I should mention how I love to change negatives into positives, getting that planning permission to build my dream care home business, creating the site like a game of Monopoly house by house, borrowing the money, taking over as builder as my main contractors went into liquidation overnight leaving me with a half built home and a terrifying challenge ahead. Extending the home within the first two years and in the end, selling it for millions of pounds.
Then again, maybe I should relate the challenge of facing up to being myself and taking so many people on that journey with me; friends, family, co-workers and the role of my brilliant counsellor who made me realise I should be proud, not afraid of who I am. Maybe I should take the time to recount some of my other achievements such as my published report to the Government when I was 16 on youth aspirations. Drafting numerous annual reports for leading charities; leading American tourists around the UK; or closer to home, taking LGBT history tours around our capital. Or the magic and puppets as a children’s party entertainer.
Maybe I should tell you that I love to cook, that originally I was studying A level cookery and religious knowledge at school before I called it a day and at 16 went to Kibbutz in Israel, pretending to be 18 in order to be allowed to stay. But then this is all very self indulgent. Then again what is a personal website if not self indulgent!
What about my pet hates? Sloppiness; people calling from their mobiles whilst on long journeys just to kill time; arriving late with no good reason; or even worse, not arriving at all; rushing to the airport to find the plane delayed; badly run and wasteful charities.
Then the surprises; being interviewed on Nigerian TV about current affairs, or more enjoyably, on New Zealand TV about chocolate; appearing on Noel Edmonds’ Saturday Road Show with my comic performance of ‘Don’t Cry for me Argentina’; and far more poignantly being made homeless in my own episode of Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire.
Did I mention my experience of public speaking, fundraising training, care home consultancy, school mentoring for Young Enterprise with a class of 15 year old aspiring entrepreneurs? The social housing associating management team, being the specialist care home advisor to a national charity and being on the older persons LGBT forum?
Maybe my dreams for the future are where to put my pitch, my desire to make an impact on the World by helping others, or realising my vision for a new take on how and where we should live when we are older, but more on that elsewhere.
As for me, I entered this world with a police escort so I shall have to try to think how to better that when I’m off. Oh well, I've got a lot to do before then. If you think we can do things together be in touch.
