There was no such thing as Blue Sunday twelve months ago. Not in this sense I’m sure. A few days before my charity tea party in 2013 I named the event Blue Sunday on a whim in a blog post I published. It’s grown quite a lot since then it seems. My own sister thought it must have been something thought up and driven by one of the M.E. charities. But no. It was just little old me.
To say Blue Sunday 2014 was a success would be a bit of an understatement actually. Over 80 people online. Nearly 40 people at home. The fundraising total is now at over £800. For eating cake! (On Sunday night I had to use a calculator to double check I’d added my online donations and cash donations up properly. Six hundreds and forty pounds? Pardon? And then I cried.)
Friends travelled for more than a couple of hours just to spend an hour or so sitting in a crowded sitting room drinking tea and eating cake. My brother and his friends had their own mini get together while they watched the football. Friends of my siblings came. Friends of friends came. People brought their families with them.
I was overwhelmed. These people came for me. They donated for me. For me. I’m just me! I just wanted to do a little something for those I’ve met along the way. I forgot that it was for me too.
I tackled the best in the ‘best’ way possible. I didn’t waste any energy on make up or doing my hair or on wearing fancy clothes. I don’t really care that people saw me looking like that. It was a true reflection of me day-to-day. I had some sneaky rest breaks throughout the afternoon without my guests knowing. Not-so-little bro sussed what I was doing and covered for me.
The virtual party was neglected a bit I feel. There were just so many people arriving at home that I
couldn’t keep up. I did my best but it’s something I’d like to improve for next year. So many people joined in. A few had even got together with their own friends. And in one case two fellow sufferers met for the first time to have tea and cake together. Doesn’t it just warm the cockles of your heart? Many of the people who donated could probably do without having to donate to my cause and so their precious donations mean so much.
The suffering afterwards was quite huge, I won’t lie. But our posts would have come up on twitter alongside tweets about Man City and people I’d never come across before donated and posted pictures or comments. Blue Sunday went international! I’ve never had so many social media notifications in my life!
I’m still a relative newbie to this M.E. sufferer lark, less than four years in. It’s not my intention to preach or patronise. Some of you must find me incredibly naive I’m sure. I’m just plodding along if I’m honest; trying to keep my head above water. I’m not setting out to make a change or ‘inspire’ people. That thought actually makes me uncomfortable. But the messages of support I’ve had…I’m going to print them off. They are just so kind. And the messages on the JustGiving page too. It was only a tea party!
Thank you to each and every one of you who joined in, who donated, who stuffed your face with cake, who liked one of my Instagram pictures, who commented on a photo or sent me a tweet, who used the hashtag #BlueSunday (and not in reference to Manchester City!)
Thank you to each and every one of you who joined in, who donated, who stuffed your face with cake, who liked one of my Instagram pictures, who commented on a photo or sent me a tweet, who used the hashtag #BlueSunday (and not in reference to Manchester City!)
I’m not one to blow my own trumpet but I think I did a good job. I’m quite proud of myself actually. The siblings now think we should have a Summer BBQ fundraiser. Two Blue Sundays in one year? Let’s see how long it takes me to recover from this one before I make up my mind…
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| All blue everything! |
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| Anyone for cake? |
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| A full house! So full I had to keep escaping for some ‘Purple Time’ |
M.E. myself and I 