Filming

This mid life crisis /adventure is certainly making me push my self to the limit. Sailing is only the start of it, the catalyst that has sparked a chain reaction. Did you ever see a film called The Butterfly Effect? Remember? It was based on the principle that small seemingly insignificant changes to your life can have huge consequences. Well my butterfly effect is currently in full flow. That day in July when I randomly turned the TV on during the day…. I NEVER turn the TV on during the day…. I sat for 5 minutes with my brew and watched some Clipper Race footage, I saw Wendy Tuck and her winning team lift the trophy in Liverpool.
I saw the tag line ‘IT COULD BE YOU’  and I then did a little online search and found out more details and the next minute, not literally, I was heading to Liverpool for an interview and the rest as they say is history.  

Back to my Butterfly Effect, if I hadn’t watched TV that day, I wouldn’t be signed up for this adventure I am sure of it. I was searching for an adventure but it could have been something else entirely. The Mongol Rally was an option or The Rickshaw Challenge. Anyway I did watch TV that day and I did sign up for Clipper and I did restart my social media after deleting it all 2 years ago and I did decide that if I am going to undertake this 40000 mile circumnavigation then I might as well do something worthwhile in the process. The power of that social media is incredible, without Facebook I would not have been able to reconnect with old school friends, people that I literally have not seen for 32 years. It was great to refriend some of the old gang and incredible when out of the blue I got a message from Andy Lee. Now those of you who might be reading this from CHS class of 1986 will know that whilst we were at school Andy was into Heavy Metal music, I was more of a New Romantic, Duran Duran, Japan, ABC, David Bowie kinda gal. With a truly  fabulous blonde mullet hairdo, all curly on top and straight at the back, set hard with gallons of Elnet hairspray, electric blue mascara  and a pale pink lipstick that I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called but it was THE MUST HAVE  colour, so very 1980’s. Andy and I  were in different classes, studying different subjects, with different friendship groups and very different hairstyles!! Never friends  particularly,  just happily coexisting in our own separate circles. So imagine my surprise when a few months ago I got a DM from Andy on Facebook. Something about my story and my fundraising just caught his attention and he offered to help. Well knock me down with a feather! Andy Lee, the quiet, Heavy Metal fan, mop haired yoof turned out to be a super successful musician, record producer, film maker and all round good guy. Next thing I know  Andy is helping me to get my fundraising story out there, this week we had a quick trip to Liverpool to do a spot of filming back where my whole adventure started at Albert Dock. The thought of standing and talking in front of a camera that is pointed at me  fills me with absolute dread, but I did it. That and speaking in front of a room full of actual people who are all listening to me and watching me are the stuff of nightmares. Enough to bring on cold sweats, a dry mouth and clammy hands. Heaven help me next week when I am the speaker at the East Cheshire Hospice Winter Ball. Anyway I will worry about that next week, for the moment Andy has put together this little film for me to use at the Ball and on social media etc to help generate interest in my story. It’s only just the start of an exciting new chapter in my life and I can’t wait to tell you all the next ripple caused by the shimmer in  my butterfly’s wings. 

Shimmer something……. something shimmer that was the damn name of that must have lipstick from the 1980s