Tuesday 18 March 2014

A few thoughts on charity

A few of us are ankle-deep in the #w5challenge project by now. A week or so to go before we have to post our finished minis on eBay to sell at a profit....


Deadlines aren't often compatible with hectic family life, but I'm certain this will get done in time.




I've chosen my charity, and it's one I've been meaning to get involved with for a while. I had fully intended to drive my clapped-out classic Morris Minor to the Nurburgring, round the Nurburgring and back to Blighty - video blogs and charity pushes etc. the car hasn't left my driveway for over a year, and it's not going to happen.

Still, I want to raise some money for these guys, so this is a good start:

The Special Care Baby Unit at The Princess Royal University Hospital, Kent looked after my little boy for about a week after he was born. He was a month or so early, and his lungs were 'sticky'. He needed help breathing, and SCBU did everything right. C-PAP machine, UV lights, blood tests. You name it, they got him sorted. He's two and a half now, and noisy, independent and gorgeous. A pain in the arse, as he should be.


He stole my phone, practiced his selfie pout, and got photobombed by his brother.
Can't wait for the teenage years....


Looking back, the care they gave CĂ­erdan was pretty run of the mill, even compared with some of the babies in the unit at the time, but for me it was the scariest week of my life. My wife had had a difficult C-Sectiom, and spent 48 hours in recovery; my parents were helping look after my 1 year-old, and I had my two step kids to reassure as well. It was the  care that the SCBU staff gave me as a terrified adult that was amazing. Nothing over the top, but unlike some of the NHS staff I had dealt with during the pregnancy, and even the birth, they weren't inhuman or dismissive towards me. I was allowed access to my son 24/7, and they reassured me from the minute they took him from me that he'd be okay.



They were right. But as always, their resources are limited. More and more babies need to be placed in the incubators, and on the machines, and these cost money. If you've read anything in the local press about the PRU hospital, you'll already know it's being hung out to dry by government funding, and it's a crying shame. There's a lot of good happening in that building, and it needs to continue.



I'll be donating everything the mini earns on eBay - after all it was 99p. I'm not going to be stingy...



In the meantime, here's the justgiving page for 'our' SCBU  - if you feel so inclined, please bung 'em a few bob.



http://www.justgiving.com/specialcarebabyfund/donate/?utm_source=website_60990&utm_medium=buttons&utm_content=specialcarebabyfund&utm_campaign=donate_purple

Wednesday 5 March 2014

A charity challenge

I stumbled across a fun thing to do this month. Using the hashtag #w5challenge (or as many are doing, #wg5challenge), the concept is to buy a wargaming mini on eBay or £5 or less, paint it, repost on eBay and sell at a profit by the end of March.

For charity.

Original challenge and rules are here.

Sound like fun, so here goes:










I've bought an Eldar Scorpion for 99p on eBay, and will paint him from craftworld Mymeara










He arrived at work yesterday, and I'll start work on him tonight.











I'll be updating as I go, as well as choosing my charity - I have a good idea where I want the money to go, but I want to see how feasible it is first.

Don't forget to follow my progress on Twitter- @minimodelpaint

This should be a fun one.