So, as may be clear from my last few posts, I’ve been having a bit of a rough go of things. But if you know me at all, you’ll know I’m not one to wallow. And that I’m a sucker for a good cause.
I’ve been doing a dancercise class (learn a dance, sweat a fair bit, have the craic) with the amazingly lovely Jean Gill for about seven or eight years now. So when she asked me if I’d take part in her annual strictly come dancing charity fundraiser which she was organising with the equally lovely Caroline Mulhern, I think she knew I’d say yes before she even asked!
This year the event is being held in the White Sands Hotel in Portmarnock (where Caroline works in events management), and the funds are going towards a little local boy named Jack Creaby. Jack is two years old and has a condition called SCN2a, which is a rare condition that means he has a lot of seizures and his development is severely affected. The money raised will go towards making sure Jack’s family can buy the equipment they need to look after Jack at home, safely.
Some of Jack’s family members are taking part in the dancing – my own partner is Jack’s uncle Derek (we’re dancing disco together!)! We started rehearsing about two and a half months ago, and lads, it’s been the BEST fun. Two nights a week (sometimes more!) we all head over to the hotel and practice our steps (sometimes even on the Tamangos dance floor!). Myself and Derek are opening the show (god that’s a panic-inducing sentence!) after we do our first group dance (oh, you thought we were just going to dance to one song, did you?), and things have come together nicely since then.
I knew none of the other dancers before I started rehearsing with them, but they are the loveliest bunch, and we’re all firm friends now! The whole process has really helped me get through the past few months, between the social end of things, throwing myself into a good cause, getting me out of the house and keeping me physically active (I’ve no idea how I’ll be able to breathe enough to do my post-dance interview!).
Tickets are completely sold out for the show itself, which is TOMORROW(!), but there is a fundraising page that is open for donations, and you can put your name down for raffle tickets or put a bid in for one of the pieces up for auction on the night (check out here for posts as to the kinds of things that are on offer, including a signed Irish jersey, a TV and loads more deadly things!) – if you’d like to do any of these thing, you can donate directly here, or contact me about the raffle/auction before lunchtime tomorrow (Saturday). We are jsut shy of €3000 on the online donations, so it was be amazing if we could pip that total before curtain-up tomorrow evening!
I know I promised regular programming would resume shortly, so given that I’ll probably hibernate for most of Sunday you can all consider this my Sunday Self-care post, as this event has been the height of self-care for me over the past few months!
