On the beaten track!

This is what the Council has to say about me! It was published in the City News which is a newsletter that goes out to all Council employees. Thank you to Joanne and Jenny for publishing it!

A very special guidebook!

I finally got to a bookshop today to buy my guidebook for India! Well, there are so many to choose from, some with great photos but no accommodation guide, others with brilliant restaurant guides but no travel timetables. Anyways after 15 min of browsing I knew which one I was meant to get as there was a note left in it, just on a page specific for me. Coincidence?

I'm doing housework tonight for a friend - £12 for a 2hour shift is not bad fundraising; its fantastic chat too!!!!

A Reflective Moment ..

Today has been great!

It started off with me picking up a mystery parcel at the post office which turned out to be a crate of wine, who can complain about that!

It was a surreal day finishing off at the Council, whilst I felt an empty sadness about not working with the External Relations team anymore, I also felt a sense of euphoria as it's the official start of my big adventure! For the past three and a half years I have literally worked myself to the bone, starting over in different cities, dealing with the home-office and embassies in the hope of being granted life-changing visas, worrying about family in Zimbabwe, all whilst trying to gain some form of security without letting it become a main focus. It has been an uphill struggle yet I wouldn't want it any other way as it truly has taught me so much about life, people and myself.
For the first time since leaving Zimbabwe I honestly feel now that it's my turn to have some fun!
I would not have got this far if it wasn't for some heart-warmingly endearing characters whom I've had the pleasure of knowing! I believe you ALL realise who you are ;o)

I'm now in contact with my first fellow fundraiser! Brian from England who is setting high standards for the rest of the travellers. Him and I seem to have much in common, especially when it comes to philosophy on life which I'm positive will provide great chat!

Brian commented on my 23 years of age and the self-confidence I must possess to be doing all of this. I thought hard about it as I am actually rather quiet-spoken and on the odd occassion shy. However, I realise in my old age, that I am able to make big decisions fully based on my own thoughts and I'm very aware that sometimes it won't the be the right choice - yet I'm not scared to make a mistake. It also helps to .. always look on the Bright side of life (whistle)! .. who said I was grown-up???

Anyhoo, it's Friday night and if I write more deep and philosophical stuff you will get bored!

The Council goes to pieces .. pieces of cake!

Heyho, we had another cakesale today at my Council offices, which raised £139.09!

Thank you Alexis, Joanne and Kate for bringing in some delicious baked goods, and thanks to everyone else who came down and supported it!
Cheers to Anna for encouraging me to organise this, and for the biscuits. Also to Stephen for repeatedly sending out group emails for me!
Tomorrow is my last official day working with the Council .. and I'm going to miss it :o( alot!
On Monday I start back with The Action Group doing mental health support work for the next two months.

I have the best hairdresser in the entire world and I'm not kidding. Not only does she cut my hair the way I like it, but she also helped inspire me to take on this challenge (as spoken about in my first posting). Now she has so trustingly lent me all the gear from her trek in Vietnam. My budget for the trip just rose a few hundred pounds, and I have everything from a decent sized backpack, sleeping bag, trekking stick, toothpaste to imodium tablets! A big shout out to Helen Dean from HD Hairdressers!

The gossip off the streets

Well a lot of you have taken an interest in the homeless man I had breakfast with a while back. About two months ago Keith disappeared off the cobbled streets of Edinburgh and has not been seen since. I believe it's all positive though as he had often talked about his 9yr old son living in Ayrshire and how he hoped to move closer to him and be able to visit more regularly! Fingers crossed ..

There are lots of lovely and interesting people just around the corner ... literally - the many of you who have walked up Leith Walk with me will have meet the joyous John and his wonderful prince, well Prince his dog! He wears a purple jacket and has decided that the angle he wants to see the world from is perched outside Tesco. If you seem him stop by and say hello, he won't ask or expect money or food from you, he just likes people to be friendly and acknowledge him as a normal guy. His dog is absolutely gorgeous too!

More cake, then Diwali

Well, tomorrow is the 9th of September and that's the deadline to have £2000 to Mind to ensure my place on the camel trek. So I donated £610 of my own money and will keep fundraising until the very last day, and probably when I return too!

Next Thursday I'm holding the second cakesale of the month at my Council offices and there have been a few kind offers to donate cakes on the day. I shall be bringing out the mixing bowl & wooden spoon to make more carrot cake, seems to be a favourite!!! I approached Bank of Scotland asking if they will matchfund what the sale raises - hopefully they will come back with a positive response!

Cheers to Cuz Craig for the sponsorship pennies. I'm so glad you are well and hope to catch up with you soon!

To Mr 'Allan Shearer' ... Thanks!!! You are a mysterious character!?

Friday evening 4th November

Put it in your diary!

Diwali is the most celebrated of all Indian festivals, it marks a time for a new beginning as we welcome LAKSMI the Goddess of Wealth and enjoy the company of friends with gifts, food and sweets, Lights and candles - The Festival of Lights!

The Festival of Lights Banquet will take place at The Raj Restaurant on the shore and feature over 12 speciality dishes including award-winning dishes from the prestigious international Indian Chef of the Year Competition - Tommy Miah.

£10 per person, 79 people plus yourself to enjoy the evening, fantastic atmosphere and delicious food (already proven!). Contact me to book your places - 078 3210 5653 shirleynicklin@hotmail.com A friend has even promised to get the entire country to light up the sky with fireworks for us the very next night ...

For more about Diwali visit http://www.diwalifestival.org/

We made curry history

WOOOOW! What a week, what a night! During the run up to Friday I was a ball of energy unable to keep still, if I wasn't doing something then I would be thinking of what I could do to make Friday an Outstanding evening! As well as having a great time and raising money, I wanted people to walk away feeling inspired to do something that they have never done before, no matter how big or small, just something that will make them feel good! One way of attempting that was to have a small piece of paper with a different quotation at each place setting such as ...

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be
happy, practice compassion.” The Dalai Lama

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in
anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Buddha
The "Enlightened One"

And secondly I printed out my blog, put a photo and welcome page at the front and left copies on the tables so people could read more about who and what they are supporting.

I went along to the restaurant quite early to put the finishing touches on, and at the same time I was playing some Indian pop tunes which got the waiters on my side immediately. I was given a complimentary drink then they asked me to turn the music up so they could enjoy 'the atmosphere'. (Apologies to the customers downstairs who found the service unusually slow!??!)

Slowly people started arriving and soon it was full. A massive thanks to Annalee, Duncan, Joanne and Alex for coming dressed for the theme, I would have been the only one otherwise. You all looked fantastic! The boys had lost the waistcoats by the time this photo was taken ..

Also a huge thank-you to Paul who made a grand effort to come along, it means so much to me, I hope the delicious curry made it worth it!

To everyone who attended, words can't say how special every single one of you made it, you supported the cause with so much enthusiasm, just that night will make signing up to this fundraising worth it! (please don't tell my camel I ever said that though!)

Magic Marc, the co-organiser/host and photographer, I owe you. I know there were moments last week when you might have wished you didn't know me, but without you this event wouldn't have been half as good as it was (for the fact that half the people wouldn't have been there), and your charisma and endless encouragement is a blessing! Thank you!

The atmosphere was very relaxed, every table was set for 10 people which made it extrmely social, it was a help-yourself buffet, Sean was kept busy all night doing amazing caricatures. The raffle was drawn, the dinner at Mussel Inn went to Shazza, and the weekend away to Mark Smith who's from my gym.

To Sean the caricaturist, Thank you for your wonderful work and donation! Just by being there you ensured that there was something for everyone!

For a slideshow of the photos taken that night, please check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/32697644@N00/sets/880736/

I'm off to count up how much we raised and will post the total soon! Then it's lunchtime at the Indian Mela festival!