Have A Heart

I admit, this blog is nothing to do with cake. I was just looking for an interesting way to bring hearts across in photo form, and found this which not only does the job but, in the most ironic fashion, makes my attempt at heart cupcakes as I showed you in my previous post look dishearteningly naff. Might put the "Kinky Cupcake" business plan on hold for the time being then.

The title "Have A Heart" actually refers to Heart FM's Have A Heart Campaign. You may have heard it on 106.2fm (or whichever frequency it is for Heart in your area), and I volunteered to help for this year. And actually secured a place, which is a miracle for any station owned by Global Radio. Being a charity volunteer actually ties in very nicely with the delightful Sam Sparrow's section of the latestJellyfielders Podcast, where you will of course also find myself. If you haven't listened to it yet, shame on you, and get on it:http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/jellyfielders-podcast/id418876405

This year, listeners were phoning in to bid for prizes, and their bid was donated to children's hospices across the UK. Two of my shifts were from 6:30-9am, and the final one was 1:30-4pm.

Now, I'll hold my hands up. I was not amused at getting up around 4am to ponce into Leicester Square and not be paid for it. Selfish, yes. But as a lady who is getting majorly pissed off at having to settle for unpaid work rather than an actual media job with a nice income in our shit-tip economy, I did think for a minute in my tired state that my limits were being pushed.

Oh. My. God. I have never been so wrong.

Not only did I meet some of the loveliest people in the world and get a complimentary bacon sandwich for breakfast, but the work was loads of fun and it genuinely made me feel good. This is despite the first shift triggering an epic three day migraine, but even so, I carried on through. This warm, tingly, do-gooder sensation was magnified by a billion times on the final shift in the afternoon. I got into the office (bumping into One Direction from X Factor on the way... :-|) to find that some of the kids who need Hospice care, and who we were raising cash for, were spending the day in the office. On my desk were three adorable children called Jayden (4), Kieran (7) and Emma (9). I couldn't stop smiling at them. For a day, these sick kids were answering the phones with the volunteers (me included - a lot!), and when the bids went quiet we spent our time waving flags at a camera and doing "Spiderman hands".

As I walked out of there knowing that I wouldn't get to see those children again, it pulled at the ol' heart strings quite a lot. It was simply amazing to have gone in to help them and I'm glad I hadn't been too grumpy or selfish to not bother going on the placement.

Listen to the Jellyfielders Podcast, because Sam is right. If getting to stick the kettle on and veg out in front of the TV is what you think makes you happy when you've got some time on your hands, I think you should try out a volunteer scheme for a little while. I guarantee that it'll add a whole new dimension to the way you live your life.