The Bucket List (of sorts)

The Bucket List and "Yes” Man

No this isn’t a Hollywood title theft, although both films have a great point.

This post is actually inspired by conversations I’ve had very recently with three people – one being a lady I had the pleasure of meeting at an event in Cheshire, one a good friend of mine, and the other from twitter (thanks Naomi and Chesca!)

In my line of work you often come across some shocking stories – whether it’s cancer, or a horrific accident. These stories make you realise that life is short, and time spent being angry, worried or scared is all time wasted. So this post is dedicated to those that grab life by the balls and crack on with it.

While at the event in Cheshire, I was talking to a lady about the Children’s Air Ambulance Husky Trek in February. She said it was always something she wanted to do, and dropped that she had completed her “50 things to do before she dies”, and wanted to start another one.

 The conversation spiraled into some of the amazing thing she’d done, and I was hooked!

So I wanted to share my “to do” bucket list (there’s a lot I’ve already done), in the hope that you lot might hold me accountable if I never do any of them, and also to inspire some more ideas. It’s not a top 50, or in any order, but I’m trying to group it a bit…

 Music/Live Acts

Learn to play the guitar (properly!)

As a result of the above – perform on stage (I had the opportunity to do this last year but I bottled it!!)

See the Foo Fighters

See RHCP

See Green Day

See Black Stone Cherry

See Blink 182 (this will be a tick in 2 weeks time!)

See Frank Turner (November)

See Alter Bridge

See one of the above at Wembley

Comedians

Russell Howard

Erm, I’m struggling with this one because I’ve seen most of them!

Experiences

Hot Air Balloon Ride

Sky Dive (September)

Get my bike licence (half way there)

Be taught how to ride properly by Chesca (I’m holding her to this)

Bungee Jump into water

Fly a plane

Fly a helicopter

White Water Rafting

Handle birds of prey (“Go on a night out in Norwich” was one response I got to this once)

Skills

Get the qualifications that allow me to teach post-16 classes

Teach post-16 education (Psychology most probably)

Learn photography

Learn to play golf (mainly because I’m pants at it!)

Challenges

Organise my own full blown festival

Buy a scrap car and rebuild it

Take part in the Crumball Rally (or something similar)

Have a “Yes Man” week

Places to see/visit

Rome, and all the usual sites

New Zealand (for the adventure sports)

Amsterdam (yes, I’ve never been to Amsterdam!)

The Amazon

Camp Nou

Las Vegas

Ultimate ambitions

Own my own successful business

Start my own charitable trust

Do everything I can to make other people’s lives that little bit easier

These are just thing off the top of my head, and I’m sure there’s a load more. What is your bucket list like? Share some with me on twitter - @TCAADave

Ad-ven-ture [ad-ven-cher], noun

1. An exciting or very unusual experience

Hello again – It’s actually me writing this post – it’s been a while!

So, bringing the blog back to it’s original purpose, providing you lot with an idea about what it’s like to work in fundraising, this post is about some of the great opportunities that come with it.

Beyond often working long days, evenings and weekends, the job has some amazing perks, opportunities and adventures. I’d like to share some of the more recent ones I’ve had through photos and whatever else I can get my hands on!

I’ll start with today. Today was the final Heroes Run of the year for the Derbyshire,Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance. It’s a Sunday, and I’m volunteering at the event at Locko Park, Derby.

I rocked up at 9am, an unusually late start for an event (expertly organized, I must say!), to be told I was on stage.

“Cool”

Most people would have been a bit flustered by this proposition, but as you can see I was more than happy with a mic squaring up to a man in a Martial Arts Gi:

Not feeling flustered, I got on with the day and enjoyed myself, albeit with a tough crowd!

I’m comfortable on stage, but this only stemmed from an opportunity I took years ago when I was PETRIFIED of public speaking. Ever since then I’ve been hooked and I’d take any opportunity to get on stage in front of anyone – including thousands at the Eurocultured Festival in Manchester!

But how is that adventure? Well how often are you presented with an opportunity to do that? People ran away from me today when I was wandering around with the mic! It’s also a great adrenaline rush.

Okay, so maybe that didn’t do it for you?

How about a skydive? Pretty common I know, but on 6th September I’ll be joining my lovely colleagues and some of our supporters on a skydive to raise money and awareness for The Children’s Air Ambulance – it’s always been something I wanted to do, and this is my opportunity.

I also get to meet and talk to celebrities and athletes, like at Thundersprint where we rallied the support of a number of top riders, including the lovely Chesca Miles and Steve Parrish.

Next week I’ll be traveling up to Oldham ready for the arrival of the Olympic Torch, and shortly afterwards I’ll be conquering Manchester in a game of Urban Espionage.

In August I’ll be at the Emergency Services Day with our Paramedics, showing off our kit and engaging with thousands of people.

Later on in the year I’ll be running a Golf event at The Mere Resort in Knutsford which should attract some big golf fans (Michael Owen is a keen golfer, anybody know him?!). Just a few weeks after I’ll be attending a great evening event, Business with Pleasure, where I’ll no doubt be enjoying the stories of Noddy Holder again.

So, if you ever want a rewarding, fun, challenging (and VERY busy) job, consider fundraising.

Get me an intro to this lady and I’ll be set.

Ciao for now!

Social Media: The Power of Imagery

Sally-Anne is the Director of Public Relations at The Manchester Grammar School and also runs a private consultancy practice. You can follow her on Twitter @Sally_AnneR and @firstimpressi0n or at say hello@sallyannerogers.com

Social media: The power of imagery

One of the most brilliant things about using social media as part of your communication mix is that it gives you loads of opportunities to tell your stories in real time through the power of imagery.

It’s now an established fact that people seldom read more than bite-sized chunks of information as they attempt to absorb the latest news through the myriad of media streams now available to them. So, I hear you say, what’s new about grabbing someone’s attention through big headlines and images? Nothing of course – in fact PR and communication hasn’t actually changed as a concept since I joined the industry thirty years ago – but it’s how you use your imagery that can really make a difference.

Take Twitter: What makes your followers read your tweet and pass it on? Relevance is key, the first three words important, and if inserting a link to find out more, making sure this works. But none of this seems to matter when you post an image – suddenly 30 people click within seconds to take a peek!

Random spontaneous images work well on Twitter; curiosity is a natural human instinct easily activated when stories involve people, animals, or a measure of comedy.

Hubby and I decided that neutral was no longer to be the colour on our bedroom walls. Through the power of Twitter we discovered a supplier of my favourite paint was our local antique shop. The daughters of the owner had joined the business and were in the process of injecting some modernity into their communication mix and they were delighted we found out on Twitter. When we were testing the paint on the walls I posted the following phototweet – hubby had a mad moment – and it’s a great example of sharing something spontaneously and was viewed by 32 of our mutual followers.

The point of Twitter, as opposed to Facebook or Google+, is to interact with everyone you come across if you wish. And to succeed on Twitter – and by this I mean engage with real people who are interested in you or what you do – you need to be human. People love personalities to shine through the tweets (within reason!) and if like David you manage the PR on behalf of a charity then this is even more important as it can bring you loyalty and much needed support.

When David visited The Manchester Grammar School recently I covered his visit on the School’s Twitter stream @MGSMagic and included a couple of images as part of the story.

As you have probably gathered I’m a real fan of Twitter when it’s used properly. To quote a guy called Vern: “Twitter on a mass scale – invites idiocy. Twitter on a small scale of friends and people you wished you knew in person – works!” It’s brilliant for keeping in touch with those you value and trust and a great way to gain loyalty and support no matter what you do.

Sally-Anne Rogers

Sally-Anne is the Director of Public Relations at The Manchester Grammar School and also runs a private consultancy practice. You can follow her on Twitter @Sally_AnneR and @firstimpressi0n or at say hello@sallyannerogers.com