Sarah Brown an Me

CONFIDENT LADIES GOES TO NO.10!!

On the 4th of December 2009 I was invited by Sarah Brown to go to Downing Street to the Christmas Party. To say I was flabbergasted was an understatement. 

Here is a link to the York Press’s story printed on the morning of the big day click here

Here is a link to a video that was made about the night. Towards the end you can even see me talking to Gordon Brown about Confident Ladies (well okay, you can actually only see the back of my head!) click here

Confident Ladies goes to London!

I’ve been using Twitter to get the Confident Ladies name ‘out there’ since September 2009., it’s free and when you first start in business you have to think about who you are wanting to reach and I believed Twitter would be a great way to tell people about the business, about me and what I wanted to achieve. It’s proved to be really successfull and many of my Business Confident Ladies members originate from Twitter they have been brilliant Re-tweeting events and workshops to their followers; without going into it too much Twitter has dispelled any initial reservations I had about it, it has made me new friends and contacts and now put me in places I never in a million years thought possible.

A couple of weeks ago I recieved a direct message from @SarahBrown10 (Sarah Brown the PM’s wife) she asked for my name and address as she wanted to send me something. This in itself was exciting as I thought perhaps I was going to get a Christmas card or something. So when I opened an envelope marked Dowing Street and inside was and invite to No.10 Downing Street for their Downing Tweet Christmas party I was ‘gobsmacked!’ I couldn’t believe it, me, invited to Downing Street!

The first thing I did, with the invite in my hand, was to call my Mum, it was a brilliant feeling to be able to give her some good news; we lost my Dad in August after a short five week fight with cancer and it’s been tough…… anyway my Mum was thrilled to bits and my sister soon put the focus on “what are you going to wear?” Ha, I didn’t know but  it was all so brilliant I couldn’t think. Once I had told my partner, Mark, I rang my old School friends (yes school friends, we’ve been together since we were 5/6 years old and although we are spread around now we still meet up regularly so it was important they could share this with me).

Some of us met for a drink prior to the event -Sam from @MumsTheBoss, @ConfidentLadies, @nurseju_, @cocabeenslinky, @only1lucylocket and Helen from @MumsTheBoss @sandycalico

Last Tuesday I was in the hairdressers, Lizzie Jackson from Saks in Harrogate had offered to do my hair for free for the event, which was fabulous because with Christmas coming up, a big family and a new business a new hair do wasn’t really in the budget so she saved me from looking a sight; thank you Lizzie.

Then Friday was here, I hadn’t slept well as I kept thinking the alarm wouldn’t go off or something, as you do when you know you have be up at a particular time. Mark was coming with me to London and we’d decided to get the 8.15am train and have a full day there.

The last time I stayed in London was with my parents when I was about 10, oh and I did have a couple of trips once to the Ideal home exhibition with my Mum when I was about 13 and once with hairdressing college to the Hairdressing awards (I think) when I was about 16.

We arrived in London at around 10.30 am and made our way to a Hotel that Sam and Helen from @mumstheboss said they were staying in (we’d discovered that each other were going through Twitter and arranged to meet for some dutch courage around 5.30pm) I arrived at the hotel to do a Confident Ladies blag basically persuading the hotel to hang my outfit and things ups for the day for me to pick up and get changed into later, they kindly said yes.

Mark and I must have walked the length and breadth of London, we even called to see where I would be going to that night.I didn’t realise that Downing Street itself was gated (bit silly of me really it was hardly likely to be just on a street where everyone walks past!) anyway one of the policeman on the gate pointed down towards No. 10 and said “Look they are having the Christmas tree put up specially” Wow!

After all the walking Mark and I were ready for some lunch and I was treated to the OXO towers which a gorgeous a fabulous lunch with views all over the city and maybe a little too much wine! Then it was into Hamleys for a few presents for our family. before I knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready.

We arrived back at the hotel and I managed to blag and room to get changed into, thank you Hotel! Then I met up with some fellow Twitterers who were also going to No. 10 all of who were as flabbergasted as me to have been asked.

We got into taxis and headed for No.10, it was funny getting out of the taxi as there were people standing at the gates watching us go in, we all joked about being Papped! ha ha. Then i said goodbye to Mark who graciously when off carrying all my bags, he was going to find a bar somewhere….

I when through the gates and into the security check point which was incredibly relaxed and the policemen there were lovely putting us all at ease. Once through there we were left to wander along Downing Street right down to No.10 itself. Just seeing the door made me almost burst with realisation that I was there. We all took in turns to take photos of each other outside the door and then I knocked on the door with the large knocker, maybe a little too many raps as I was told by the gentleman very politely that I only needed to knock once on this door!

I had to leave my phone in a sort of bookcase and then wander along this amazing hallway and up the sweeping staircase past paintings and photos of past Prime Ministers, its hard to described but it is all sort of surreal. Then before I knew it I was in a huge drawing room and given a drink and the party started!

Beverley Knight sang; she was amazing

It was so relaxed celebrities mixing with us all and chatting many of the celebrities there had never been to No.10 and were as shocked as I had been to receive and invite. Sarah Brown welcomed us all in a really informal speech and told us about the White Ribbon Alliance and their campaign called  Million Mums (which the party was in support of) and then she said that Beverley Knight was going to sing for us all. I have to say she was amazing, what a talent, an incredible voice  and a really lovely lady she spoke and laughed with loads of us, just brilliant. Sarah Brown has written an account of the evening click here to read it.

Not long afterward I spoke with Sarah Brown who asked about Confident Ladies and how it was going I had my photo taken with her and I’m waiting for that as that will be a brilliant keepsake. She was lovely really relaxed, very pretty and friendly. I then spoke for a while with Richard Bacon who was telling me about his new show and the guests he was hoping to have on, the show sounds great. I chatted to Kirsty Allsop sat on a window sill looking over the garden of No.10, she was great, friendly and we talked about Estate Agency as that was what I used to do.

I had another drink (well it would be rude not to) and then in walked Gordon Brown, he was much bigger than I’d expected the next thing I knew I was shaking his hand and saying ‘Hello Gordon’ afterwards I relised I should have addressed him as the Priminister but the Yorkshire lass in me just went in both feet without thinking, oh well! He was asking me what I did and after telling him he wished me well and hoped it would be a good year for me next year. I didn’t get a photo with him but think I may be in the back of some with him….does that count?

I moved into the other room and talked with Brian Friedman from the X Factor, Danni Minogue was on the list as we came in but she couldn’t make it; shame I would have like to have met her. Brian chatted about X Factor and said he though Sunday nights were the best and that he liked Joe as he never did a bad rehearsal ( I agree , I think he is the best) Brian was immaculately dressed with a fabulous Sharpe suit, nothing out of place.

I had quite a long chat with a lovely lady called Sally who turned out to be Sally Eyden who is the editor of Fabulous magazine and she told me if any of our Confident ladies ever have stories I must let her know as they love to hear about real women.

In this room there was Claudia Winkleman I didn’t chat for long just said hello she was with Emma Freud. There was Catlin Moran from The Times, Peter Serafinowicz, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, India Knight, Dr Christian Jessen, so many more I keep forgetting so sorry if I have and haven’t mentioned you here.

Click here to see some of the official photos from the night

I would just like to sum up byt saying the night exceeded any expectation I may have had I met some wonderful people and was honored to have attended so thank you Sarah fro the invite; it will be something I can tell the Grandchildren in later years.