KILLER DRAFT

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

There's a phenomenon known over here in Eastern Europe known as 'curent'. More lethal than smoking, more dangerous than a polar bear with toothache and more deadly than a bite on the arse from a black widow, it strikes the fear of God into people all over this part of the world. So petrified are they, some people are even too scared to open a window.

I've been wanting to write about this for a while but someone in Bucharest beat me to it (and wrote a much better article than I ever would have anyway).

Have a read of Ken Huegel's hilarious blog post here

CHANGE

A Change Is Gonna Come

Every time I have thought about my blog recently, I’ve tried to think of something different to do. Procrastinating is my favourite activity and since school I’ve been a world champion at it. As I’ve said before, I don’t believe in writing a blog for the sake of it and I certainly don’t want to ramble a lot of pretentious twaddle which I see a lot of in others’ online diaries. So I have to keep thinking of fresh ways in which to keep my blog relevant and contemporary. The best way I can think of doing this is to write the truth about what’s happening here and how things are changing within the Hospice.

When I accepted the job with Hospices of Hope, the whole concept of my becoming Country Manager was ‘to change’. According to Sheryl Crow, “a change would do you good”, and I’m an avid believer in this. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it but when things aren’t working then you need to rethink your strategy and come to a different solution.

There have been lots of changes in the Hospice over the last few months. We’ve recently seen quite a change in the personnel here and while this has caused a bit of unrest, I truly believe that while we’ve had some extremely difficult decisions to make, and through guidance and consultation, we have made the absolute best decisions for the future of Hospice Angelus. Having recently won a grant from the Bosch Foundation in Germany, we have hired a doctor, nurse and social worker to work in the non-cancer area of paediatric care here in Moldova. Sadly, this resulted in us losing one of our long-serving members of staff, however we are extremely happy with the new candidates we have and we are looking forward to watching these members of the medical team undergo their training and become valued members of the Hospice Angelus collective. Additionally, the decision was made to remove the post of PR & Events Manager from our organisation and replace this with Fundraising Co-ordinator. Our fundraising department is in huge need of expansion just now and while this decision was by no means taken lightly, we feel that we have made the right decision in creating this new post. In addition to this, we have said a fond farewell to our summer intern, Olea Brega, whose activities at the Hospice you can read about here. 

Not only have we seen a change to our personnel, but there has also been a noticeable change to our fundraising events. This year we have seen our charity ball raise four times the amount we expected and we have also reaped the benefits from a pool tournament plus the Hospice Angelus Big Charity Quiz which is now going to be a monthly fixture on our events calendar. For the remaining part of the year, we hope to be extremely busy organising the following:

• A football tournament for local businesses, organisations and embassies in September
• A concert and photo exhibition to mark International Hospice Day in October
• Participants for the Bucharest International Marathon on October 9^th
• A fashion show in November
• A special event to recognise our 10^th Anniversary in December
• A winter run in one of the main Moldovan wineries' tunnel

For further information about these events, you can see our events on our website or why not become a fan of  our Facebook page

KEEP ON RUNNIN'

Run Along

Summer has come and so things are not only busy at the hospice, but also with regard to life in general. As I prepare to return to Scotland next week to spend time with family and friends, I thought it was about time to update my blog as to what has been going on recently in the Hospice and to what is coming up next. 

Earlier in June we had our first Hospice Angelus Big Charity Quiz and it couldn't have gone better. We had a full house and a very competitive crowd who were on the pulse when it came to answering questions. Under the direction of our talented quizmaster, Mr Rich Roesing, our 21 teams battled it out answering questions on entertainment, geography, history and sport amongst others and their generosity led to us raising 230 euros on the night. A real success for the Hospice and the feedback we had was extremely positive so we've decided to make it a monthly event and the next quiz will be on August 10th at the same venue, Caruta Bar on Str Ismail. A big congratulations to the our winning team, Tempest in a Teapot, who romped home with the top score and a few bottles of wine too (although some may argue that more wine was not necessary for some team members). Thanks to our volunteers who helped us out at the event in addition to all who attended.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

Our venue, Caruta Bar, was the perfect size for our event

The expats had some stiff competition from the Moldovan nationals

Seemingly friendly, the gloves were off when it came to beating the competition

Quizmaster extraordinaire, Rich Roesing, kept the crowd under control

We have a handful of events coming up over the summer which we are keeping under wraps but expect an announcement about these shortly. Some of these events are organised with the help of our summer intern, Olea Brega, who is working with the fundraising team for 2 months as part of a community program with her university. Originally from Chisinau, Olea is currently studying at Wofford College in Pennsylvania and we are grateful for her help and the fantastic ideas which she has already come up with. 

One thing I can tell you about is the Bucharest Marathon which takes place on October 9 2011 in Romania's capital. We are looking for runners to support and run for Hospice Angelus in any of the four races (full marathon, half marathon, 4 person relay or 4km) so if you are interested in doing so please drop me an email and I'll give you further details. 

Alternatively, if you'd rather just support the Hospice and not bother with the running, you can sponsor me for the half marathon here: http://www.justgiving.com/marathonmadnessformoldova. I'm not really built for running so if you would like to support me in this challenge, please pledge what you can. The website above is 100% secure and you can donate any amount you like. All the money that you donate will be given DIRECTLY to the work of Hospice Angelus here in Moldova. 

Many thanks to you all for your support and encouragement over the last 9 months. I'm off home to enjoy a wee break before arriving back in Moldova at the end of July to work into the autumn and winter. Have a great summer!

SUMMERTIME

Still quite lazy on the blog - lots going on and not much time to update. But for now, here's a great new tune I've heard today. Tune of the summer perhaps??

HOSPICE ANGELUS BIG CHARITY QUIZ NIGHT

The Winner Takes It All

The next fundraising event to benefit the work of Hospice Angelus Moldova will be a charity quiz night to be held at CARUTA BAR on Str Ismail 45 in the heart of Chisinau on Wednesday 8 June 2011. 

WHAT ACTUALLY IS A QUIZ NIGHT? Quiz nights are pretty common in the UK and you'll find that most pubs will hold one either on a weekly or a monthly basis. We will ask you different trivia questions over the course of the evening and whoever gets the most points wins! Hospice Angelus is bringing this concept to Moldova and if it's a success, we might look to making it a more regular event.

WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS WILL BE ASKED? This is the beauty of the event! We will be asking you about anything and everything. From music to Moldova, food and drink to film, sport to science, you never know what topics will come up in the quiz. However we can assure you that the questions will not be too difficult (nor too easy either). 

WHO CAN TAKE PART? Absolutely anyone. Teams should be made up of 4 people but we're not going to be too strict. For example, if you only have a team of 2 people, you can pair up with other people on the night or stay as you are. We recommend that you at least have one person in your team who understands English so that you have an understanding of the questions being asked. 

WHY IS IT IN ENGLISH ONLY? As this is a new concept in Moldova, we want to do it well and the organisers have more experience of running quizzes in the English language. It may be that if the event is a success, and there is call for it, then a Romanian or Russian language quiz night can also be held. 

HOW LONG WILL THE NIGHT LAST? As long as we start on time, the quiz should finish around 10pm.

ARE THERE ONLY PRIZES FOR THE WINNERS? Of course not! While this is a competition, it's also going to be a night of fun, laughs and banter so we will award different teams for different things. So get your thinking caps on for what your team name will be as we will award the team who comes up with the wittiest and most impressive moniker.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO PARTICIPATE? Entrance is 30 lei per person and this will go entirely towards the work of Hospice Angelus

WILL THERE BE REFRESHMENTS? Caruta Bar has a wide variety of drinks and snacks which you can purchase on the night

THIS SOUNDS LIKE GREAT FUN. HOW CAN I RESERVE A PLACE? Spaces are limited so please contact events@hospiceangelus.md or call 022 244850 to reserve a place. We look forward to seeing you there. 

HELLO

Not in the slightest bit related to my work in Moldova but I am loving this song at the moment. And the video, man the video is just brilliant. A work of genius.

WOW!

Wow

On Friday May 6 2011, Hospice Angelus hosted the 2nd Hospice Angelus Charity Ball. 150 guests including the Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat along with his wife Sanda, Princess Marina Sturdza and many other government ministers, ambassadors, diplomats, business people and friends enjoyed a champagne reception followed by a 3 course dinner and an auction which raised over 10,000 euros. With prizes including a tennis match with celebrated author Tony Hawks, VIP tickets to the summer Bon Jovi concert in Bucharest, weekends in Brasov and Prague plus an Author bike, the excitement in the room was electric. Accompanied by music from local opera star Serghei Varsanov, Jazz group Trigon, dancing from the National College of Choreography and wrapping up with rocking out to the amazing Snails, guests were also entertained by hosts of Sare si Piper, Nata Albot and Andrei Bolocan. Andrei also showed that he was a natural in hosting our auction along with Hospice Casa Sperantei's Fundraising Director, Marc Jenner. Here are a tiny selection of some pics below:

Our auctioneer, Marc Jenner, strikes a pose

Soren and Beatrice attempt to extoll money from Amy Sherwood and Alexei Ghertescu

Looking for more success, they hit Inna and Jon (Inna goes on to win five cases of beer)

Aaron sports the selection of Steaua Bucuresti football tops

Princess Marina Sturdza addresses the guests

Jessica shows off the Swarovski Crystal Clock donated by Princess Marina Sturdza

Laquia models one of our most sought after prizes

Dragos Bucurenci congratulates Angelus Board Member Angela Brasoveanu on her successful bid on the bike

The Hospice Angelus Cake

The National College of Choreography entertain the guests

Hosts Nata Albot and Andrei Bolocan attempt to get me to auction off my kilt

Sandy and Andy busting some incredible moves on the dancefloor

George and Angela get their grooves on

Donna and Jon ruled the dancefloor

As did Rali and Inga

Me and my pal Dragos Bucurenci

Victoria looked ace with her new bit of stuff

Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat meets an international celebrity

Our creative geniuses, Dorin Goian and Liviu Burlea

Derick and Laquia flaunt their wares

Hospice Director Valerian Isac with Princess Marina Sturdza, Dragos Bucurenci, Nata Albot and Andrei Bolocan

I'll post some more about the ball in due course but here are some great news articles which publicised the event:

http://www.noroc.tv/noutati/3116

http://www.jurnaltv.md/ro/news/bal-de-caritate-la-chisinau-255204/

http://www.trm.md/index.php?module=stiri_int&news_id=25300

http://www.jurnaltv.md/ro/start/#receptivi-la-binefacere-255902

http://arena.md/?go=news&n=5014&t=Bal_de_caritate_pentru_sus%C5%A3inerea_bolnavilor_de_cancer_(video)

http://nataalbot.md/2011/05/08/cine-nu-stie-sa-faca-bine-inzadar-il-asteapta-de-la-altii/

http://bucurenci.ro/2011/05/prima-data-la-chisinau/

plus Marina Sturdza's slot on Sare si Piper: http://saresipiper.jurnaltv.md/invitati/840-prinesa-marina-sturdza-la-sare-i-piper

Thanks to all who supported us on the night and we look forward to welcoming you to the Hospice Angelus Charity Ball 2012. Oh yeah, and why is this post called WOW? Because it was all that kept coming out of my mouth all evening. PLUS we raised in the vicinity of 23000 euros. WOW!