Why did I buy a sledge?!

OK so I have already broken first rule of the blog...I didn't actually purchase the sledge. But this was for very good reason!!

As I was walking out the the tube station I noticed a very interesting advert for Decathlon (tube advertising is not pointless...it does still attract consumers attention!).  It was advertising a sledge. In central London.

Yes it has already snowed back home in Scotland, and I have been told on numerous occasions that London does get snow (suuuuuure) but I highly doubt that there is EVER enough snow to sledge in London. EVER. And if by any miraculous turn of events that enough snow does fall in London and it's cold enough to lie without the entire population of Scotland trampling all over it, where do you actually go??  I have yet to see a decent hill in London let alone a large grassy one.  So while in Scotland people have actual snow days where there are physical snowdrifts against your front door and getting to work is impossible, selling sledges in London appears to be as useful as selling flip flops in Antarctica. 

Here is a picture from a BBC article entitled "Heavy snow severe weather warning issued for London"...

And a picture from Scotland, which doesn't even begin to show the time I was snowed in for 3 days. Or had a 6 foot high snowdrift in my street that we built a tunnel through...

So lets be honest. Sledges are not required in London. Do not advertise them....no one needs to buy one!

Why did I buy the X Factor charity single?!

It happens every year. The X Factor finalists release a cover of a big ballad (previous singles have included Hero, You Are Not Alone and Heroes) with the proceeds going to various charities.  They have worked with Help for Heroes and Great Ormond Street Hospital, but it was this year's charity that really encouraged me to buy the charity single this year.

This year's charity is Together for Short Lives, and the VT before the X Factor finalists really struck a chord with me.  The family in the VT had 3 children all suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a horrible condition which causes progressive muscle weakness.  It was horrible to watch a mother describe the pain she will face as she will lose all 3 of her little boys.  It was even more horrible to think that I know someone who will also have to go through this.  My Mum's best friend's little boy also suffers from the condition and I couldn't help but well up. 

So today I bought the single. The actual physical CD.  And not because One Direction are also in the single (I have seen lots of people say that JLS and 1D are on the single to help sell more copies) but because I genuinely wanted to give to such a great charity.  When I got to Tesco and saw that singles now cost £4 I was shocked...I swear they used to be £2 (no wonder single sales are all online now!) but I was happy to pay that knowing that all the money was going to a great charity.

So whatever you think about X Factor, and however much you hate the song, please buy the single.  £4 could help make a child's short life just that little bit better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndsp5BVt2jY