When we set out to raise money for St Mary's school, we really didn't understand the sheer overwhelming response we would get from family and friends.
We could have sold the tickets twice over, everyone wanted to come. We originally planned to have a sit down dinner for 150 guests unfortunately this was not to be due to the size of the venue. We considered changing the venue but after several telephone conversations with local companies we realised that other options were going to be far too expensive. So we made the huge decision to limited our numbers to 106.
When your fundraising the aim is to make as much money possible, so having to reduce our numbers and turn dozens and dozens of people down was not something we enjoyed doing. However everyone we spoke to supported us and most just gave us money because they liked what we were doing.
With all the tickets sold, the food, entertainment, decorations and raffle prizes received we crossed our fingers and hoped that all our guests would marvel in what we were going to do on the day.
Our aim is to take one plain looking village hall and turn it into India, the colours, the smells, the decorations, entertainment, music, food, Saree's and laughter.
Fingers crossed.........
Karen x
Sunday, 17 April 2011
www.diyaonline.com
Ordered wonderful saree's today for myself, Ellen and Abbey. What colours, what choice, how cheap.....
Raspberry pink, turquoise and orange and emerald green.
Karen x
Raspberry pink, turquoise and orange and emerald green.
Karen x
Red and yellow and pink and blue..........
Another adventure! Luton to some may be a god awful place to visit, but I can tell you first hand that my experience of the Indian community in Luton was wonderful. On our mission to make our fundraising event as authentic as possible, Janet & I visited Luton in search of some colour. Tablecloths to be exact...
We wandered up and down the High Street and as in Southall we were greeted with smiles and warm welcomes from all the shop owners.
We eventually ended up in a small fabric shop, and after about an hour, several conversations about travelling to India and selecting dozens of different coloured fabrics for our table cloths we left feeling very happy with ourselves.
Our aim was to decorate the tables to reflect the colours of Rajastan. We settled for fourteen cotton fabrics and contrasting runners which looked like a technicoloured explosion. Just what we wanted!
Karen x
We wandered up and down the High Street and as in Southall we were greeted with smiles and warm welcomes from all the shop owners.
We eventually ended up in a small fabric shop, and after about an hour, several conversations about travelling to India and selecting dozens of different coloured fabrics for our table cloths we left feeling very happy with ourselves.
Our aim was to decorate the tables to reflect the colours of Rajastan. We settled for fourteen cotton fabrics and contrasting runners which looked like a technicoloured explosion. Just what we wanted!
Karen x
Saturday, 5 March 2011
I am SO Happy
Last night Janet and I dragged the kids to Bourne End Village Hall, to help us move tables and chairs. It's a delightful little hall with white washed walls and dark oak beams. It is quite unique in its style as for most village halls or community centres they are linked to other buildings or are on a High Street. Not Bourne End. It is a lovely simple detached building with a flight of stairs leading to a patio area. This leads to double french door, what we will use as our main entrance. Once through the doors you enter the long hall, immediately to your left is the kitchen.
We had to move dozens of chairs and tables to open the trap door that leads down to the cellar. And it was nearly dark. Very creepy, but we sent Ellen and Joe down to find the light switch. Unfortunatley for us, all the round table tops are stored in the cellar along with the nice chairs. So one after another we lugged the heavy table tops up the stairs.
After two hours, two bad backs, one aching arm, and a headache... Janet, myself and three bored kids had aggreed on our table layout and thankfully we are, able to sit our 106 guests. Hopefully they won't be too squashed in. It did'nt take to long to get all the tables back into the cellar. I hope with the help of Doug and Mark on the night, we will have them set up and cleared away in no time.
When you look at the before and after photos of the hall, I am sure you'll be amazed. The before photo, shows a plain hall, the after photo will be a room filled with colours and lights.
Prepare to be amazed........
Karen x x
We had to move dozens of chairs and tables to open the trap door that leads down to the cellar. And it was nearly dark. Very creepy, but we sent Ellen and Joe down to find the light switch. Unfortunatley for us, all the round table tops are stored in the cellar along with the nice chairs. So one after another we lugged the heavy table tops up the stairs.
After two hours, two bad backs, one aching arm, and a headache... Janet, myself and three bored kids had aggreed on our table layout and thankfully we are, able to sit our 106 guests. Hopefully they won't be too squashed in. It did'nt take to long to get all the tables back into the cellar. I hope with the help of Doug and Mark on the night, we will have them set up and cleared away in no time.
When you look at the before and after photos of the hall, I am sure you'll be amazed. The before photo, shows a plain hall, the after photo will be a room filled with colours and lights.
Prepare to be amazed........
Karen x x
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Inoculation's
Next week, I am off to my Doctors for my first installment of inoculations. I feel ill at the thought.
karen x
karen x
One month unitl our Indian Themed Fundraising Dinner Dance
We are well underway. Tickets sold, provisions purchased, table cloths yet to be make. Food ordered. Venue still a problem. We have called and left various messages for the lady who manages the venue and we are still yet to speak with her about our concerns. Janet is going to her house tonight. Hopefully we will know more later.
I still need to order my saree........
I still need to order my saree........
Is a life time, enough time?
As I sit here today, I feel as though my life is whizzing by at such speed. I'm spinning so many plates that I am beginning to procrastinate about the overwhelming 'TO DO' list I now live by.
2011 was always going to be a busy year. My first year at uni. Ellen's final year at secondary school,. GCSE exams, prom, college applications. Both my daughters have milestone birthdays. Abbey is 13 in March and Ellen is 16 in August. I also have a milestone birthday as I will be turning 21 (lol, not really, I wish). FORTY when did that happen........................ Abbeys is having a party, I am also having a party. I am off to Spain for five days with my school friends and India for a month, Doug's hoping to take the girls to Dubai. I have assignments, presentations and a six week school placement to complete too. I have a fundraising evening to organise and a sponsored silence and saree evening to prepare for. I also have things like inoculations, visas, passport and travel itinerary to plan. AND I haven't even begun thinking about my wardrobe for all these events. I could cope more if all these events were equally spaced over the year but there not. Apart from Ellen's actual birthday all of these things are taking place in between March and the beginning of July. I feel as if I would benefit from my own personal secretary.
But hey! I got myself into all this and I will be the one digging myself out. I would like to be optimistic and say, next year will be a quieter one. But I very much doubt that. Life is for living and I still have so much more I want to achieve. I am not, and have never been a person who just plods along. I need a goal, a aim, a focus. I need something to excite me and something to get me up in the morning. I look at women who don't do anything apart from look after their kids and homes and I cringe. Some women love it, but its not for me.
2011 was always going to be a busy year. My first year at uni. Ellen's final year at secondary school,. GCSE exams, prom, college applications. Both my daughters have milestone birthdays. Abbey is 13 in March and Ellen is 16 in August. I also have a milestone birthday as I will be turning 21 (lol, not really, I wish). FORTY when did that happen........................ Abbeys is having a party, I am also having a party. I am off to Spain for five days with my school friends and India for a month, Doug's hoping to take the girls to Dubai. I have assignments, presentations and a six week school placement to complete too. I have a fundraising evening to organise and a sponsored silence and saree evening to prepare for. I also have things like inoculations, visas, passport and travel itinerary to plan. AND I haven't even begun thinking about my wardrobe for all these events. I could cope more if all these events were equally spaced over the year but there not. Apart from Ellen's actual birthday all of these things are taking place in between March and the beginning of July. I feel as if I would benefit from my own personal secretary.
But hey! I got myself into all this and I will be the one digging myself out. I would like to be optimistic and say, next year will be a quieter one. But I very much doubt that. Life is for living and I still have so much more I want to achieve. I am not, and have never been a person who just plods along. I need a goal, a aim, a focus. I need something to excite me and something to get me up in the morning. I look at women who don't do anything apart from look after their kids and homes and I cringe. Some women love it, but its not for me.
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