve ever heard. He reminded us – with enthusiasm, humour and a great deal of humility - that just because ‘shit happens’ in our lives, we shouldn’t write ourselves off. He told us poignantly about the day the army told him he was ‘unemployable’, in other words, worthless. ‘Every single person has value’. And he really did go on to prove that - and some! He made me laugh and he brought a big drippy tear to my eye. It was an absolute privilege to shake his hand at the end of the day and thank him personally. The word ‘hero’ is banded about quite recklessly these days; Simon Weston is a true hero in my book, in every sense of the word.
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I’m very lucky never to have suffered in the way that Lisa and Simon have. But I do know that looking for the good stuff makes the bad stuff just that wee bit easier to cope with. It’s something I’ve been writing about for the past year in my other blog. Grabbing every opportunity by the balls and making the most of it seems to be the way to go; even if the end result isn’t what you'd hoped for, you’ll have learnt something along the way. I’ve come to this scheme with a simple desire to do something a wee bit different to help an incredible local charity. I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to give it a go.
So, I'm all fired up and raring to go tomorrow when my placement officially starts. I’m feeling very excited – and more than a little nervous! But, with the words of Simon Weston ringing in my ears – “Be courageous enough to enjoy this” – I’ll have a smile on my face and will genuinely be making the very most of every minute of this fantastic opportunity.
Myriad of Music project here I come...! :)
