MONO MONDAY - 15 MINUTES OF FAME

When I saw that the challenge for Mono Monday was “Your 15 Minutes of Fame” I did toy with the idea of not taking part today.  However, when I thought back over my life, I realised that there were times that I had memories of having a few minutes of fame.  

My most recent memory was when I took part in the Wroughton Passion Play last Easter when I had the privilege of being asked to play Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the play being watched by over a thousand people, but I didn’t actually take any photographs - I was otherwise engaged!  

So, thinking cap on again and I remembered this day in 2007 when I was fortunate enough to meet George Alagiah - and for those in other parts of the world who don’t recognise the name, he is a well-known BBC News Reader.  

I had submitted one of my photographs - a tree I had taken in  Queens Park one beautiful autumn morning - for a competition run by the Swindon Fairtrade Coalition to raise money and awareness of Fairtrade, of which George Alagiah is patron, and the winning photographs were going to be used to make a postcard for sale.  My photograph is at the top right - and I have put it in as an extra, so that you can see it in colour.

I heard that my photograph was one of the winners so Mr. HCB and I went to the Swindon Festival of Literature to hear George Alagiah speak - what a gentle and humble man he is - and to receive my prize, which was a copy of his book “A Home from Home - from Immigrant Boy to English Man”.  It was interesting to hear about his journey through life and of course, exciting to meet him and to receive a signed copy of his book.  

I took this photograph today, showing the postcard, the ticket for the festival, the inscription inside the book and a photograph taken by Mr. HCB of me with George Alagiah - if you would like to read more about him, have a look here.

“Not everybody can be famous 
     but everybody can be great, 
          because greatness is determined 
               by service.” 
Martin Luther King Jr.