Saturday 6 November 2010

Walk70 - 20yds - Total 1001 miles and 20 yds - To Go 0 miles














Palace of Westminster - St Stephen's Entrance and Hall, Central Lobby, House of Commons Chamber, House of Lords Chamber, The Terrace and 1000miles4hope Dining room.

In life there are a few very very special moments. Against a background of ooooh's and aaaaaah's, cheerful chatter and the smiling faces of close friends this evening was up there with the best. Friends and guests dolled up like film stars gathered in St Stephen's Hall for a delightful dance with the senses. Standing together a couple of feet away from where Sir Thomas More was sentenced to death. From that moment on it got better and better until there was the call of 'time....ladies and gentlemen' just before Big Ben struck twelve.

The superteam of Tracy, Charlotte, Sara and Andrew (finally a decent photographer on the team!) got on with the task of dressing tables. Name cards all sorted and in order soon become chaos as Rob offers to help and somehow shuffles all the cards to create confusion. In St Stephen's Hall a number of our guests show enterprising spirit by joining the University of Birmingham guided tour of the Palace. Our host, David Mowat, the MP for Warrington South, took a small group of us on a tour. It was an amazing feeling standing at the despatch box where Churchill, Thatcher, Blair and others have stood at moments of history. I lean across wave my finger wildly at Karen across at the other box and demand 'will the right honourable lady answer the question?'. To which she replies 'if the right honourable gentleman will ask one.' In the members lobby we look at the full size statues of Churchill and Thatcher and wonder about the decision process that will determine a bust or a full statue for Blair in the future. Interesting to note that Chamberlain has no statue at all! We all meet up on the terrace and David takes a second tour. The House of Lords was locked so David arranged for it to be unlocked so our guests could go in on their own private little tour.

Rob and I do photocalls with David and then with Simon Gillespie, the CEO of the MS Society, and Professor Robin Franklin, from Cambridge University Myelin Repair Centre. We are then filmed doing our last twenty yards through a finishing tape and handing over a cheque to Robin Franklin drawn on the bank of Rob and Len for £52,000.

Guests mingle on the Terrace telling impressive tales and titbits they have picked up on their tour. Tracy, Charlotte and Sara all radiant and glowing over this fantastic event they have put together so well. Karen and Sou proud of their men and no doubt already hatching new schemes to get them out of the house for long periods again. How they enjoyed the peace.

The dining room is adorned with pictures from the walk. Each one bringing back such powerful memories of the moment. Shepherd Rob followed by his beloved sheep and me asleep on a bench after a long Forest ascent and before an appropriately named 'World's End' walk along the edge of death and many more. We think about the people who must have sat in this room through history and the decisions taken. David gives a perfect welcoming address. I give a speech about living with MS and the inspiration for the campaign. Simon tells of the great things the MS Society is doing for people with MS and the big challenges ahead for the organisation.
As ever Robin is perfect charm and oozing intellect as he tells us of the advances he and his team are making and in doing so flies the banner of hope for us all. Not only does he look like Colin Firth but my great friend Paul Tasker afterwards said Robin's speech had all the touching elements of Hugh Grant in the wedding speech in Four Weddings and a Funeral.


Once the artichoke, beef wellington and honeycomb are consumed the buzz reaches a crescendo and a perfect evening draws to a close.
Amazing.

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