Katie and the goody bags.

There will be at least 730 people at the ball – that’s a lot of goody bags and a lot of packing!

My friend Katie Morton volunteered to do this job months ago – when it seemed like a day’s job and quite fun. The reality of 730 of several items, some quite big and heavy, being deposited on your door step hit home when we saw what 730 vouchers looked like and how heavy they are!

The goody bags themselves are a gift from 500 miles - see my blog of 12^th September - but this is what guests will find inside the bags:

A bergamot & geranium boxed organic soap OR a “just grapefruit” shower gel – Arran Aromatics

A £20 off voucher for Austin Reed – Austin Reed

A £20 off voucher for Country Casuals – Country Casuals

A £20 off voucher for Viyella - Viyella

A bottle of original or pear cider - Magners

A packet of Percy Pigs or reverse Percy Pigs – Marks & Spencer

A caramel log and a caramel wafer - Tunnock

A CD – Real Radio

A £10 off voucher for Cheynes Hairdressing – Cheynes Hairdressing

A special offer from One Spa – One Spa at The Sheraton Grand Hotel

While 730 bags of Percy Pigs sounds quite good to me (keen to see what reverse Percy Pigs are like), the sheer volume of all this stuff is not a joke. More than 60 boxes of 12 bottles of cider is daunting.

Hoping that the bags themselves arrive from Malawi by the beginning of next week, the plan is to bring in some reinforcements and get everything bar the bottles packed by Thursday night. Robin will then collect everything in a van including the cases of bottles and bring it all to the EICC where we can then add the bottles to the bags.

I hope Katie is still smiling at the end of this……