By anyone's standards I'm hardly model material, but even so I recently found myself parading down the catwalk in aid of the Mayor's Charities, one of which is Parity for Disability. It had been a huge commitment time-wise, and I felt an absolute twerp when rehearsals began, but largely thanks to the terrific group of students from Farnborough Sixth Form College who were also models, I did manage to have fun, in spite of myself.
Two other Rushmoor Councillors, David Clifford and Sue Carter, took part, as well as the Mayor, David hamming it up shamelessly and Sue bringing the house down by wearing a onesy in the final set. I played things straight, having bottled out of wearing the meringue of a bridal gown assigned to me. Honestly, at my time of life...
It was pretty brutal backstage, with everyone struggling to manage their changes while various performers trouped through the already crowded dressing room. Still, largely due to Jill Shuttleworth and Alison Boukhobza, it all went off remarkably smoothly. Except, that is, for Eileen Hicks taking a tumble off the stage in the darkness. Fortunately, she wasn't seriously hurt. Quite apart from the lighting, the sections of the stage had come apart during the earlier Fijjian dancing and it was lucky that nobody else came to grief.
Norma, the Mayoress, put an incredible amount of work into the proceedings, in addition to her civic duties, and the staff at the Princes Hall were marvellous. And, on the night, the students set up a display of their own designs that was very impressive.
I've yet to hear how much money was raised, though it was probably disappointing because ticket sales were low. Still, those who came clearly enjoyed themselves enormously, and any money raised is always welcome.
