Header image: Henri Lloyd in St Katharine Docks before the race start

Indian Dream: pre- and post-race

Prior to my taking part in the race, we held a fundraising event at the Indian Dream restaurant, and afterwards, almost exactly one year on, we held a follow-up event.

So what were the similarities?

  • The food and venue were great;
  • We held a raffle, with prizes donated by local businesses. On both occasions the raffle raised £195;
  • Both were on a Monday evening, which had me travelling from London to Solihull after work and returning early the Tuesday morning, to minimise the time off work. This time saw me on an 0555 train so that I could fit in a full day at the office, so short am I of leave since I returned.

And the differences?

  • We had not prepared a meticulously devised seating plan that needed altering at the last minute;
  • It was not just me doing the travelling, it was Peter as well;
  • I had invited my main sponsors as a thank you – some came – and Mel from the Foundation for Conductive Education;
  • I had promised to let people know what it was like to be on the winning boat;
  • More of an atmosphere;
  • Raised more money.
Sponsors and Mel Brown

Sponsors and Mel Brown

We placed laptops around the restaurant displaying a slide show of images taken during the race. This worked well except that the laptops kept putting themselves in to power saving mode and so had to be nudged periodically.

An unprepared talk

An unprepared talk

I had not prepared what to say; not in the slightest. I didn’t know what people wanted to hear and didn’t want to bore people. So I asked them. Me. An impromptu question-and-answer session in front of the whole restaurant! Would I have done that before the race? The most I managed then was to talk to people on each table.

Oh yes, and how much did we raise?  £845!


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