It’s been a roller coaster few days with some awesome opportunities matched with creative challenges.
The Pop Up House arrived in Cardiff on Saturday where it popped up in a park on a beautiful, sunny day. There was lots of intrigue and interest and a super positive response from everyone I spoke to. The overwhelming reaction to the house as a ‘Deliverer of Dreams’ has been one of excitement & positivity. When promoting MMTO’s £1 opportunities online or over the phone, the whole idea was floored by a huge amount of suspicion that it was ‘Too good to be true.’ That – thankfully – hasn’t been the case at all since being on the road and almost EVERYONE has made a point of saying that it’s great to find a concept that celebrates the kids instead of viewing them as victims.
Then it was time to hit the road, drive to Oxford and reassess: this is where the schedule met some unplanned changes and the Pop Up House is now making its appearance in Oxford TODAY instead of last Sunday.
Why? Because Exeter and Bristol were wake up calls that I couldn’t manage this tour 100% on my own.
When planning the Pop Up House Tour, I was emailing ahead to Universities and Market Places, letting them know what I was doing and begging a space for a few hours. EVERYONE said no. You know why? Because it’s easier to say ‘no’ than to say ‘yes’ when you’re faced with something that sounds a little bit different and you can imagine all the extra demands on your time and there’s protocol to follow etc etc. That left me with no choice but to flip the tour into a purely spontaneous adventure, creating opportunities as I went and so that’s what I’ve been doing AND IT’S WORKED! Exeter & UWE Bristol universities both greeted the idea cheerfully, Cardiff locals were outgoing and receptive and even Oxford Council told me that normally I’d have had to go through the lengthy application process but ‘Since I was just there and it was for charity…”
Success!!!!! HOWEVER…. With this wonderful bundle of blessings came a problem that I couldn’t see my way around: I wasn’t able to let local groups and press know that I was on my way because even I didn’t know what the day would bring. Would I be gifted a space, would I be turned away? There was nowhere to ask people to meet me, to help me or celebrate and boogie with me and – with Christmas looming – I realised I was in danger of completing a Nationwide tour with no-one knowing about it.
If I’d been travelling in a pair then it would have been different. I could have manned the house and my fellow conspirator could have raced around the local businesses, visited the local newspapers and herded droves of people in my direction. As it was – with a donations box to guard – I was stuck at my post with limited options.
Unwilling to keep touring without a solution – dreading the idea that I might find myself in Edinburgh with a load of regrets – I have spent the last couple of days speaking to an amazing publicist and formulating solutions. And what solutions!!!! Amazing, uber plucky ideas have been recommended to me and I’m going to do them all! Wahahahaha!
So, from today my Pop Up House will be popping up outside so very many radio stations, news stations, newspaper offices (letting them have a look for themselves and seeing if they like my story enough to put it out) and IN – nestled amongst the traffic and Christmas festivities – the city centres in the following cities (see map below…)
I am INVITING YOU to join me! If you’re local to any of those cities, throw on a dressing gown and head down to get groovy, keeping me company, delivering dreams and helping me keep my promise to the kids. If you want a full itinerary of where when and times, email me at inspired@mymilliontoone.com and I’ll send it over. Keep watching folks! There’s still time and the kids need a home!
Swapping dreams to build a home 