Lest we forget

I tried to explain Remembrance Sunday to Natan today.  How do you explain it to a nearly four year old in the simplest possible way?  Well here goes. I began:

“Nati, today is a very special day.  Do you want to know why?”

“Yes mummy.”

“Have you seen those red flowers that people are wearing on their clothes?”

“Yes mummy.”

“Well, they are called poppies and we wear them to remember the good people who died fighting in the war to save us. Today is called Remembrance Sunday and we remember all those people today.”

“Because they died mummy?”

“Yes darling.”

“Did they have guns?”

“Yes darling.”

“Did they fight the baddies?”

“Yes, that’s right?”

“Oh.”

“Grandma and Grandpa went on a special march today to remember all those people.”

“Oh. They marched?”

“Yes darling.”

(A few minutes later.)

“Mummy? How many people died?”

“Lots and lots of people darling.”

“Lots? Twenty?”

“Much, much more than that darling. Millions.”

“Was the war a long time ago mummy?”

(That’s a tough one. I go for the easy answer.)

“Yes it was.  But some people are still soldiers today and still have to fight the bad people.”

“Oh.  Mummy?”

“Yes darling.”

“Can I watch my programmes on the television now?”

I guess it is a hard concept to grasp when you are nearly four.

It is important to try and explain though even to one so young.

Regimental Sergeant Major Chant was among the five British soldiers murdered at their base in Afghanistan on Tuesday.  His 16 year-old son put the following message on his Facebook page as a tribute to his dad:

“I’m so, so, so proud of you. Just want you to remember you were the greatest dad, soldier and person anyone could ask for. I’m guna miss you shouting at me telling me to get my hair cut… you were my all but I know you died doing something you loved, which I respect dearly.

“The times I was with you were just the greatest… theme parks, walking the dog, arguing constantly, they were the times aye?

“You will be with me always and we will meet again soon. Your comrades respect you and I wouldn’t be lying if I said you were the best soldier the British army ever had. I love you with all my heart and never forget that dad. I miss you so much and wish you were here. Permission to fall out sir, Connor.”

Lest we forget.

We will remember them.

RIP Lord Steinberg

I went to the funeral of a very good man on Wednesday.

He died suddenly and will be sorely missed by all who knew him and all who’s lives he touched.

RIP Lord Steinberg – father, grandfather, brother, family man, businessman, community leader, philanthropist.

Stop the world. I want to get off.

I have had better weeks.  A sample of my expensive week follows:

1. I got another completely flat tyre. Another  nail meant it was not fixable. New tyre fitted on Friday.

2. Tumble dryer blew all sockets.  It’s burnt out one of the plug sockets completely. New tumble dryer ordered and electrician coming to fix said socket next week.

3. Leaky downstairs toilet. Plumber also coming next week to fix.

4. Someone went into the back of me on the same day as flat tyre and seems to have warped my bumper.

5. Natan seemed to grow out of his clothes overnight and needed a completely new wardrobe.  I had to put a stop to sending him into nursery with a hole in his shoe and trousers above his ankles!

Any more for any more?

Do you love me?

Me: “I love you Nati”

(Silence)

I try again:

“I love you. What do you say to that?”

He replies:

“Thank you mummy.”

(Not quite the response I’d hoped for.)

I try again with a leading question:

“Do you love mummy?”

” Most of the time,” he replies.

(I laugh. Very clever.)

Getting ready for school

I formally applied to the Council for Natan’s school place today (although his name’s been down for the school since he was about 6 weeks old!).

This formality was a bit of a milestone.  I can’t believe he’ll be starting Reception Class next September.

He is very excited and can’t wait to go to big school and wear a uniform.  I can’t believe he’s not a baby anymore.  The last four years have just flown by in a flash and here we are counting to 100 and doing our phonics together each evening before bed.

I know I’m going to be a complete mess on his first day of school.

Then all the fun really starts. School holidays. 3.30 pm finishes. Homework. Help…

We did it – Notte Bella: Il Finito

 

I was privileged to be involved in organising the final Appeal Dinner for the New Children’s Hospital on Thursday evening.

It was a truly special night that I’ll remember for a long time. Apart from the success of the event itself and the raft of celebrities (including JLS, Stavros Flatley, Sara Cox, John Thompson, Sam Allardyce, Theo Paphitis, a host of Corrie & Hollyoaks stars  and of course Mark Hughes), we raised a staggering £200,000 on the night itself and reached the £20 million Appeal target.

There was lots of laughter and there were lots of tears and it was a hugely successful evening.  JLS were amazing  (I am now a huge fan.)  and I came over completely stupid when I met Mark Hughes.

After managing to get Cloud 23 at the Hilton to stay open later for the After Show party and a few too many peach bellinis, I finally got to bed at about 4.45 am, after waking the whole house of course and making myself rather unpopular.  It was payback time when Natan jumped into bed at 6.50 am asking for his breakfast.  Ouch.

An afternoon at MCFC with my dad

City just weren’t good enough today.  To be 2-0 up at home and come away with just a point is not acceptable if we are serious about challenging for titles.

It was a strange weekend for results all round, but still we should be winning at home.  (I still can’t decide what’s worse, a smug Liverpool fan or a smug United fan!)

Our defence was a joke. I’m not convinced by Lescott. Richards needs to get real and as for Adebayor, he needs to concentrate on the football and give the diving and the attitude a rest.   He’s not been the same since his ban after the Arsenal debacle.

I enjoyed the outing today as I went to the match with my dad.  It was lovely spending time together.  He’s a Spurs fan so was not best pleased with their defeat to Stoke yesterday, but he had a good afternoon out today with his youngest daughter nonetheless.

Now to host Scunthorpe in the Cup on Wednesday. Oh the glamour!

42 Under 42

Last night was Insider’s annual 42 Under 42  bash.  I am proud to be a member of the class of 2007.

This year’s event was another great evening – well done Northwest Business Insider and Michael Taylor for hosting expertly as always.

Imran Hakim and Keith Curran shared their inspirational stories.

To top off a great night, our table won the quiz!

iNspire, the Charity Incubator

The iNspire website launched this week.

I am proud to be founder Board member of iNspire.  It’s taken us a while to get to this point and many people have worked hard and given a lot of time to help us – you know who you are – thank you.

One of our iNspire charities, the Honeyrose Foundation, was featured on The Secret Millionaire this evening.

This week’s proving to be a particularly tough and emotional one for me.  I’ve had long days and not seen Natan enough.  Seeing Lynn of the Honeyrose tonight though was inspirational and watching people selflessly give of themselves was incredibly humbling and a bit of a reality check.

“There are three constants in life… change, choice and principles.” – Stephen Covey

IoD North West Director of the Year 2009

Last night was my 6th IoD Director of the Year Awards.

It’s always one of my favourite night’s of the year.

It was another great night, another batch of fantastic finalists, another year of catching up with people I’ve not seen for ages and another year of over-indulgence yet again.  It was all in the name of networking of course.

I was offered a lift home at 12.00 am when the formalities were over.  This morning I woke up wishing I’d accepted the lift.  Getting to bed at 3.15 am is not such a good idea on a school night. I’m getting too old for this.

Getting myself ready this morning was struggle enough, but I had to get Natan sorted for nursery too. That’ll teach me. (Probably not.)