Here it is the annual Mr and Mrs photo from Alexander's Charity Ball !!!

What an absolutely perfect night, all that planning and organising comes down to one night, a night that is nerve wracking in the build up but this year I was full of confidence that we would, once again, have a success on our hands.

So we start with room set up and this year we were lucky enough (thankfully) to be able to get into New Dock Hall on Friday to start the massive task of putting on 515 chair covers and bows!  Once again this isn't possible without Sam, Karen and their fabulous team at Glamourpuss Weddings along with a little help from the Big Ball Central crew!

Kieron at Giant Events was also hard at work in the room setting up the fabulous Event Books which I have to say added the most unique element to the night, these books are Kieron's baby, designed and built by him they can be personalised perfectly to your event.  I loved the turning pages and the fact that the content changed running alongside the event.

Saturday was spent in a haze of balloons and ribbon for perfectionist Sam whilst the rest of us either curled said ribbon, sprinkled table diamonds, lit centrepieces and generally prettied the room whilst lighting, projection and sound engineers worked to make the room glow like the Winter Wonderland we wanted.

 I had my orders to be back in the room to brief everyone by 5.45, The Vegas Girls were in position feathers on and sequins glowing, the band was sound checked and the brilliant Ian Royce was all set and ready to go.

The doors were opened, drinks were poured and the the reception was filling up pretty quickly!  Flitting in and out of the rooms I did manage to say Hi to a few people although not nearly as many as I would've liked but then the nerves really started to kick in and I found a quiet corner in the main room to take a few breaths.  Joined by 'Roycey' we chatted and he really took my mind off things making me laugh and making me swoon by dropping in the fact he'd had an email from Gary Barlow the day before ... Imagine,  'The Captain' actually emailed him !!!

Ian is a genuinely lovely man who, without knowing me, agreed to spare his precious time to host the ball for nothing.  It was just a casual mention on twitter that had him doing his damnedest, despite a busy Britain's Got Talent Schedule, to be there for us.  I'm so so glad he did what a superb addition to the night he was and his generous donation to the auction saw it raise £4000 as well as another £6000 through our other lots. 

Mark Waddington joined us again this year to blow our minds with his Close up magic and he was joined by Marc Lavelle to help him along as the attendance was so big.  I know they were a huge hit with those they managed to see judging by the cheers and hollers from around the room!

This year I wanted to add a surprise element to the night with the addition of Singing waiters.  Provided by Dave Molloy at Events Line the girls certainly had everyone fooled and had the room up and on their feet during a break in the casino and auction.  I'm extremely grateful to Dave for helping us out and if you need to add a surprise element to your event the Singing Waiters are perfect

The Fabulous Vegas Girls were ever present and did a superb job in getting everyone to their casino tables on time, our table was appalling and lost all our cash within 2 spins however our highest rolling table did fabulously and bagged themselves the £500 cash prize. The Vegas Girls are always on duty and professional and I think will be a regular addition to our event from now on, I've seen some brilliant pictures of them with guests and am gutted I didn't take the opportunity to have my picture taken with them. Massive Thanks again to all the girls for their hard work.

And so the night continued with the raffle and Auction led perfectly by 'Roycey' he kept the whole room involved and encouraging lots of bids, we made more on our auction this year than we did at our first event back in 2010! I was left speechless at the amounts and I'd like to say Thank You to everyone who donated an auction lot to us.

During the night I do like to take a moment, stand back and look at what we managed to achieve and it is helped along by a select few.  As I do a little wander and try to talk to most tables every year the same people stop me and allow me that time, without them I wouldn't take the chance so Thanks to them.

It was dancing time with the fantastic Vibetown as our band for the night they sang their socks (and our shoes) off, for the rest of the night the dancefloor was jam packed, it was absolutely brilliant and I loved that they were even taking requests at one point due to heckling from the front.  

All too soon the DJ was calling time at the bar and the night was drawing to a close the night had gone unbelievably fast, 7 hours had gone in the blink of an eye and all that was left to do was count up to our total.

Alexander's Charity Ball 2014 was a resounding success we raised over £27,000 for The Lullaby Trust but none of it would be possible without the generosity of sponsors and prize donators.  The more successful the ball becomes the more we need the help of sponsors. Glamourpuss, Who Ate My Crayons and Giant Events donated their time, expertise and contacts for nothing which allowed the night to grow but we also couldn't put our ideas into practice without the help of our cash sponsors Stephen Crowther Associates, Coda Studios, Bapp Group, IT@Spectrum, Lancaster Property Services and of course New Dock Hall.

Thank You everyone involved in any way you are helping me to create an amazing legacy for my little star, I hope that we are able to continue making Alexander's Charity Ball a success with your help. It's not easy putting myself out there time and again, telling Alexander's story over and over but I know that it is more than worth it for the good it will do and the people it will help through The Lullaby Trust.

Tell me about your night, what you enjoyed, how you felt it went and share your pictures with us over on Facebook

See You Next Year !!!!!

So we've dotted the i's crossed the t's and the proud moment has arrived. 
I've written the cheque payable to The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths for £16029 !!!

This is what makes all that planning and organising worthwhile, knowing that your money is going to help in so many ways.

FSID are still looking at how the money will be spent but it will be staying within Yorkshire and as soon as we have a final breakdown of who it;s helping I will inform you all.

I'm so proud of what we can achieve and year on year as the ball gets bigger I know we can keep hitting bigger and better targets.  I'm grateful for any money raised and I try not to set myself up for a fall but you did me proud this year and I was and still am overwhelmed at that total.

In the 6 years since Alexander died we have held a few fundraisers, walked a few miles, ran many more (not me I hasten to add) and still my son's memory continues to motivate people to keep giving and to keep challenging themselves.

I want to find out exactly how fabulous you all are and I shall definitely be back with a complete total on how much we've raised over 6 years so watch this space 

So once again a Massive Thank You from me and here's to 2014 !!!

This is long overdue so my apologies to Alison and Jolly Tots for the time delay!

Things are hotting up at Big Ball Central, ticket money is trickling in and our entertainment has been confirmed.  
This wouldn't be possible without the aid of sponsors and here is a Big Thank You to another of our fabulous supporters.

Jolly Tots Soft Play is Penistone's only soft play centre and was originally opened on 9th February 2009 !!! It was the brainchild of two local mums who saw a gap in the market and has gone from strength to strength with Alison at the helm.  It's a haven for mums with kids under 5 giving us the space to sit and have a coffee and a slice of far too tempting cake whilst the littlies play in the perfect sized play equipment.   

Since opening Jolly's has been a regular supporter of FSID for which I owe them a debt of gratitude.  Alison regular holds shopping evenings raising money and she can often be found selling our raffle tickets and rallying interest in Alexanders Charity Ball.    

This year they have gone one step further and are sponsoring our Magician for the night Mark Waddington, once again the support of Alison is overwhelming not only for the ball, raffle and now sponsorship but as a friend.

Thank You Alison and Jolly Tots x

Jolly's has a Facebook Page so please go over and give them a like, Joseph and I have made some great friends through Jolly's and it has become a regular event in our weekly diary.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jolly-Tots/66613472254?fref=ts

This is a guest post from Helen at Photography for Little People about who she is and why she supports Alexander's Charity Ball 

When I first heard about Alexander's Charity and the tragedy that had
 struck Nicola and her family I felt a tremendous wave of sadness and
 wondered how you could ever continue on lives path.  I must admit I
 came home that night, at the time my own son was 17months old and I held him so tight thinking if that had of been me!
 
 Anyway as I recently started my own business I was looking to work
 with a charity that would be part of me and Photography for Little
 People Sheffield.  I felt after all these years of dreaming of my own business that part of it was also to help raise awareness and monies for a worthwhile cause.  I had looked at lots of charities but none
 that struck a cord with me, until of course I met Nicola.
 
 I spent many a night thinking and reading Nicola's story, which then prompted me to research FSID even more.  I arranged a coffee with Nicola and I knew within minutes that Alexander's Charity was the
 one for me.  Something inside knew that I had to do all I could, however small to help raise awareness and do what I could to show that there are more families than we know who are suffering in the way Nicola and her family have and still do.  And without the families such as Nicola and the charity, all of those other families in need would have no where to turn to.  Realistically, this is Alex's charity and one Nicola has poured her heart and soul into.  I wanted Nicola to know she could trust me in promoting the charity in a positive way, so I really was on tenderhooks until Nicola expressed her delights in having PLP be part of something so personal.  However all in all my small contribution makes me feel part of something special and unique.
 
 So what have I been doing?  Well so far I have just had all my artwork re done to include Alexander's Charity logo and links to the charity on the Sheffield PCT trust.  I am currently working on getting the link on my business page and on my next print run of leaflets and posters, the logo will be proudly part of my work.  On
 top of that I am actively seeking a celebrity to agree to have an impression of their hand, along with a signed photo to be auctioned on the night of the Ball! Both me and Nicola are hoping that if we
 get the celebrity on board they may even attend.....so watch this space!!!!!  

 On a personal note and although I never met Alex, I am sure he would be so proud of his mummy who is a true inspiration.  And because of Nicola I feel that I can spread the awareness of Alex but in a truly
 positive way and as mummy it has made me more thankful for my very own piece of perfection!

Helen is the busiest person ever but has still taken the time out to include ACB as part of her work, we are still in the early stages of this collaboration so we are both working on ideas to make this work for us both.  Please take a look at PLP's main website they have some lovely shots and impressions and do a great amount of work for charity _ Helen is also on Facebook so please go over and give her a like by clicking here 

Why do I support the Charity? Well, seeing as though Ian is one of my best friends Alex’s death was bound to affect all those close to him profoundly. For me there is also another reason that will resound with any parent. Ava had just been born (my first) and I was still coming to terms with the fact that I was a dad and responsible for another little person. I was also still in the phase of making sure she was breathing at night…

We had decided to combine a business trip to Filey with our first over night stay with our little girl and were travelling up the A64 with a work colleague, my wife and Ava. I missed a call from Dan as I was on the phone to a client. I don’t really recall what happened next, whether I called back or if my wife took a call. All I do know is that I found out that Alex had died. What sticks in my memory is that the morning seemed to pass on autopilot with the meeting with a client discussing business and then leaving my colleague there as we drove off. I drove the car for a few miles then collapsed crying at the wheel. We came straight home.

Alex wasn’t a baby in my mind; he was a toddler and way past the point of danger. How could this have happened? How could Ian and Nicola survive this? What would I do? All those awful questions you ask yourself time and time again.

I can honestly say that hardly a day goes by whereby I don’t think of Alex and the impact it’s had on my life as a dad. I like to think I am a better dad because of it and I like to think that his life has left a permanent impression not only on his family but on all those around him.

 I have been meaning to write to you and tell you this for years… never got round to it. Never really thought it was fair to bring it up but now it’s said. Every time I kiss my kids good night and read them a story I cherish that I have them.

Dave and Toni have been brilliant friends and a tremendous amount of support to us over the last 5 and a half years.  Ava and Fred are fabulously funny, well rounded kids who are a credit to them and without The Cross Family to support and encourage I'm not sure that The Ball would exist in it's current form.

Thank You both from the bottom of our hearts.

Nicola and Ian x