As the head teacher said to the burst balloon “you’ve let me down, you’ve let the school down but most of all you’ve let yourself down”. I blog about what I do. I should include my blunders. Like all major mistakes it happened at the one place it shouldn’t have. It was a heart stopping shock when I realised what I’d done. I thought the event was in the evening when in fact it was noon. At 1pm I called the organiser to discuss the evening’s event “where were you” she said. An audience of over six hundred parents and children were waiting at Southbank Centre at noon for Roger McGough, Jackie Kay and myself.
I wasn’t there. The fault, the oversight, the downright mistake was mine. If any parent reads this who was at the event who would like me to write to their children then please let me know and I will. As a result of my role as associate artist with the Southbank centre Imagine Children’s Festival has a groundbreaking strand inspired by young people in care and today’s event was central to it. I’m mortified. I’m so sorry. I am a burst balloon. I am deflated.
And thats the kind of thing that makes us human…
Thanks Anita
Hi Lemn
Thank you for this. I met you at the Monday night event (I’m not like Tracy Beaker..I was the one letting Charlotte know about the power point, if you remember). So inspired was I, that I brought my children along on Friday. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed BUT it was great to see and hear Jackie and Roger, who were both wonderful and my children loved it. The ‘Imagine’ event is fantastic and we stayed most of the day.
These things happen Lemn – even to superheroes! My son, aged thirteen has just read your blog and thinks that it was a really nice thing for you to blog this way, so again, thanks.
In any case, too late, we now have a link and I will be looking out for more Lemn shaped events. Thanks for reminding me (re: the Monday night event) of why I am compelled to work with young people in the care system. Take care and ‘see’ you soon, Jo.
Thanks Joanna to you and your children. See you soon Lemn
Lemn, You poor thing, I can only imagine how you are beating yourself up over this. Could it be age? I have found that since I passed 50 for whatever reason stuff enters my brain and flies right out again and sometimes it doesn’t come back for days or even weeks. I think you will have so shocked yourself that something like this would never happen again but as a pratical idea, do you have a wall calendar? If not on word there is the facility to print out a month at a time and you can put it in the LOO providing of course you remember to jot it down in the first place!
Rosie, thanks. I have a really tight system for events all over the world – back up info – so I think it had more to do with something else. Haven’t quite figured it out but a little attention to detail when things are going well will sort it out.
Don’t worry about it! Roger and Jackie were great and the kids and I had a good time. Missed you, though. We shared a stage once way, way back in Glasgow when I was working with Lioux Maunder and Steve Tisane. Keep well.
Howard, I remember. I LOVE glasgow. I think that gig was at the CCA or downstairs in a bar. Anyway thanks for your kind words. Thanks for taking time. All the best