Thursday 22 May 2014

Nearly There

Its nearly time to pack my bags and start the 23 hour journey to Malawi, and I'm getting mega excited!

A couple of weeks ago I was very panicky about the amount of things I still had to do before I went, but on Sunday I actually finished last week's todo list and realised that the majority of the items on this week's huge list were really quick jobs.

So, with three sleeps to go, I'm almost ready and taking it easy in preparation for the tiredness that's to come. I'm incredibly impressed with my time management skills that have somehow allowed me this easy few days.

The last couple of weeks have been amazing, but tiring.

We raised £320 at the Decades Disco on the 10th, which was fantastic. I think everyone had a good time, but I had slightly cracked under the strain and the tiredness, and was beyond judging other people's body language properly. I danced lots, and everyone else danced lots, and we raised lots of money for the project.

I've been travelling round Fife meeting up with artists who have donated work to the art raffle. Even though we all do Open Studios together, we don't meet up very often, and I met lots of artists I'd not met before. Thanks to all of you for donating an artwork.

The Dundee Courier printed a wonderful article about the project, and I was shocked to discover that I was the headline news for the day. Wow.


But even this achievement was eclipsed this week, when on Tuesday I was filmed talking about the project for the local telly!

The resulting film is incredible, and I'm sorry I can't put a link up for you to see it, but The News only stays up on the STV site for 24 hours. They plan to do a follow up piece when I return, so hopefully you'll see that one if you missed this one.

I forgot to mention some really basic things in the film like: the name of the project, and the fact that I haven't got any 'official' funding for the project and need sponsorship. Major woops. The reason why I forgot to say things is that I didn't include them in my interview notes because they were so fundamentally basic that I thought I'd remember them. This is not a mistake I'll make again. You have to answer the questions they ask you, but you have to make sure you manage to talk about the bits you want to talk about too. Just like in a job interview.

A few days I was given some advice from a friend who told me to make sure I got to a point where I could enjoy myself, and enjoy the experience without being so stressed out by everything I need to do.

I think this has finally happened Marilyn. I'm nervous certainly, but I'm mostly calm and sleeping well, and I have this huge bubble of excitement in me at all times that makes me want to giggle. I can't believe this is actually happening, or how big this project has gotten.

I'll be updating this blog every few days while I'm in Malawi, so keep an eye out for changes.

Thank you to everyone for your help and love x

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Publicity

The last couple of weeks have been amazing, but very busy. I've started publicising I Love Scolawi, and have been contacting as many people in as many media as I can think of. If you have contacts that you think would be interested in I Love Scolawi then please email me their details and I'll get in touch with them.

I've been interviewed by Stuart Russell from Arts in Fife for his radio arts programme (that starts soon on Kirkcaldy Radio).

I have started a mailing list. (if you would like to join the mailing list then please email me)

And I have had a brilliant article written about me in the local paper (The Fife Herald)


Last Saturday I ran a stall to promote I Love Scolawi at the 'Muchty Street Mercat' in Auchtermuchty. It was great that so many people are interested and excited by the project and wanted to see that it happened. I raised about £100 and added 20 names to my mailing list, which I was delighted about.

One of the things I'm doing this week is sorting out the music for the Decades Disco this Saturday at Falkland Village Hall. There will be music from the 50's onwards, and if you're local it would be great if you could come down and join me in a boogie.



I'm constantly touched by how much the local community is behind this project and wants to help me make it happen.

When I originally heard that I hadn't got the funding I'd applied for I thought that I would be having to find this huge amount of money by myself, and felt quite alone. But as soon as I mentioned my funding issue on Facebook I have been given support and help. Every offer of help has made the mountain of money I have to find seem less, and every pound donated made me feel less alone and scared.

I now feel like I'm part of a team of fundraisers which is quite unexpected and very wonderful, and I'd like to thank you all.

Special thanks go to: Violet, for organising a belly dancing hafla in July; Betty, for organising a bingo tea in September; Sandra, for selling so many tickets to the disco; Laura, for your help and support; and last but not least to all my family - I have (very) gratefully received large cheques from parents; and Bill, Alison, and Alasdair have been brilliant and supportive as ever.

Thank you.
xxx