THE PACE IN LONDON IS SO QUICK......
THE P.R WORLD NEVER STOPS......
AND FOR THE TUBE YOU NEED FLIP FLOPS!!
Well as you know if you follow my blogs I am forever saying how I am an ordinary normal working mum. This week I have had a taste of a different world, and whilst it might not be a world I would chose all day, every day, it is certainly fun to visit!
I have opened a new Iceland supermarket in Dursley, opened the school fete, and spent two days in London with the marketing team trying to woo the world of media publications with exciting new food ranges for autumn and Christmas and with my New Face of Iceland story. As I am still quite normal and ordinary I don’t have the luxury of a nanny at home who can sort out all the day to day children things in my absence, so even planning two days away ended up a military operation with many different helpful friends and relatives all chipping in.
The store opening was a fantastic experience for me. The new manager there was the manager from my local Iceland in Nailsea who had backed me through the whole New Face of Iceland campaign, so it was lovely to be able to do something to help him too. I got to cut the ribbon with the mayor of Dursley and let the first customers in. Dursley is a very pretty village and even smaller than Nailsea where I live, so the new store opening had attracted a big crowd. Must admit though one of the best bits for me was playing with the gas balloon pump and quickly made it my job to spot approaching children and rush up to them with my balloons just so I could use the pump again!
The school fete opening was much lower key, which actually suited me as it was amongst my friends and I didn’t want them all to think I had ideas above my station. We had no PA system so I really just shouted “the fete is open now!” We raised lots of money and a good time was had by all and it really helped that Iceland sponsored us with food vouchers.
This evening I have just returned from my two day trip to London with very sore feet. I have already learnt that whilst high heels may give you a nice posture and make you feel glamorous and important, on the tube you don’t need to feel glamorous and important you just need to be able to run, and sometimes even jump. I was actually quite proud of myself for dealing with the underground at all, but I learnt from a professional, that in London, the wise people carry flip flops at all times for use between meetings! I also learnt that I need to be slightly more assertive than normal when boarding the busy tube trains. I am the sort of person who apologises first if someone bumps into me. I realised after standing on a platform watching others push their way onto an already crowded train that unless I joined in I could politely wait for my turn for several days as person after person and train after train passed me by!It really was an eye opener for me, as we had several trips to different big magazine houses where I was constantly reminded of the “Absolutely Fabulous” series by the colourful characters we met. The first building we went to was 12 stories high with views right across London. I could see the London Eye as well as other landmarks and embarrassed myself my shouting “ooo look at that” at regular intervals.
The new Iceland food products we tried seemed to get a very good reception with everyone and I must admit that I will be looking out for them as soon as they reach my store. Sorry I can’t tell you what my favourites were yet as it is still top secret at the moment!I really enjoyed meeting all the different people and telling them my story so far with Iceland, and explaining that I was motivated to apply by my lifelong dream to be the “Shake and Vac” lady, and my belief in good quality, reasonably priced food! I also got to see the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes at these occasions and could draw a comparison with my own life as a working mum, where you always have to be thinking and planning the next move as well as organising the present.
I did manage to see a few sights too and was very impressed with a sword and chainsaw juggling man on a unicycle wearing only purple shorts at Covent Garden! It got me thinking how much a street performer might earn in a place like that with the huge crowds of tourists, but after attempting to stand on the boys scooters and skate boards, I know I have no balance nor co-ordination skills, so I don’t think I’ll give up the day job just yet!
I returned home from London to find Rob in my kitchen cooking me a lovely cauliflower cheese and felt the relief and relaxation when you return home and shut the door after a busy day. However it didn’t last long, as I realised there was a mountain of work clothes and school uniforms to wash and after I had bathed the boys, Sam informed me he had to have a “villager” costume for the next day at school and that Luke needed “an Army man” costume! At 8 o’clock at night my only option was to rummage around in their wardrobes and see what I could come up with. Must admit to being slightly confused over the definition of “a villager”. It seems the PR world is not the only world that never stops, Mum’s never stop either!
Please come back next week to see how the first phase of filming the new TV adverts went. I’m off to Manchester on Monday to meet Scott the stylist again, and the whole film crew and several of the other “Iceland mums” I know it will be hard work but also so much fun. I really still don’t believe everything that is happening to me and think I will only truly believe it all happened to me when I see my face on screen for the first time in the advert.
Ellie
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