BBC Children in Need CEO David Ramsden is hoping you are all going to dress up as your favourite childhood hero for his 2015 campaign later this month. The big BBC Children in Need Appeal show is airing on BBC1 on Friday the 13th of November. But the charity is accepting donations now.
The 2015 campaign theme was unveiled last month, with huge
celebrity support: Tess Daley, Fearne Cotton, Nick Grimshaw, Sir Terry Wogan,
Dermot O’Leary, Sophie Ellis-Bextor all donned fancy dress depicting their
childhood heroes: Tess Daley chose Olivia Newton John; Fearne Cotton chose
Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry; Dermot O’Leary chose Arctic explorer andadventurer Sir Ernest Shackleton. You get the picture.
David tells me: "BBC Children in Need’s vision is that every child
in the UK has a safe, happy and secure childhood and the chance to reach their
potential, So we thought that portraying childhood heroes was a good way of
underlining ideals and dreams that should be a big part of a normal growing
up."
Children in Need supports some 2,500 projects around the UK that
help young people facing a range of disadvantages such as poverty and
deprivation; disability; or who have been victims of abuse or neglect.
I first met David at 11 Downing Street. That sounded so good, I’ll
say that again: I first met David at 11 Downing Street celebrating an important
anniversary of some mutual friends at Changing Faces, the charity that aims to
change individuals’ experience of, and public attitude to, facial
disfigurement. Changing Faces is one of the many charities that BBC Children in
Need supports.
“Whatever you do", David says, "whether it’s a day spent dressed as your childhood hero, a bake sale at work or a ramble with your friends, it will help BBC Children in Need give children and young people in the UK the childhood they deserve.”
After our conversation, I start thinking in contrast about
that troublesome theme Red Nose Day picked earlier this year: Make your
Face Funny For Money. I’ll leave you to join the dots back to my interest in
Changing Faces's work, to guess why I thought this campaign so
ill-judged. All I'll say is how much more I appreciate
the positivity and creativity of the Children In Need campaign in
comparison. Can I encourage all of us to take part in the fun on 13th November?
After
almost nine years of dedicated, loyal service, Honey had not only became a
central figure in the Kysen team, but part of the Kysen brand itself!
And being the person she's sat next to for almost a decade, I can't
actually imagine what life at work is going to feel like without her. I just
know I'm going to miss her.
This
week we welcomed Kysen newcomer Nicole Bailey, who steps in to
Honey's old role and whom we're all enjoying getting to know. She's made
an excellent start.
So business-wise I know this transition is going to be perfectly
smooth. But personally... well that's another matter. In this sense, as a
co-worker, supporter and friend, Honey can never be replaced.
Bonne chance Honey! Come back to visit us!
We chose a Bond outing for our Kysen bonding session and
farewell party for Honey. Almost enough to cheer us up. Those of you
who know me well will be well aware I am a film fanatic and Bond enthusiast.
And I always love to see what Bond on the silver screen reflects back to
us about our society, as plot lines and themes in this franchise are always a good measure of the Zeitgeist. Just consider that in Spectre the main
story revolved around Big Data; that this was the first in the
franchise to cast a beautiful 50-year-old Bond "girl"
(let's hear it for Monica Belluci); and that there was a clear
anti-violence thread to the plot line too, and you'll see what I mean.
And if gender equality and political correctness mean the
title sequence now has to show as much of Daniel Craig's naked flesh
as that of his female colleagues, well we'll just have to put up with that.
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