what have I been up to?

I need a Dollar Dollar, a dollar euro is what I need...

This is our Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland) Enda Kenny and yours truly. I had just asked him for a few billion euros....

Nah, not really. I had just been awarded the Elevate program by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland which will give me  mentoring and structured business support and I thought I would grab a pic with our gracious leader.

The three main winners of the Impact awards are to share in €600,000 of grants and structured support and the Taoiseach made a point of how inspiring they are in their respective fields.

Congratulations from me to the lovely (really lovely) Sean Love of Fighting Words Creative Writing Centres.

Niamh and Michelle from Women for Election  (kicking unequal representation's arse)  and 

Micheal Kelly of Grow it Yourself whose speech made me want to go out and build a plastic tunnel in my backyard and start growing Bok Choi.

I also have to share with you the amazing work of Dara Hogan of Fledglings one of last years awardees who is making a huge impact already by offering early years education in some of Dublin's most disadvantaged communities. I got quite tearful watching the video of Dara's work. Look it up.

Next morning I was off to London to do some presenting and training with Grace App Communications.  I also found time to to do brunch with fellow blogger Kate of Make do Style. We had a fine petit dejeuner at Laduree in Harrods which I highly recommend. Yummy pastries, jams and excellent people spotting in a cafe as pretty as a box of chocolates. We went for a walk around Knightsbridge afterwards and did a bit of thrifting. So nice to meet up with a virtual friend in person and find you have a lot to talk about. 

Two hopeless Nespresso Addicts collared in Knightsbridge

So it was back to earth today, catching up on emails and coming up with Plan B for bringing Grace App Communication to the next level. (Plan A was winning a share of the €600K) 

I'm still really committed to bringing the message of independent expression to everyone. My speaking engagements are starting to kick off (I was in London to do some of that) so while it was a bit of a disappointment not to win the big prize, I am in a great network of Social Entrepreneurs and with their help I will continue on my path to World Domination!

So I have got some plotting to do. In the meantime why don't you watch the SE Ireland Video - maybe YOU have an idea that could change the world?