Guess who's back.... back again - hint: it's not slim shady

“I do not count what I fetch from Life, I do count what I give it in return” 


So I'm back 

I know I kinda failed everyone the last couple of months by being sucky and not having time to do anything else for The Autism Trust.... Shall I update you in my life so you known what I have been up to and I can try and feel not so bad about going AWOL 

- I got a new boss at work who is lovely and great for the company but everything went insane so I had zero time to myself to organise any kind of event - I had flat issues, so I ended up having to move home. This involved a lot of organising bills, moving all my crap into one room which overspilled to the garage, to the loft pretty much to anywhere it would fit! - I went to Rome with my lovely lovely boyfriend who puts up with all my insanity! - I got a promotion at work which was great but still piling on the work...- I have passed two (possibly three) exams - they have all merged into a big blob of accounting so who knows! 

That's about it. And that's all my excuses made for why I have been poop at fundraising recently which I am annoyed at myself for because I pledged to do this for a year.... 

Anyway, enough feeling sorry for myself! I have given myself a kick up the bum and am making more time for myself / being a little bit more sneaky with my time? I am currently writing this on the train on the way to yet another exam! 
So I was sitting at home with my sister and mum (who are on a par of ridiculousness as me) trying to come up with some ideas for my next challenges.... One in August, one in September and one in October before my ball (I will come back onto this later)...

Some of the ideas were less than ideal but then my sister (who has her genius moments) came up with my next challenge... Ready....?? 

On Saturday 23rd august me and my sister (and anyone else that wants to join!) will be rollerskating from Swanley to London! 

I imagine THIS is what we will look like and not as glamorous as below!

It sounds ridiculous and it quite obviously will be. I am going to put it on a par with the 24 hours of hula hooping in that I am not an avid skater and haven't done so for many many years! But I figure.... How hard can it be?!??!?? 

The details are yet to be confirmed as this was only brainstormed the other evening but of course it needs to be MORE ridiculous so of course we will be in fancy dress! 
There will be a planned route that will see us skating through Sidcup, Eltham, Lewisham and Camberwell so you will be welcome to see us at checkpoints along the way or even meet us at our final destination (Victoria station most likely so I can get the train home and my legs have to do as little as possible after no doubt destroying them from skating 17 odd miles!).

This challenge of course will be sponsored and you can do this on my usual justgiving page (www.justgiving.com/ayeartomakeadifference) 

Now, I think we can do it in 5 hours - this is based on google maps saying it will take 5 hours 40 minutes to walk! What would be great is if I got bonus sponsorship for doing it under this time....??? Cheeky I know! 
So obviously there will be an update closer to the time but for the moment this is the outline plan. 

In the meantime I still want to point you towards the fact that I am still holding a ball on 1st November which will be FULL of fun and entertainment, the chance to win prizes and of course dress up to the nines! 
The invitations are being designed as I speak but I wanted to put all your minds at ease that it is still going ahead and I will be releasing details very soon and that you should all save the date.... Remember, Saturday 1st November. If you are reading this on an iPhone or other such like device I know you can pop that into your diary straight from this blog so NO EXCUSES! 

As a slight side note I am holding a raffle and auction during the evening of my ball, if anyone knows of any business or organisations that is willing to donate any form of prize please let me know as I would be grateful for any help you can offer! 

Well this has been a long one but has relit the fire for doing this for such a great cause (www.theautismtrust.org.uk) so watch this space! More good stuff coming up soon! 

For the time being

Hope... Out
x 

My Bad

"Time is flying never to return" - Virgil

As the title of this post mentions... My Bad - my bad for not being around much lately. Unfortunately (or fortunately - depending on how you choose to look at it) I have another life other than this ridiculous stuff. I have a real job and grown up stuff to do and organise. In fact work has really cranked up the pressure so I have been on full-time working and no time to take a break and write to you lovely people - whoever you may be. I am assuming you are all lovely. I mean if you are reading a blog about charity fundraising I feel it is a pretty decent assumption that you are good peoples. 

So I have been busy but now I have got a bit more of an equilibrium and am back on the fundraising bandwagon. I mean I am in no means going to get anywhere near this guy... 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/stephen-sutton-terminallyill-teenagers-justgiving-page-hits-record-25m-9291510.html

That is seriously impressive and inspirational! It's stories like these that should make us grateful for what we have. There are things happening to people all over the world (and probably on your street!) that you would never wish upon anyone so just remember - life is short. Do what you can to be happy and share it around!

So, I am afraid this month it is a little short notice and not particularly exciting... tomorrow me and my Rag Tag Team are off to do some bag packing at the local M&S. Thinking about it really, there are usually small boys or girls wearing scout or guide uniforms doing this. I wonder what the customers of M&S think about some twenty-somethings standing there asking to pack their bags. something to ask them all tomorrow I suppose.

So if you live in bromley or nearby and fancy dropping in to show some support, or point and laugh please do - although if you are planning on doing the latter I hope you have brought cash with you!

To make up for this not-so-ridiculous event I am planning on something a bit better for the next one and I have a meeting this week with someone about a marathon... of sorts. Think along the lines of the Hula-hoopathon but more ridiculous and perhaps even less thought through! 

Once I have more details I will let you know. Keep your fingers crossed for this lovely lady I am meeting to say yes!

Another bit of "news" on the fundraising front is that I have now got a date and a venue for my ball. Now because it has been a while since I have actually written one of these things (and I do not have the inclination to read back through all my previous posts) I am going to assume that I have actually never told you of my plan!

So, my plan is that at the end of my year I am holding a ball - and I think actually maybe I should call it a Jolly Good Time Partay. I am basing this on the fact that my friends and family and families of friends will be in attendance and the majority of them / us are not the most composed of people and when you say "ball" you think grand entrances, glamourous gowns and the most amazing etiquette.... yeah I think you get my point. So I am going with Jolly Good Time Partay.

Anyway, I have a venue, a date and am on the verge of getting a band. 

There will of course be food and as above - dancing - but I am also planning an auction, raffle and lots of party games! So look out for the tickets being on sale. I am aiming to get them out in June. 

What I am asking now is the IMPORTANT BIT! So I mentioned auction and raffle. What i would like all your fabulous help with is some prizes. If your company or friends or family have an experience or goodies or service they would be willing to offer up for my event i would be ETERNALLY grateful and you will be rewarded with good karma! :)

I am thinking beauty treatments, personal training, meals, drink, pampering, hotel stays.. you name it, I will make it a prize! If you have something that you think would fit this criteria please send me a message on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/hope.anscomb

Now you all feel a little less tense and relieved that you know what is going on in my life I shall get onto watching Greys Anatomy :) - if you don't watch it you should. I mean I have to say that Game of Thrones is now THE SHOW but Greys will always have a place in my heart and on my TiVo box!

Night all

Hope... Out
x


www.justgiving.com/ayeartomakeadifference

It's all a facade

“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” ― H. Jackson Browne

Now I have been thinking about what to do for my next challenge and I think I have decided... 

Now I will admit I have been slacking on the fundraising side. My brain seems to be so full of stuff from my usual 9-5 job that it has very little room at the moment to be creative and have interesting thoughts.

Then, when my imagination decides it's ready it is at 8am on a saturday morning. I MEAN COME ON! this isn't fair! 

On the plus side I am up and being productive and there are parrots in our garden which makes me feel like I am on holiday so it isn't all bad! PLUS (and this is the best bit) I am having no-bra saturday as well as no-bra sunday! I mean life doesn't get better than that! seriously, this is the peak of my week.

So... I am going to put forward a little plan for my next challenge.... Again, I am not sure I have thought this through very well but I don't seem to have done that for my previous challenges and it's worked out pretty ok! So this one is based on the same thing as movember which as you know if you read my blog was much more unpleasant as I had anticipated and actually I think this one may be worse... but here goes....

IF I CAN GET MY  FUNDRAISING PAGE TO £6500 I WILL WEAR NOTHING BUT FANCY DRESS COSTUMES FOR A MONTH! 

Now I am talking PROPER fancy dress... here are some ideas:

However if you have something you like in particular and you donate heftily then I am willing to try that instead!

The rules of this challenge are:

• I will wear a fancy dress costume for one month (hopefully May if I can raise enough by then!)
• The costume will be worn at all times outside of work - unfortunately I don't think I will get away with a mutant ninja turtle in work. The moustache was a little less obvious
• The costume may change throughout the month dependent on dry cleaning fees and weather
• If during my challenge you are in need of a "guest appearance" from an angry bird or tele tubby I can definitely show up for a donation

Now all I need you to do is get sharing and get donating to get this challenge on its way!

Tweet it, Facebook, write it in your own blogs, tell people at work and at the pub and in the supermarket. 

Now get going! help me get this money raised to get this going!

Hope... Out x

P.S. The drawings from my life-drawing class posing will be up on eBay at 7pm this evening so have a look and remember ALL money goes to THE AUTISM TRUST. Such a good cause people! FIND THEM BY SEARCHING "Life Drawing for THE AUTISM TRUST" or just my name hopeanscomb

Something for everyone's bucket list

"The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up." - Marilyn Monroe

You know what, I completely agree. 

Now, I am not completely prude or scared of being naked. With a partner I am free and easy with my body being nude and when it comes to wearing a bra... I am totally against it. In fact my friends and I are starting to spread something we now call 'No Bra Sunday'. This is as simple as it sounds in that no matter what you do or where you go, no bra is worn. This obviously may be a problem if you are doing some kind of vigorous activity... bras are allowed then!

Anyway, I suppose I should tell you all about my life drawing posing last Thursday... 

I will totally admit, that although I will do almost ANYTHING for a good cause and it's because I have pretty much no shame, I was bloody nervous. Luckily I had been so busy I didn't really have time to think about it much, until I was on the tube on the way there!
Now I was meeting my friend Jen (Partner in Crime) at Victoria as she was coming with me. Now Jen and I are pretty close, ok very close. Too close some may say, so I wasn't worried about being naked in front of her, however another friend had asked to come along and i said "NOOOO!" the two of them together would have been horrific. They enable each other to be double as ridiculous! I was more worried that with two of them I would end up in fits of giggles. I mean, being naked is one thing, having a naked laughing fit is quite another!

So it was just Jen and I. She was coming for moral support and also because she is arty and already attends a life drawing class. I also kind of needed her to draw me so I have some lovely drawings to sell and a friendly face in the "audience". 

Now the lady who runs the class mentioned she would be hiring another model on the same night because there had been big classes and she didn't know whether i was going to be good. Now as much as I am not your stereotypical girl I instantly thought "please be old and fat". bad I know, but I was about to be naked in front of quite a few strangers.... 
Anyway a lovely lady called Stephanie turned up. She had been doing it for a long time which was reassuring. 

So off we went to change into robes. 

Now when a room of 30 odd people are standing in a circle staring at you you really have no inclination to take off the robe. However, Stephanie - being a pro - whipped it right off and that kind of made me think "what the hell". And actually... it wasn't so bad!

The lovely Anne who runs the class was very sympathetic to the fact that I hadn't done ANYTHING like this before and so let me start off with a lot of sitting poses. 5 minutes warm up poses. After a while I realised that the people standing and sitting around me were genuinely kind of "blind" to my nudity and instead were REALLY concentrating on what they were drawing, they were pulling out all sorts of artistic looking moves - the looking at me through a pencil one I am still unsure about.....

By the time I got to the 10 minute poses I was a pro. Using my "posing time" to think of what to do next and suddenly I wanted to do really well! Like, I wanted to get into a good position for them to draw...! I was suddenly really getting into it. Well, as into standing still as i could get. The only problem I came across was, while standing, I encountered an itch on my right bum cheek. I definitely couldnt drop my arm and scratch so mind over matter came into play and I willed it to go away so badly! It worked, don't worry I didn't scratch my behind in front of 30 odd people. Mind won!

Anyway, so after a quick 10 min break during which I got told I was "a pleasure to draw" which is one of the nicest compliments I have ever had, I decided to be daring and twist myself round a bit for an interesting pose and the lady who runs the class approved so I was quite pleased with my positioning. Well, I was, until she then mentioned that the last pose was for 35 MINUTES! I looked at Jen and mouthed "that's a long time". She looked almost as distressed for me as I felt. I was starting to cramp during the short poses, let alone for 35 mins!

Turns out, I can zone out pretty easy though! I am not sure where I zoned out to but I finished my 35 mins with relief and a huge stretch!

Now I know that most people are not comfortable being naked in front of other people and I am included in that. I have never been topless on holiday and the only person that gets to see me naked is my other half. So don't get thinking that this was a walk in the park, everyday thing for me so when I say what I am going to say I am not just saying it...

EVERYONE SHOULD TRY IT! It should be on your bucket list. Try being a life drawing model and get a drawing from the class. It's very cool and although my drawings aren't quite as classy/sexy as that of Rose in Titanic, it's the closest I am going to get! :)

So I suppose you wonder what I am going to do with the drawings - ok so you might not be wondering but I will tell you anyway..

I will be putting my faith in eBay once more and selling the drawings with ALL profits going directly to the charity. 

They will be going up Saturday afternoon. Search for LIFE DRAWINGS FOR THE AUTISM TRUST or I am sure if you search my name it will come up as I imagine if I am the only one of my on Facebook I am probably the only one of me on eBay!

I will of course link to them on my twitter and Facebook :)

I am currently unsure to my next challenge but as soon as I have some plan(s) I will of course let all you lovely people know.

I might even write a blog in between, just to tell you about my life. I know you all constantly ponder about what I may be up to 24/7! :P

Remember, you can donate to the Autism Trust through my just giving page at any time and you don't even have to pose without make up for it! And I will be more grateful for just £3! £1 would be good!

www.justgiving.com/ayeatomakeadifference

Anyway, Hope.... Out

x

Your body is a wonderland

Well well well it's that time again

So, as you may know I had a bit of an Epic Fail last month with a glorious silver lining! I won't go over the details again as you all know what happened but it was a bit of a disappointment and a huge shame that such an exciting event and something that raised so much awareness ended up being a bit of a poo-fest.


However, as I have already said, eBay (after a bit of pressure from the papers) came through and helped raise over £2000 in the end! Which was WAY more than I could have raised. Seeing as the whole point of what I am doing is to raise money and awareness for The Autism Trust I am actually a bit over the moon! :)

I am still waiting for confirmation on the final amount and as soon as I have it you will be the first to know!

I tell you what though, this publicity and everything was a bit insane. I have NEVER had this much attention from the male population! I think I racked up 70something Facebook friend requests (only just a few more than I have actual friends!) and I suddenly have twitter followers. I am not sure I can take the pressure of entertaining people for long enough to keep them interested. I think I need a PR Manager! Anyone interested in the non-paying job of being my PR Manager? It involves telling me what to tweet, instagram, Facebook, pretty much control my technological life etc. Warnings: you WILL have to work with me, put up with my wild ramblings, argue me down when I say I don't want to do something (this will be the biggest challenge - I am rather stubborn. My flatmate Kelsey will testify for that!). If you think you can handle all that then please, apply via twitter. In case you wanna find me for anything socially media-ey like then I am pretty easy to find. I am not particularly inventive with my usernames... I pretty much use hopeanscomb for everything. So hit me up, or follow me. whatever the term may be.

So since my last challenge I haven't managed to go down to Polly's Place, which is the centre where the Autism Trust UK work out of, but am planning to go this weekend to meet the lovely Mo Wilson. They not only need the money I raise for them but I try to help out as much as I can. Unfortunately I cannot be there during the week when they need the most help, but I plan to help by writing grant proposals and anything else Mo needs my help with.

If you know anyone that wants to do some volunteering with some amazing people please let me know and I will get you in contact with Mo, they always need extra hands. There might even be something that you can do from home if you can't make it to the centre. I know we are organising an event in May that all hands on deck will be appreciated!

The Autism Trust are special. There has been some comeback at a charity based in the US at the moment that claim to help families affected by Autsim, but it seems now that they are not "helping" as much as they could be.

Children and adults with Autism are so often misunderstood as misbehaving or badly disciplined but with a little understanding and support these children are no different from others. With any child you focus on their strengths, you support them in their dreams no matter how big or small and you are there to create a world around them of love and where they feel safe. This should be the same for ANY child. It seems that some charities have forgotten that it is their job to help support families with this goal. The Autism Trust never loses sight of this aim. They provide so many families with support and share as much knowledge as they can through research they know of or through personal experience. 

Recently they had a "Crafternoon" where families were all welcome to take part in a fun, relaxed afternoon making mothers day gifts and cards. Simple it seem to some of you, therapeutic and an essential socialising opportunity.

There is another side to their centre there and Polly's place is also a shop, selling only handmade gifts made by those with autism or those supporting people with autism. They have beautiful things, perfect for mothers day. Take a look..... :)

http://www.theautismtrust.org.uk/collections/all

So.... I suppose now you want to know what I am up to next. Now I gave people a bit of a clue previously and I suppose now it is all booked and definite I can reveal the plan.

Now this is not so much a big money maker but it is the ridiculousness that is the main point of this one, and who knows it might make some money!

So, the "juice" as my italian colleague loves to say...

On a "secret" date in March I will be posing as a nude model for a life drawing class!

Now in terms of the charity fundraising, I will be donating the money I get paid for the modelling to the charity, I will be doing a collection on the evening and then putting my trust in eBay again and put one or two of the drawings up for auction. 

I am doing this with the fabulous London Drawing (www.londondrawing.com).

They have been lovely enough to let me take part in their class where  I will be posing completely naked as a life drawing model. That's right, no clothes. zilch. zero.

I am ok about it at the moment but the time is creeping up and if I really think about it I am soooo nervous about it!

I am not sure if they prefer "curvy" or slim. Figure I should probably cut down on the cake anyway! Stop there being toooooo many rolls and crevices for them to have to draw!

I definitely should have asked the lady about the hair situation. You know what I mean... I am not talking about whether to wear my hair down or in a ponytail here... Ah well, I might just wing it. Figure they will be focusing on my curves and the soft shapes and less on my foliage!!! :S 

Oh my GOD this is going to be terrifying!

Anyway, I will keep you updated on when the drawings are to go online for auction soon enough and in the meantime keep me away from the CAKE!

Have a good week people!

Hope... Out x

www.justigiving.com/ayeartomakeadifference

Silver Lining

"Thinking good thoughts is not enough, doing good deeds is not enough, seeing others follow your good examples is enough"

Firstly I think I am going to start this quote entry to my blog a and keep it going. I love a good quote...

Anyway, I suppose you all want to know how my auction and date went, I know we were all VERY excited! :)

Well, I am afraid I have sad news for you all, it turns out that not everyone bidding was genuine. 
My highest bidder when the auction finished on Tuesday 11th at 9am had decided he did not want to pay for his item (me!) and that he didn't want the date either.

As you can imagine I was pretty devastated. Not only was I angry at this guy but also completely embarrassed because I can't now provide that £620 to the charity that so desperately need it. 

Now I tried eBay, assuming that everything on their website was true and that bidding on an eBay item was a binding contract that you were then held to pay for if you won, no matter if you wanted the item or not (I have ended up with items I very much changed my mind on because i ended up as the highest bidder.) anyway, turns out all this was ABSOLUTE rubbish and eBay couldn't do anything. Apparently I can report said buyer but the most this would do is cancel account or restrict it which is next to useless! If anything I was mostly angry at eBay and just soooooo disappointed I didn't have my donation to give to The Autism Trust.....?! :( 

BUT my anger did not last long. The reaction of people has been amazing and it really goes to show that everything has a silver lining. I have had tweets from so many people supporting what I am doing, retweeting my challenges, raising awareness and people donating just to support the work the Autism Trust does. 
My story has made it all over the country and actually accross The Channel to Italy! I mean how insane is that!!?!?!

So, I may not have had a successful challenge this time, but other great things have come out of it. The message is spreading and I also have new support an followers for the rest of my year...

Ooh, now I suppose I should give you a little clue for my next challenge. Date is to be confirmed and details to be fine-tuned but I will be posing at a life-drawing model for a class in London. The payment I get for the evening will be donated to the charity, there will hopefully be a collection on the night and... although I had a bad experience with eBay this time... I am going to try again, and I will be auctioning off one drawing of me..... :S

Now I have no more details so don't get any expectations, especially as I have no idea how good the artist will be! But there we go, a little bit of a teaser to my next challenge! 

I definitely think it will be one of those things that I think is a good idea now, and will be a foolish endeavor when it gets to the day of the event!!! 

Now, I don't have much time to write this blog today because I am off out to a gig. That's right people, I actually have a life besides doing ridiculous stuff for charity! :P

So I all hope you had a lovely valentines day no matter who you were with or what you were doing! :)

I will definitely be keeping you updated very soon!

In the meantime, you know what I am going to ask... Keep sharing, keep spreading the message and keep throwing ideas at me! Remember, I will do almost anything!

Hope.... Out x

www.justgiving.com/ayeartomakeadifference

And so it begins...

I would be lying to say I wasn’t nervous about this morning.

It could have gone two very different ways. I could have been inundated with bids OR I could have absolutely nothing, not even a view. LUCKILY it has been the former and I am already up to £100! This is amazing and obviously very flattering or people are just insanely generous and charitable which I hope they are! I will obviously keep everyone updated with the progress. It is a 10 day auction so who knows what will happen!

As some of you may have seen, I made the papers. Ok so it was only the local free paper (although I bought 8 of them!) I have now been in a newspaper and it must have worked as I have had 3 new twitter followers and 2 new facebook requests (this is a big deal for me, especially as I have only just worked out how to use twitter. I figure you just hastag every word right?!). This must mean interest in my auction right?! Cant be a complete coincidence!

So not only did the newsshopper take on my story but a journalist found it and as I type (well probably more earlier today) is attempting to get my story in the Sun and the Dailymail. My original reaction was “OMG WOW!” now it’s more “holy S**T!”. Although all publicity is good publicity right?! Well that’s what the PR people to the stars say! As for being a star, my wonderful colleagues have gone with the “Hope is a celebrity” angle and have been winding me up non-stop. I assume some of you have seen the “dressing room” they created for me. I would like to point out that I was actually working while my fellow colleagues were busy mocking me!  It shocks me how influencial social media is! It has gone a bit crazy, well I think it has, and all I have done is a bit of a story in a very local paper and tweeted a couple of times. I find it incredible and thinking about it, sitting here on the train, people are on facebook, twitter and god knows what new thing that I am not cool enough to know about on their phones. It really is the best way to communicate your message. Think I am going to need an intense twitter course!

As much as I am freaking out a little bit at the cringeyness of this challenge, the support has been amazing! I mean, I have been soooooo lucky with everyone helping at events, sharing links etc but this one has taken it to new levels and I would like to take this moment to thank all those people that are sharing what I am doing whether it be chatting about it with friends, tweeting it or facebooking. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to have everyone supporting me. It makes a huge difference knowing that I have people believing in what I am trying to do (even if you all also think I am a little bit insane. To be honest I think I might be but I also think it hekps! :D).

Now the soppy part of this blog is out of the way I should probably go back to plugging my ebay link etc. So here is the deal again in case you forgot or are hearing about this for the firt time…

 I have an ebay auction scheduled to start at 9am on 1^st February. The link is below or you can search “Valentines Date for Charity”

The auction will last for 10 days and ALL proceeds go directly to The Autism Trust.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151216489415

Don’t panic, I have spoken to Ebay and they are all cool with it and again are really supportive!

Once the auction has finished I will contact the highest bidder and arrange the time fo the meal for valentines.

We (me and whoever wins) will then spend a lovely evening in London on 14^th February and I am very much looking forward to it, whoever it may be with!

So, “that’s the juice” as my lovely Italian colleague likes to say and I think it’s catching on.

Any questions, tweet me, write on my blog..

Hope.... Out x