Tillys SoulScape helped raise £380,000 for charity

Its not often you get to hear Peter Andre doing a sound test, and it took me about 20 minutes before I realised who it was as I was setting up my easels in the foyer of The Battersea Evolution.

I have to admit, he was pretty good….

Tillys Piece looked stunning under the impressive lighting

The evening began to unfold with a number of acrobatic artists, gently lowering themselves from the suspended butterfly shaped frames set in the ceiling of the marquee.

The evening was in full sway, and I shook Leona Lewis’ hand as I talked to one person after the next about SoulScaping, I got a number of raised eyebrows, and a few “wows”! (which was nice).

My most memorable meeting of the evening was with Bruce Forsyth, but unfortunately I got to speak to him when Elton John was in full swing doing an incredible set. Bruce just looked at me with a frustrated look on his face and pointed repeatedly to his ears shaking his head. He did seem to understand the  two lovely ladies next to me (who wanted their picture taken with him) perfectly!

About an hour into the evening I interrupted a conversation between John Caudwell and Liz Hurley (as you do) to say thankyou to John for his very Kind words about Tillys SoulScape. It was then that he said;

 “Would you like to say a few words about it on stage?”

I couldn’t quite believe my ears. I said “Yes”. Not having a clue what I would say.

As I sat backstage (a few more kind words form Sarah Ferguson about my artwork as she walked past) my heart was pounding in my chest. I was deliberately trying to keep my mind blank, because I knew if I tried to come up with something clever to say, it would sound… well not clever. Tilly and her parents were right next to me, and they seemed perfectly calm.

I was carrying the painting with one of the guys from Caudwell Children (all 120 cm x 150 cm of it!) when Tillys mum, holding Tillys work of art, with seconds to go before we were to be invited in stage, suddenly said to me, “Can you hold this for me, I need the loo.”

I honestly didn’t know what to do.  My world froze for a moment as I considered the options. Say yes and put the Put the painting down. Say “No way!”. Then she smiled a very cheeky smile, and said “Only joking!”

We walked onto the stage, and John Caudwell gave a very moving talk about the work of Caudwell Children, and a very powerful video was shown about the work done by this incredible charity. You can see that here:

I was given a microphone. My heart was now in my mouth.

I have no idea what I said, but here is a video that I put together about the major aspects of Tillys SoulScape:

Apparently It was received very well. I think I even got a round of applause.. its all a bit of a blur! Tilly spoke beautifully about her piece that was full of diamonds and sparkles, and that Sir Elton John had signed for her!

 Then the bidding began, and I just fixed a big smile on my face… The final outcome for the combined lot was £380,000! That’s enough to buy 19 of Tillys specialised wheelchairs that help her move and dance, and give her a fresh lease of life.

I just want to say thankyou to all of you for your support and kind comments.

It was an incredible evening, and its been a true honour to be part of such an incredible charity.

Comments

[Joe Pelissier]

Great article. You gave me a real sense of the occasion and I bet what you said was perfect!