OK – I am properly scared now. On Friday I dance in public. Just me and my dance partner Carys doing the jive in front of hundreds of people. Gulp!
On Saturday we had the dress rehearsal – so I saw everybody dance for the first time. As expected, the standard, yours truly excluded, is very high. The women look wonderful and move beautifully and, frankly, so do the chaps! I managed to get through my jive with minimal cock ups (phew!), although the drive to perform and keep smiling meant I forgot some of what little technique I have – oh dear!
So, I have a final lesson this week to try and force me to remember my technique and all my steps, plus ‘perform’ at the same time. Then on Friday – I dance!
It seems like so long ago when I agreed to do this. I thought I had so much time. I thought I’d take some extra lessons and I’d be able to nail it. After all, I like to throw a shape or two at parties. How wrong was I?! I now have a whole new respect for dancers.
I have been to Enfield for lessons at least 25 times, clocking up over 3,550 miles, and spending over £1,000 in lessons, let alone the dancing shoes. Given how I performed in the dress rehearsal I am proof that to do really well you need some raw talent as well as effort!
So what happens now? Well the whole team are coming to the Royal Lancaster on Friday evening – they say to offer support! That means our offices close at 3pm that day (we still have cover for any emergency maintenance issues). There is a dinner followed by the dance competition, which is judged like a proper dance event. Not saying I am nervous, but I am not expecting to eat much! We have been told to avoid alcohol before the dance – after the dancing I may have a glass, or two.
The whole thing (the dance, not me drinking!) will be videoed and we will post the video as soon as we have it, as many of you have asked if you can see the fruits of my labours.
In terms of fundraising at the time of writing this we had just £400 to hit our target – thank you to everyone who has donated.
For those who have not yet donated I know there are many demands on your wallets. I am convinced if you met the young carers I have you would know that the best Christmas gift they could get is a holiday so they can be kids, just for a short spell.
I hope you can spare some money so you can help Carers Trust can make this holiday a reality for 10 young carers.

Donate HERE

And thanks again to all of you who have already donated.
See video here