I don't usually attend Fund-raising events, but the London Fund-raising manager was on maternity leave and my colleague who usually covers her post was on annual leave, so I volunteered to help out. Especially, as I had managed to recruit two new event volunteers who were attending.
The event itself was a tennis tournament run by Lexis Nexis in aid of Diabetes UK. They had rented out the three tennis courts in Lincoln Inn Fields located between Holborn and Chancery Lane tubes. Lincoln Inn Fields, laid out in 1630, is the biggest public square in London and one of many verdant areas tucked away within the concrete metropolis.
We setup the Tennis Courts and adjacent pavilion, that belonged to the ostensibly lavish restaurant, with Diabetes UK banners, balloons and articles. We then waited for the players to show up and at about 2pm the matches, both a doubles and singles tournament, began.
I then began to mingle with spectators and non-active tennis players, talking about Diabetes and the work of Diabetes UK aiming to persuade them to make it an annual event rather than a one off . As I sat down on one of the tables, a waiter placed a bowl of sautéed potatoes and a plate of marinated chicken pieces on the table. I wasn't quite sure where I stood in terms of free food on the challenge, but I deemed it acceptable, as well as a lot more enticing than another cheese sandwich. I followed it up with two helpings of quail egg risotto and strawberries with cream for pudding, stopping only to umpire one match and help ball boy for another.
I was reminded of my secondary school for two reasons. Firstly, because my year were picked to ball-boy for Wimbledon whilst I was there and secondly because I did my work experience in Chancery Lane, which led to my first ever job.
Growing up I had always wanted to be a Civil rights lawyer, mainly because I was inspired by my best friends dad, Michael Mansfield QC. A man who was recently proclaimed as Britain's boldest and best-known Civil Rights lawyer. After a successful application to do my work experience within his Chambers, I quickly got to grips with life in Chancery Lane. To begin with my jobs involved making cups of tea, sorting the post and fixing computers. However, soon after I was delivering important papers to the Old Bailey, sitting in on trials and one of my favourite tasks, which was to help the junior clerk buy and carry the Champagne after a big case was won.
The chambers was in the process of moving location to Farringdon and I was asked back over the summer for paid work assisting the junior clerk during the move. This was hard work as I was usually cleaning out offices, yet it was also quite fascinating as I was able to read some really high profile case files, from the murder of Stephen Lawrence, to the death of Jill Dando. At one stage when I was cleaning up a CD fell on the floor with the emblem for the Anti-Terrorist Network of Scotland Yard written on it. I wanted to pocket it but was paranoid that if I put it in my home computer a swat team would instantaneously fly in through the window and arrest me.
Unfortunately, I was not working there during the Diana inquest or the Jean Charles de Menezes case, but I still learnt a lot in my time there, including the fact that wherever I chose to work, it would have to be in an office capacity and I would have to wear a suit.
Michael also taught me two very important lessons. Firstly, to be successful in life and business it's all about who you know, not what you know. Secondly, wearing brightly coloured socks is a great way to catch a girls attention.
Anyway, sorry for heavily drifting off topic. After umpiring for the doubles final I was told I could finish. I volunteered to take some of the stuff back to head office in Camden, as my friend Laith who came to meet me, was hoping to buy a new bike in Camden. He told me that when he bought his new bike I could have his fold-up one for free. This would be very useful as soon as my bus pass ran out, assuming my ankle had healed.
He searched a few shops before deciding he would wait a few days until he found the one he had in mind. I caught the bus back home and, despite my lunch, cooked myself a tuna risotto that would last for a few days.
Again nothing spent
Spent £106.07
