St Hilary’s Prizegiving
Good evening, and thanks so much for asking me to say a few words at your prize-giving. St Hilary's has always had a special place in my heart, it's a wonderful school. All of my three of my children have happy memories of their time here. It's even inspired my youngest daughter, Rosie, who is a Learning Support Assistant at St Hilary's, to pursue a career in teaching.
I was diagnosed with all illness called Motor Neurone Disease, or MND for short, 5 years ago, a disease that affects the nerves that control the muscles in your body, which has left me unable to speak and very wobbly legs. So, when I hand the prizes out, don't be alarmed if I fall over, I’m quite used to it.
I was told that my average life expectancy was 2 years. Nothing like that for focusing the mind. I chose at the time, to take a very positive outlook on my future, and make every day count. It was going to be the start of a new life, not the end of my life. I set about doing a huge bucket list of adventures, and travel, as well as doing a lot of fundraising for the MND association, to help them find a cure for this illness.
The first fundraise I did, was to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain, which, at a height of nearly 20000 feet, is almost as high as a plane flies. Not only did we climb to the summit which took 6 days, we also played the highest altitude game of tennis ever at the top, in freezing conditions. This really caught the imagination of everyone, and we raised nearly £100,000 for MND.
The climb inspired me so much, that soon after, I climbed Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, and the iconic Matterhorn in Switzerland, which is ranked as the 6th most dangerous mountain in the world, Everest is ranked 9th. My family were not happy. When i got back, Rosie said to me. I don't know whether to hit you, or hug you. So she did both. I’ve done many fundraising events, including with St Hilary’s, who were the pioneering school for the MND Schools Challenge last year, and raised a huge sum of money, so my thanks to everyone who took part, and the parents, who contributed so much.
More recently, along with my great friend, and St Hilary’s teacher, Mel Redman, we started selling a gin called 50 million gin, as a thank you to the government for pledging 50 million pounds, into research to find a cure for MND. If you fancy buying a bottle of this very fine London dry gin, with £8 for every bottle sold going to the mnd association, just Google, 50 million gin. Children, before you get any ideas, I’m addressing this to your parents, not you.
When you know that you're approaching the end of your life, it does change your perspective on many things. You come to realise what's really important in life, and you look back on your own life. For me, my life has been a very happy, and fulfilling one, and it continues to be the case. In fact, the past 5 years have been some of the most rewarding, and meaningful I've ever had, so much so, that I have written a book called, Very Much Alive, which is being published in a months time.
Part of the book explains some of my beliefs, and philosophies, on what has led me to have such a happy and uplifting life. I just want to tell you of some of things I’ve learnt, which in turn may make your life happier, more enjoyable, and rewarding. I’m not a religious person, but I do align with some of the Buddhist philosophies, particularly the laws of karma. One of the karma laws is, what goes around, comes around. So if you are kind, nice and generous to other people, you yourself will reap the rewards when it gets returned to you.
We are all different people, with different views, and perspectives on life, so always respect that. Try and be a good listener, and understand other’s points of view, even if you may not agree with it. Being humble, a good listener and respecting others, even your parents, is very important in life. No one likes a show off, or someone who just likes the sound of their own voice.
Try to make as many friends as possible, you never know when you may need them, as I’ve witnessed with the huge amount of generous support, love, and affection I've received, since I was diagnosed with my illness. Don’t just rely on one or two close friends, they may not always be there. Your life will be greatly enriched, by having many friends.
Life is a wonderful, and precious gift that we’ve all been given, so treat it like that. Take every opportunity to do things that our amazing world has to offer. One way to do this is always look for a reason to say yes, to anything you’re invited to do. Sometimes, it’s all too easy to say no. Life is surprisingly short for all of us. It only seems like yesterday I was at my prep school, so make the most it, at every opportunity.
This sometimes means for you to take risks, and get outside your comfort zone. Some of the things that I look back on my life with the greatest pride, and affection are things where I’ve really pushed myself, even though it was taking risks. Climbing the Matterhorn is an example of this. I’ve never been so scared in all my life, but looking back on it, I loved every second, and it’s enriched my life.
Life is full of ups and downs, you have to have the lows, to have the highs. So when you are in a difficult or unhappy period in your life, just accept it as normal, stay strong and positive, and visualise what a successful outcome looks like. Invariably things will get better.
Look at what you do have, not what you don't have. Almost everyone has something they are good at, or proud of, or have a passion for. So focus on those things. You will never have everything in life, and it will make you unhappy if you're always jealous, or envious of what others have.
On a similar note, don't think having lots of money, owning a big car or living in a big house will make you happy. There are far more important things that will give your life meaning, and make you a better person.
My final point is this. Your parents have made a huge sacrifice to afford for you to come to St Hilary’s, and give you the best possible start in life. You live in a wonderful country, and Surrey is one of the loveliest counties. You are all very privileged, so you should try and remember that, and, at some point in life, try to give back to those in society who are less fortunate. This could be charity or volunteering work, or becoming an environmental campaigner, or even just by pursuing a worthwhile, and meaningful career, such as teaching. You want to be able to say at the end of your life, you've contributed to making the world a better place, you've given back something for the life that will hopefully have given you so much pleasure and happiness.
Have a wonderful, and fun summer holidays, and most importantly, forget about school. Thank you.