When friends, family and poetry come together to support Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning the most amazing vibes touch everyone from the inside out and the outside in. I recently combined my fundraising efforts with three other reasons to celebrate;
- my mum’s own courageous fight against cancer which lasted over five years with endless sessions of chemo, radiotherapy and three operations,
- my love of poetry and the feelings poetry evoke
- and the official unveiling of my new Writing Room.
I wanted to run an event to support Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning last year but personal circumstances prevented me from doing so in September with my youngest son going off to university and as time went by it got too close to Christmas to organise it, so this year I hosted the event two weeks before the advertised date on Saturday 14th September 2019 at my home in North London.
To say the day was fantastically fun, emotional and a huge success is an understatement. My two sisters and my mum rallied round with the most wonderful home baked cakes including a carrot cake, a triple Victoria Sponge oozing with fresh cream, strawberry jam and topped with piles of fresh strawberries, a chocolate cake covered in butter icing and blueberries as well as a Greek Cypriot syrupy semolina cake called Kalon Brama which literally translated means “Good Thing” and it really was tasty!
I decorated the table in the dining room with the Macmillan Cancer Support green table covering, hung up the bunting, blew up the balloons and even had a jug of fresh rosemary and purple, lilac and white flowers to fit in with the colour scheme taking centre pride on the table.
The week before I filled a glass kiln jar with sweeties for a “Guess the Number of Sweets in the Jar” game too and I printed up the poem I wanted to read on the day. I would have liked to have learnt the poem, which is part of my collection Sunshine after Rain, available on Amazon, off by heart but I didn’t but reading out in front of my family and friends was a magical experience for me and I know how much everyone enjoyed my words… “What Will Be Will Be…”
I spent the morning making sandwiches, cut into triangles, filling bowls with crudites and dips and pouring popcorn into a tall champagne glass bowl. I added a long tray of warmed through sausage rolls with a purple bow secured to the corner and the table was filled with the most delectable food and bites.
I warmed up some scones and topped them with thick dollops of clotted cream and jam, jam tarts and an array of Kipling’s cake slices were arranged on pretty cardboard cake stands and the table was almost ready. A tea party even Alice in Wonderland would be most envious of!
As my family, friends old and new, neighbours and writing friends, arrived, the house filled with laughter and chatter against a backdrop of delicious food, drinks and a blue sky shining bright with a golden September sun as they spilled out into the garden.
I finished the day’s announcements with a special mention to my dear mum and I read a poem which appears in my collection Sunshine after Rain. My special reveal was a red ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open my new Writing Room which I owe huge thanks and love to my boyfriend for building it for me…it really has been a labour of love…and of course lots of heartfelt thanks to all my friends and family who came out in support of Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. The donations are still coming in but so far we have raised over three hundred pounds!
I am eternally grateful to everyone who came and supported me and this amazing charity. It means more than you’ll ever know and I look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Until next time, Be Happy, Stay Healthy, Big Love, Soulla xxx
