Page 145 - She's One Crazy Lady!

friend, Andy Todd, organised a 6th form RAG Week and raised an incredible £700 and at Victoria Junior School a collection at the end of a concert was organised – at the suggestion of Marilyn and April – a welcomed, new headteacher to the school, who became a good colleague to talk to. I was invited to both Schools to receive the cheques and took Margaret Paragreen from the Breast Services at KGH with me to talk about how the money would be used – she spoke very well.
My brother, Andrew, then went on to tell me he was going to have his head shaved (he hadn’t got much to shave off), but felt he had to do ‘something’ and that he and his wife Marilyn (who I have to call ‘sister-in-law Marilyn’ for obvious reasons – there being two Marilyns in my life) and her daughters were going to organise an Aromatherapy Evening prior to the Crazy Hats Day to raise more funds. This was so touching and meant so much to me. He and his family put so much effort into the evening and it was a great success, with a great attendance – and £1,000 raised. I felt so proud of him – my brother who, as a child, used to tease me incessantly and if I complained to Mum and Dad, it was me who got sent to bed for telling tales!
With chemo having started and my hair all gone I remember having to wear my wig on that night and they say the camera does not lie – it looked awful – it felt awful and yes, I felt very self-conscious.
At this time a staggering £2,000 had been accumulated which we chose to pay into the hospital’s charity account but, in discussions and agreement with the Finance department, opened a separate bank account under the name of ‘Crazy Hats’ to ensure this, and additional donations, didn’t get swallowed up with the Hospital’s general charity funds or, just put into one big pot. Even then I knew we had a responsibility to ensure the public. After all, this was public money, the public should be kept informed as to where and how their money was being banked and used. This apparently was a first for the hospital.
More good news came when I took the poster to a local printers in Wellingborough (A0 Copy – now, sadly closed) to see how much it would cost to have it printed as it was essential we advertised the proposed Crazy Hats Day, not just in schools, but at the hospital and at workplaces, libraries, clubs...
I met Angelina. We got talking and, like me, Angie, as I call her, was really fascinated by what we were doing saying she knew of people around her who had witnessed breast cancer first hand. Her boss, Drew Stevenson, appeared from behind the scenes and he, too, was really interested – so much so, that he generously offered to print the posters
“My brother, Andrew, then went on to
tell me he was going to have his head shaved (he hadn’t got much to shave off), but felt
he had to do ‘something’.”
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