Top hat, moustache, onesie, wind, rain and a birthday

Or in other words the craziness that was Honkopoly/London’s leg of Team Honk Relay.

The evening before D Day saw me zooming across south London on the tube with L, dressed as a cat, (I was in my onesie in preparation for the big day) to collect the baton from Stephanie from Was this in the plan?.

Collecting the baton from Stephanie in south London on Honkopoly eve

Collecting the baton from Stephanie in south London on Honkopoly eve

Honkopoly day dawned bright and sunny, which gave me great (unfounded) hope that we would be walking our 15 miles round London in the sunshine. But before I could get the baton on its way I had some important business to deal with – opening my birthday cards and presents!

With the girls and my birthday presents

With the girls and my birthday presents

I have never opened my presents so quickly, but I had business to attend to – I had to get the baton to Comic Relief HQ to start Honkopoly. Not only was it my birthday, not only was it Honkopoly day, but it was also tube strike day in London, so I wasn’t sure how welcome I’d be on the packed trains.

Ready to go!

Ready to go!

That’s right. I looked like a wally and I felt like a wally. But (top) hats off to London’s commuters, on the way to Comic Relief HQ I received loads of birthday well wishes (due to my sign), and several people asked me for more information.

I felt much better once I’d got to Comic Relief HQ and joined up with my fellow Honkopoliers (and received my Mr Monopoly moustache).

From left to right: Vanessa from HPMcQ, me (with my eyes shut!), Jennifer from Jenography, Sarah from Grenglish and Angela from SE Mags)

Photo credit: HPMcQ
From left to right: Vanessa from HPMcQ, me (with my eyes shut!), Jennifer from Jenography, Sarah from Grenglish and Angela from SE Mags.

After a brief interview with Comic Relief it was time to head off on our 15 mile trek round London’s Monopoly board. Our first stop was Victoria station where we collected more bloggers and honked from the open top of a sightseeing bus (thank you lovely tour guide man who let us do that!). Then it was off to Buckingham Palace with us.

HONK HONK The Queen!

Photo credit: Boggio Studios
HONK HONK The Queen!

We certainly entertained the tourists, both at Buckingham Palace, and later on at Piccadilly Circus where we may *cough* have photo-bombed a tourist’s photo….about 15 of us, dressed in red onesies, as we explained that this was just a normal day in London.

We were lucky enough to bump into some mounted police, who very kindly let us have our photos taken with them. In fact we chatted to 3 different groups of police during the day, who were all really lovely.

Photo credit: Boggio Studios Lovely police and lovely horses

Photo credit: Boggio Studios
Lovely police and lovely horses

We carried on our tour around central London, chatting and enjoying the views, until we got to Piccadilly and the rain started. And didn’t stop. For the rest of the day.

Park Lane and Hyde Park were barely seen as we battled the wind and the rain (and flying top hats). Morale was dipping and it wasn’t even lunchtime. I was beginning to regret committing to the whole day. What was I doing spending my birthday doing this?!

We arrived at Marylebone station, where we had a 20 minute pit-stop to grab lunch and dash to the toilet. Lunchtime conversation was non-existent, everyone was tired, fed up of the wind and rain, and grateful for a quick sit-down.

Then suddenly we started to hear a bit of a buzz in the station….I got up to investigate and discovered that in the entrance of the station was none other than Mr Monopoly himself! It was hilarious as there wasn’t a single child in the station, but all you could hear were cries of “It’s Mr Monopoly!”.

Franglaise Mummy meets Mr Monopoly whilst doing Honkopoly!

Franglaise Mummy meets Mr Monopoly whilst doing Honkopoly!

That gave us a much-needed burst of energy and positivity, and we were back off into the wind and rain. Carrying on our journey. To Euston. To Kings Cross. To St Pancras. Where we split into two teams for photo opps: Harry Potter at Kings Cross and Spice Girls at St Pancras.

Photo credit: HPMcQ Honkopoly heads to Hogwarts at Platform 9 3/4

Photo credit: HPMcQ
Honkopoly heads to Hogwarts at Platform 9 3/4

I was photographer for the Spice Girls “Wannabe” staircase.

Honkopoly does the Spice Girls, from left to right Sarah from Grenglish, Angela from SE Mags and Alison from Not another mummy blog.

Honkopoly does the Spice Girls, from left to right Sarah from Grenglish, Angela from SE Mags and Alison from Not another mummy blog.

And on we trudged, through more wind, more rain, as the day got colder and the light faded. There were fewer and fewer of us, and when we got on the bus at Bank (to take us to Trafalgar Square) we were down to 7 knackered bloggers and 1 (probably knackered but he didn’t show it) cameraman.

For some reason Vanessa from HPMcQ took this photo of me on the commuter bus, I have no idea why she thought I looked out of place amongst the City-workers making their way home.

This is how I always dress for work, don't you?

Photo credit: HPMcQ
This is how I always dress for work, don’t you?

In all fairness, it was London, at rush hour, on a tube strike day, so no one batted an eyelid.

We were supposed to stay on the bus to Trafalgar Square but traffic forced us to grind to a halt, so back out into the cold, dark, wind and rain we went.

At 6.10pm we finally “passed go” at Lambeth North, and were on our home stretch, 8 hours after we started.

We passed go - where was our £200?

We passed go – where was our £200?

We made it to Waterloo and Swazi from Chocolate is not the only fruit bravely took the baton on its final trip of the day, to Tanya from Mummy Barrow in Fleet.

So all that was left to do, at 7pm, was to get to a bar and start celebrating my birthday, and Vanessa from HPMcQ’s 40th birthday from the day before. We all looked stunning.

I've never been so happy to sit down with a glass of wine.

Photo credit: HPMcQ
I’ve never been so happy to sit down with a glass of wine.

An enormous thank you to Vanessa at HPMcQ and Sarah from Grenglish who were on the organising team with me, we might have been sore but we did have a load of laughs. And an even bigger thank you to everyone who sponsored us; I have been absolutely bowled over and left speechless (a rare occurrence) by the generosity of friends and family who have put their hands in their pockets – not only family but also old school friends I’ve not seen for 20 years, old uni friends, old friends from my days in Nice, parents of the children I childmind, NCT friends, Hubs’s old colleagues, neighbours, school mums, it really has made me very emotional. THANK YOU.

It’s not too late to sponsor us, so if you think that the above is worth a quid or two (and that amount does make a huge difference), then please click here:
http://my.sportrelief.com/sponsor/londonteamhonk
We are currently at £2,800 and it would be so amazing to reach £3K.

We were lucky enough to be followed round all day by the wonderful cameraman, Alex Robinson, who didn’t get any glory or support from friends or family for doing exactly what we did! But Alex – you were a champion and we appreciate your hard work more than you can imagine!

I will leave you with Alex’s fab video summary of our day:

Sticky Fingers Photo Gallery

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49 Responses

  1. Honk! It was lovely to meet you on the day – you all did an amazing job of organising it. A real day to remember, and it’s fantastic that so much good will come out of it through the money raised.
    Nell@PigeonPairandMe.com recently posted…Review: Polly Dunbar at Imagine Children’s FestivalMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      So lovely to meet you too, I’m so touched by how much money we’ve managed to raise – really hope we get to £3K in the end…

  2. HPMcQ says:

    what a day!

    will remember this forever and thank you for being part of the team

    HONK HONK! x
    HPMcQ recently posted…365 23.02.14My Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thank you for everything lovely lady, and I will always remember gaining a lovely friend through the fun of #honkopoly organisation 🙂 xx

  3. What a day it was! I suspect I spent more time on Twitter that day than I did supposedly earning a living – it was amazing to watch your progress. HONK! x
    Jenny from Cheetahs In My Shoes and Just Photos By Me recently posted…We’re Butlin’s Ambassadors!My Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thank you so much for your social media support that day – it meant a lot to us all 🙂 x

  4. Mel says:

    What a day! I feel tired just reading about it. Well done to you and your team for this epic journey. Great cause! Mel

  5. katie says:

    Amazing! A birthday to remember that’s for sure. Well done to you all 🙂 x
    katie recently posted…A memo to all toddlers re. your dietMy Profile

  6. Mammasaurus says:

    Thank you so much for everything you have done – it’s been amaze balls to watch and Honkopoly was one of the grand highlights of the relay for me!
    Mammasaurus recently posted…Letting go of the PND GuiltMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Aww, thank you lovely, and thank you for your massive amounts of work getting the whole relay together and off the ground – you 3 are legends! xx

  7. Grenglish says:

    Such an amazing day and I am kind of lost without it now 🙂 Kind of… was brilliant fun and I could not have wished for a better team to do it with.

  8. it looks like such a fun day!
    Some great shots here, they will be perfect for keeping the memories of this day
    agatapokutycka recently posted…Who / What Am I? 28/02My Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      It was such fun and lovely to meet so many great bloggers in the flesh, so pleased we got such great photos and video to remember the day 🙂

  9. wow, sounds like a busy and entertaining day!

  10. Emily says:

    Wow, what great photos and what a fab day. The video is fantastic. I took part in the relay too, it is such a good cause and so glad to have reached the fundraising target so far

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      It’s so lovely what Team Honk have achieved, and I’m so proud to have been part of it 🙂

  11. Wow – what an amazing and exhausting day – that’s a birthday you won’t forget in a hurry! Massive well done to all of you that took part.
    Rollercoaster Mum recently posted…We love Florentine and PigMy Profile

  12. Kate Davis says:

    It looks like a great day and well done for raising so much money. I struggled to find anything to wear for my contribution and now I really really want one of those red tutus.
    Kate Davis recently posted…15 ideas for old diaries and journalsMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thanks. The red tutus and stripy tights were just fab – we were all envious!

  13. Brilliant post – love reading about the Team Honk relay race! Happy Belated Birthday too!
    Helen & Peakles recently posted…Painted Flower or Plant PotsMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thanks! It’s so great to see what Team Honk has achieved with this relay and I’m loving the stories too 🙂

  14. Kirsty says:

    I remember the day well as my leg was the day before. It absolutely chucked it down and you all kept going with smiles on your faces. You all raised so much money it was worth the silly costumes and the tired legs. Belated birthday greetings xx
    Kirsty recently posted…Mr Wolf’s Pancakes ActivitiesMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      The smiles were easier in the morning when we were full of energy and it was sunny, our “honks” were certainly louder in the morning too 😉 But all so worth it!

  15. Girl you look fly in that onesie 😉 Love the photo you took recreating the Spice Girls video 😀
    Kate Williams recently posted…St Patricks Day CardMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Oh yes, gorgeous was my name that day 😉 We had so much fun with the Spice Girls photo!

  16. Shell Louise says:

    What a way to spend your birthday! I’m in awe of you all, you’ve done brilliantly 🙂
    #blogclub
    Shell Louise recently posted…The girls and their cake popsMy Profile

  17. Team Honk – oodles of awesome-ness – looks like you had a wonderful time and did well…congrats to you, and to all of the honkers!
    Helen Neale (@KiddyCharts) recently posted…My child is scared of the pottyMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thanks! It was an amazing time, with some incredible and inspiring people 🙂

  18. PinkOddy says:

    What an amazing way to spend your birthday – well done
    PinkOddy recently posted…Inspirational Women Postcard #LastingChangeMy Profile

  19. Charly Dove says:

    Awesome post! Probably the most exciting birthday ever too. What a great time you must have had, it sounded awesome. You were a tough act to follow (I was part of the Fleet team the following day). Well done, just brilliant x
    Charly Dove recently posted…Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games 2014My Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thank you! It was incredibly exciting, and certainly a birthday I won’t forget in a hurry. It sounded like Fleet was pretty impressive too with T’s daughter’s school all coming out to greet you.

  20. Fabulous photos! Looks like you had such an amazing time 🙂
    Sarah MumofThree World recently posted…Raising girls’ aspirations with Girl Talk magazineMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thanks! I’m trying to actively put more photos in my blog posts. We did have so much fun, even if the weather was utterly miserable and it was knackering!

  21. Jaime Oliver says:

    what an amazing birthday!! and one i am sure you will not forget in a hurry. i loved watching the twitter feed for this leg of the relay … you rock!!
    Jaime Oliver recently posted…Dear Bethany – From Tween To TeenMy Profile

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