Not just in it to win it

There are only a few times in my life where I can say I’ve won something. In fact, I can count them on one hand.
• There was the summer I came home from a local fête cradling a cassette recorder. It was 1975, so I was six and my sister was seven. She’d actually held the winning ticket but she was ill in bed so I went to the fête instead. I can’t imagine why my parents let me keep the thing instead of giving it to her; I can only assume she’d been skiving off and the redirection of that winning ticket had been a stern message: ‘Next time, you can jolly well come with us.’ Guilt aside I did love it, and used it for years.
• I nailed the egg and spoon race at my son’s sports day in 2010, aged 41. A miraculous win, as the word ‘sporty’ has never been part of my ideology. That day I must have had the passion in me because I flew down the track (cue Chariots of Fire music) and can still remember the enthusiastic cheering (hysterical howling) at the finish line.
• I bagged an entire suitcase of Hotel Chocolat goodies in the 2017 school Christmas raffle. I lugged them home on the train in the snow and they lasted about three weeks: SO many chocolates.
• And then, this week, a nice little work-based treat through the power of Zoom – bagger of the humbling title Most Supportive Member of north London Athena network groups.
This last award is most precious of all because it’s me who should be handing the sash over to them. By ‘them’ I mean the strong and friendly businesswomen without whom the last year would have been pretty lonely, if not impossible.
There’s a strong theme of support running through all of the Athena groups. We say this time and again; we don’t expect to attend a meeting and walk off with a handful of direct contacts, although that is always nice. We do, however, word hard to make connections that become permanent, the idea being that we support each other through ideas and creativity. That in itself can be more of a gift than any random business card (although I do adore my business cards, of course designed by another Athena member).
So I’m having an extra mince pie today and a glass of something strong tonight. I’ve said it before and I’ll no doubt say it many more times: all hail the network and those who sail in her.
I might start doing the lottery…