Woawh! What an amazing day. We set off from Wolverhampton bound for London Euston mid afternoon. Joined by Bostin Bloke Donato Esposito, who has been supporting my campaign to raise the profile of Lupus, we pendalinoed into the big smoke around 4.30pm. With an hour to calm our nerves we made our way to Trafalgar Square to view the delights that the inhabitants of ‘the plinth’ had to offer – sadly disappointed with what was termed as ‘art’ we settled for a coke in a nearby establishment where we met the remainder of my support group – my family. By 6 o’clock we were outside the gates behind which Number 10, was tantalisingly held. The officers on guard informed us that we would have to wait to 6.15 so excitedly we set about taking as many snaps of the famous sight as we could. Gradually our crowd began to grow as representatives of LUPUS UK arrived from across the country. Upon our entrance to the gates we were security checked and invited to wait at the big black door.
Snap happy everyone waited to take their turn besides the on duty officer, in front of the big knocker or beside their family and friends. At 6.30 the officer informed a nearby guest to hammer on the door. Dutifully it edged open and we began our entrance. Our coats were taken, our cameras and phones were carefully placed in security pigeon holes and then our ascent along a art clad corridor began. Ushered along by house staff, we made our way up the stair case. Peered upon by Prime Minsters past we eventually reached our destination. The reception room adjacent to the small and large dining halls, which had each been opened for guests to wonder throughout whilst waiting for the reception to officially begin and Sarah’s arrival.
The air was thick with chatter of introductions and comments on the views over ‘horse guards’ parade when a sudden silence descended upon the room. Everyone’s gaze turned to the doors which framed the host of the evening’s event. Supported by her aid and the neighbour, as she introduced herself, Maggie Darling, Sarah warmly welcomed everyone. She noted the power of Twitter and how my tweet to her had led to the speedy arranging of the event and then she welcomed the speech from Yvonne Norton MBE, Lupus West Midlands’ Chair. Yvonne paid a great tribute to all the charity workers, Viki my sister and to me. As the speeches drew to a close Sarah concluded with a final thank you and then mingled amiably amongst her crowd. Amazed with the ease at which she met her audience onlookers sneakily listened in whilst pretending to entertain the people close by. After all the delightful canapes had all gone and the last drops of refreshments had been served Sarah made her exit. Welcome to remain in the palatial building the crowd circulated around the rooms.
When the evening drew to its natural conclusion we were shown down to the entrance but not before we were treated to a sneaky behind the scenes look into the cabinet room where many a major historical decision has been made. My wife enquired as to what was held within the shining silver box upon the table, to which a staff member explained that in days gone by none other than Lloyd George had kept his cigars within but now, although polished dutifully, every weekend, it held the post-it notes and pens for the Prime Minister’s use. After this final treat we were presented with a copy each of Yvonne’s latest text book: Lupus Diagnosis & Treatment and then we made our way with huge smiles upon our faces back to Euston where we would begin to relive the memories of the night with laughter and flicks through the digi cards that had captured some prized clips of a fantastic evening!
Thanks especially to Sarah Brown and to my family who travelled to London to be part of such a brilliant event.
The power of Twitter eh?