Our Special Day By The Willow Foundation…

Well where the hell do I start?! I will apologise now for this ultra long blog, but I have got to say I have just had the most amazing trip ever and want to fill you in on all the little details….

I barely got any sleep the night before we left for London, one big factor being excitement, and the other, my friend Jeanna had just curled my hair into tight ringlets which were stuck to my head like I just came off a pride & prejudice screen set. The idea was they would be so set I could sleep on them without any curls dropping then tease the ringlets out to my desired length the next morning. Trouble was I was so worried about it looking shit I think I sat up most the night, touching it every few minutes to make sure it was still in place… I still looked like shit the next day so won’t be trying that idea again!!

My sister very kindly offered to drop us to the train station so by 10am we were all loaded up and ready to go, tickets and itinerary in hand. We were travelling first class so our coach was right at the front on the train and we found our seats without any problems, the train station staff were also very helpful which was nice so early in the morning, puts you in an even better mood when people go out there way to make sure you are comfortable! The journey wasn’t too long, with a straight line to Paddington we only had five stops in between Totnes & our destination. Soon as we started moving I sent Stef to the refreshment cabin to get me a vodka! I only had two though, I was behaving, I didn’t want to ruin my lovely day….

On the train to Paddington!

The time passed very quickly, with Stef tagging us in on facebook at every stop we had, think he was a tad excited! It wasn’t long before we were at Paddington and made our way to where our car was already waiting for us to take us to the hotel. Now I’ve been to London a few times before, although it never fails to blow me away. Being a proper Devon dumpling I am not keen on all the hustle and bustle and kept my eyes shut most of the journey as our driver was just nuts! I swear they must have eyes in the back of their head to know whether to cross lanes or not, Stef was enjoying taking in all the view where as I was ducking and diving, throwing my head back and forth making sure we weren’t going to get hit by a double decker bus!!!
Then we arrived… Our chins hit the floor as we pulled up to the entrance of the Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge Hotel and a very smart man came and opened my door and helped me into my wheelchair. He showed us to reception to check in and said my oxygen was waiting downstairs for me and that he would bring it up to our room as soon as we had our keys.

The Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster Bridge

It was amazing, as we opened the door to our studio room with view of the London Eye I just couldn’t believe how incredible it was. The bed looked so comfortable, and Stef instantly started playing around with the TV’s, (men!) he couldn’t believe there was two in the room! I fell in love with the bathroom, weird isn’t it the things you take for granted? A bathroom, an everyday essential room for us yet this was just breathtaking I could have stayed in there the entire afternoon!! Once we had finally calmed down we looked at the time, it was half past two and we were being collected by the driver to take us to the concert about half past six. We knew we had to have dinner and get ready beforehand but we had an hour or two to do as we pleased. That’s when I gave our friend Lynn a call… Lynn and Mike are a lovely couple that we had the opportunity of befriending when we were on our honeymoon in Tenerife. They knew we were coming to London that weekend and as they don’t live too far away said they would meet us for a drink and a catch up if we could spare the time. They were already very close by after coming in for a bit of retail therapy, so after Stef refilled my oxygen he then took me downstairs to the cocktail bar called Primo.

In Primo Cocktail Bar

The Willow Foundation, as well as the concert tickets and bed and breakfast at the Plaza, gave us £100 to spend in the hotel for our food and drinks that evening which was just incredible, I never felt so lucky. We both treated ourselves to a cocktail, bam. £20 spent! Ok, so now I’ll be a little more thrifty with my spending! Mike and Lynn soon arrived and we had a lovely afternoon catching up, they even bought me a little gift to wear, a gorgeous pink sparkly bracelet, my smile was just getting bigger and bigger. It was great to see them, but the time passed too quickly, and before long we said our goodbyes and headed off to the room at half four for my iv’s and to order some dinner. We both had the same, being great lovers of pasta, and ordered room service of two drinks and taglitelle carbonara. It was delicious!!! We both felt so spoilt, sitting there in an amazing room and eating fabulous food over looking a great view!! Stef had showered and got ready whilst we were waiting for dinner and then after we ate he helped me try to look half decent! Then came the text to say our car was on it’s way so we made our way down to the reception taking a few pictures every now and then.

Our Dinner In The Hotel Room

Me Waiting For Our Driver To Take Us To The Concert

My Husband Stef, My Very Own Professor Green!

It didn’t take long for us at all to get to Brixton, the driver was talking to Stef about the bloody football results and then went on to say a few weeks ago we would have been dodging cars that were set on fire as the area was known for being a tad rough, just what I wanted to hear thinking you could get shanked for your two piece variety meal as we drove past a very busy looking KFC!! As the driver helped us out of the car, the outside of the academy was heaving, queues were on both sides of the building stretched so far down you couldn’t see where they ended! As Stef pushed me towards the entrance the ushers opened the doors and helped me straight in and we were shown were to ‘sit’ for the performance. Luckily I was one of the first in there on the platform so Stef and I got right to the front, the furthest we could go to get the best view, a few minutes later the room started filling up to the brim….

The supporting acts were up first, Smiler kicked off the first set (Stef loved him) followed by Chiddy Bang who was awesome and really got the crowd going. I became a little emotional as it brought home the reality of the situation I was now in, I was watching everyone a the front of the stage in the crowd jumping up and down giving it all they had and a few years ago I would have been doing the same, I just wanted to get down there and join in. Don’t get me wrong I was sooo happy I was there, it just scares you every now and then when you realise what you used to be able to do and the reality now, me sitting in a chair on oxygen watching everyone dance and bounce about. I’m determined to be able to do that again when I get my new lungs!! Nine pm soon came around and the chants started growing louder and louder, then boom!! There he was, belting out “I’m back, like I never left, I’m here at your in-convenience” He was just amazing, I was absolutely buzzing and the atmosphere was incredible, Stef was hitting the roof, I’ve never seen him smile so much and I loved that he was enjoying himself. It was the first time he has ever been to London and a concert for that matter so The Willow Foundation had really made a dream come true for us.
Pro Green sang all his latest tracks from his current album and his old stuff too, it was his actual last night on tour which we were really excited to be at, and he brought all his entourage and supporting acts on stage and really smashed it up, we tried getting a few good pictures but what with the lighting etc unless your right next to the person you can never get a truly clear image. The night was indescribable I will never forget it, we later read that some of the cast from Made In Chelsea and Lauren Goodyear from TOWIE were above our heads on the balcony watching the concert too! It was just immense, we left the academy so hyped up, I just couldn’t stop smiling.

Professor Green

Brixton O2 Academy

The weather was cold and wet and as we finally got into our hotel room, we ordered more room service and relaxed in the comfy robes that were provided for you by the hotel. After watching a bit of telly and talking about the incredible time we had, we finally decided to call it a night, the bed was amazing but unfortunately I didn’t have the best night sleep as my chest started to play up after such a long day and being caught in the rain a few hours before. We had our alarm set but I was already awake from coughing my lungs up, once Stef was in the land of the living he helped me get ready and we went down and enjoyed an amazing breakfast. Our car was booked to take us to the station for half eleven and as we had some time to kill I wrapped up warm and Stef pushed me over the bridge to see Big Ben and the London Eye and take some more pictures before our journey came to an end.

Before we knew it we were on the train heading back home, I was absolutely exhausted, looked worse than I did the day before but was still buzzing from having the most amazing time. We had a really pleasant journey back home too as started talking to a young couple next to us that were travelling from London to St Austell for a three day trip. They had two adorable twins called Issac & Laila, and Stef being the baby magnet he is played with Issac virtually the whole way home! We exchanged contact details and said our goodbyes as we came to our stop, so if your reading this, thank you guys for making the trip home more bearable!! Soon as we got home we took care of the babies and then collapsed onto the sofa for a very quiet night, I started to feel quite unwell but I think it was purely exhaustion and the fact my iv’s were ready for a change this week… I would love to go back to the Park Plaza one day, although London is far too busy a place for me and I like small towns and quiet country sides, to have the opportunity to go and stay there again for maybe two nights and take in all the amazing sights would be brilliant, we’d have to save for a fair few months in advance but I definitely think I will be adding that to my post transplant list of things to do if I get my new lungs!!

Me Ready For The Concert!

Stef & I At The Concert

The weekend was absolutely amazing, I really can’t tell you how lucky, spoilt and privileged I felt to have been treated to such an amazing experience. The fact I got to share it with the one person I love most in this world meant everything to me. I really cannot thank The Willow Foundation enough for making this May Bank Holiday weekend one I will never ever forget. Not forgetting all the staff at the train stations, the drivers at Addison Lee and staff at The Park Plaza for making the experience so perfect. Professor Green, you completely rocked our world that night, I’m sure my husband won’t mind next time if you give me a kiss on the cheek!

Thank you for reading… xxx