There’s so much to say about the MADs Awards Ceremony, which took place last night at Butlins Bognor Regis.
I want to tell you about how surprised Tim was to win one award – and how he almost forgot to stand up to accept his second. I loved how Deb cried when she accepted her award, and I laughed so hard I almost passed out when Emma customised her outfit using the table lights and Pippa made us all deeply jealous with her iPad tweeting.
But it will keep.
I had a six-hour drive home today and I spent a lot of it thinking about what the MAD Awards has taught me. And it’s that bloggers – Mums, Dads and the rest of us – are a community – and a strong one, at that.
That doesn’t mean we always think the same things (we don’t) or that we always agree (we certainly don’t). It doesn’t mean we write the same sorts of things, or have the same approach to blogging.
But the MAD Awards was a real achievement for our community. Because while it’s my name on the website, most of the credit for such a great evening belongs to everyone who has taken part and supported the awards, even when some crisis or other threatened to derail us.
So this is where I say the massive thank you I meant to say last night when I was holding the microphone, but couldn’t quite find the words.
I have to thank Ellie for helping with the copywriting; Alex for helping me on countless occasions with the website, Yuri for sorting out and running the live blog with the fantastic assistance of Emma and Clare, who also helped to put together the quiz. Deb also helped writing some of the speeches.
Thanks, Hayley, for providing amazing photography services, and Nikki for helping with the trophies. Thanks to Pippa for helping to stuff the gift bags, even while some people (cough) in the room were acting like headless chickens shouting, “We’ll never make it! Stop! I think I’ve given Tim an epilator!”
Thanks to all the bloggers who handed out awards, particularly those who weren’t expecting to give out awards – Naomi, Vix and Heather, you’re all amazing women, and Heather definitely wins the prize for the best speech given by a presenter who wasn’t expecting to present a prize. Thanks to Joanne, Susanna and Sue for being judges, you guys did a great job.
Then there are those bloggers like Karin and Deborah who offered lifts to other guests, everyone who shared rooms, and those who helped look after the children who were in Bognor – Claire and Pippa were completely heroic on that score.
Claire from 20SomethingMum did a sterling job helping other guests secure sponsored outfits and underwear (who knew that was even possible?) and Jen has just been the most fantastic source of support and sanity over the last couple of months. Thanks to Sandy for buying me a much-needed drink at the end of the night. And to Jo for finding someone to make us balloon models at 11pm – an impressive achievement.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten a load of people, for which I apologise, but thanks to you all. Well done. I hope you’re proud of what we’ve achieved together, and that you’re glad to be a part of our slightly bonkers little community – I know I am.
We'll be posting all the photos onto Flickr and over the next few days we'll update the MADs website with a selection of pictures plus video footage of the awards, and a cleaned up version of the live blog. I'll let you all know when it's ready! In the meantime, if you blog about the awards, it would be great if you could leave a link here in the comments so people can come and read about your evening.
Thanks again – and goodnight (I'm going to go and sleep for three days!)
*Wipes the tears of laughter & happiness from eyes*
It was a fantastic night.. I’m filled with warmth just thinking about all thise smiles from all the winners and from all the fun that happened last night. I’m filled with hysertics just thinking about the post-mads party and then I’m filled with fear because I know there will be some kind of photo/video evidence of what went on.
Well done Sally. I dont know what word can sum it all up other then WOW.
I’m going to go back to stroking my philips lights.. in my tiredness lets hope I dont start stroking the epilator!
Thank You x
Sounds like you all had a wonderful time – I have heard about the balloons from my mate slummysinglemummy……
Hope your hangovers have subsidedxx
Hello! I wasn’t there, but felt like I lived it on Twitter and live blog. I think the MADS is a wonderful celebration of our community, I’m so proud to be a part of it and to have won an award is absolutely bloody fantastic. So I wasn’t there, but see here http://www.itsamummyslife.com/2010/09/im-winner-at-mads-mum-dad-bloggers.html for my ‘acceptance’ speech!! Thanks Sally and everyone else who was involved in organising such a great event.
Well done Sally and everyone else who made this happen. I was following on the live blog (which was fab) and wishing I could have been there. I blogged a short post with a big thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Family Fun category. I didn’t win (Congratulations Pippa!) but was so pleased to be part of it. http://nurturestore.co.uk/the-mads-blog-awards
I was there courtesy of the live blogging (which was fantastic) and it sounded like a great night – a brilliant positive event that was much needed.
There’d better be one next year so I can come…. I’ll be booking my room and my days off work the day we get the dates this this time lol.
Ooooh and I even won a prize on the Twitter quiz 😉
So sad not to be there. Congratulations to you for pulling it all together.
Sponsored underwear? Really?
How wonderful. So wish I could have been there. Thanks for everything you did for putting it all together. x
‘I’m sure I’ve forgotten a load of people, but I can’t think who’. No, no, I er, can’t think who either…Had the best time Sally. Really. Such a fantastic evening and I know that everyone else had the best time too. So many well dones xxx
It was a great night thank you Sally and everyone.
Thankyou so much Sally, it was a fantastic evening 🙂
I’ve put a post up about it here : http://strange-beau.blogspot.com/2010/09/strange-beautiful-one-year-on.html
x
Sally. I hope I have said it 100 times already but if not then I will keep on saying it until I have!
The MADs and the last few days to me are what blogging is about. You did a fab job getting everything together and the people that were nominated are all winners too!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. PS thank you.
It wasn’t just pants, I even got my party feet pads for in my shoes too! Natch!
Heres my input with pics and vids too! http://20somethingmum.blogspot.com/2010/09/mads-bad-and-dangerous-todrink-with.html
Well done Sally, it was a credit to you.
Dear Sally,
thank you so much for inviting me to compère the event – I had a wonderful time, and it was lovely to meet so many of the bloggers. And I am so pleased to have finally made it to Butlins!
Some of the ladies (and gents!) asked me about my ParentDish Semi Detached Parent blog – I didn’t have any cards with the web address on with me at the time, so here is a bit of a shameless plug:
http://www.parentdish.co.uk/category/the-semi-detached-parent/
Once again, thank you so much, and well done for organising such a fantastic event.
Kelly
http://www.krbradford.co.uk
and don’t forget I sorted out the outfits as well 😉
It was the first blogging event I’ve been to that I actually enjoyed (and no, not because I went home with a lovely glass award or because of the Pimm’s, or cream cakes, or funky hotel room, or Emma Bridgewater mug…).
So thank you Sally for thinking of it and organising it and thanks to everyone I met and spoke to. It was lovely to meet you all and I had such a good time I felt a bit flat when I got home.
And just think, I wasn’t going to go….
My post where I gush in a very over the top way can be found here:
http://www.carrotsandkids.com/2010/09/the-post-where-i-eat-my-hat.html
xx
Thanks Sally for organising a fantastic night!
Here are a few more thank yous from me:
http://slummysinglemummy.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/a-more-sober-thank-you/
Jo xx
Had a ball, thanks Sally x
http://sandycalico.blogspot.com/2010/09/fifty-go-mad-in-bognor.html
Thank you Sally, it was a great night and I really enjoyed the way everyone, EVERYONE got on together and had a fantastic time. Well done for pulling it off. Vix xx
NB/And well done to Butlins for hosting it!!
Hi quick post about The MADs and a quiz! http://www.vegemitevix.com/2010/09/mad-absolutely/
Thanks. I was sober as a judge, of course, it was the others who let the side down.
Thanks Holly, we really missed you and you got a HUGE cheer when your blog name was read out! Thanks for the post link, too. Maybe next year, eh?
Thanks – Yuri, Emma and Clare did an amazing job on the live blog, didn’t they?
Thanks for the post and we were sorry not to have you there, but we raised a glass in your absence. Or two. Three, in some cases.
Hi Cass
You did and I have your prize. Will email you later to get your details. Well done! And can’t wait to see you at the MADs 2011!
Yes, round of applause due for that one, thats a dress I shall wear loads!
Hi Emma,
It was fantastic to have you there, and thanks for providing SO many laughs – the lighting was a particular highlight of the whole event for me. And the photos are tremendous 😉
Really. It’s quite impressive to score free Spanx, I know.
Thanks and hopefully next year you’ll be able to join us!
*shuffles feet*
Thanks Emily, you were my favourite of ALL.
xx
Rachel
Thanks, I’m so glad you had fun and you looked absolutely beautiful! Great post, too.
Welcome 😉
Dear Kelly
You were an absolutely amazing compere, and I thank you for taking note of my request to channel Play Your Cards Right, which you did beautifully. I’m glad you had fun and my MAD bloggers didn’t scare you too much, too.
Sally
Brilliant, thanks!
Hi Jo – thanks for coming along and helping make the evening such fun, it was fab to meet you. Congratulations on your win, it’s thoroughly deserved.
Sally
x
If it wasn’t for the Paul McKenna jokes, I could *almost* like you, you know.
I just saw pictures of you dancing – you LITERALLY had a ball, eh?
Thanks Vix, it was great to put a voice and a face to the blog, and I’m so glad you could join us. I think you’re right – what I loved was that the MADs was about us supporting and celebrating one another because of our differences. That probably sounds really silly, but it meant a lot to me, and thanks for being a big part of that.
x
What can I say, we had a blast. Thank you. A real celebration of bloggersa nd blogging and wasnt Tim just grand!
It was fanastic Sally, thank you so much and have to say Isabelle really loved it and didn’t want to leave ( I am exhausted after taking her around all the Butlins activities for kids)…By the way, was my dress really that short? I don’t think I can show this photo to my hubby ….THANK YOU 🙂 @Kahanka
Secretly I knew that! Why else would you have put me next to you at the table?! Love you lady 😉
My post is now up http://mummynew.blogspot.com/2010/09/soundtrack-to-my-week-when-parent.html
Not saying I have gone overboard or anything but erm here are my three MAD posts…
http://www.amothersramblings.com/2010/09/mads.html
http://www.amothersramblings.com/2010/09/disco-lift-at-butlins-bognor-regis.html
http://www.amothersramblings.com/2010/09/crying-bit-of-mads.html
Sally – I cannot praise your complete fabulousness enough. I’d imagine you can get plenty of mileage out of it!
So post 1/5 is here http://glowstars.net/2010/09/award-winners/ and will of course add the rest when I finish them.
Smooches to all and everyone who was there especially.
Thank you again Sally. It was brilliant, I had the most fabulous night and everyone I met was friendly and happy to be there. not an ounce of bitching or nastiness. Well done that lady 😀
I’ve written a post about it here: http://www.rukakuusamo.com/notesfromlapland/2010/09/heather-makes-a-drunken-fool-of-herself-at-the-mads.html
My post is up here http://wwwallbabyadvice.blogspot.com/2010/09/mad-awards-2010-butlins-bognor-regis.html
Fabulous job Sally. Well done you. It was a great success. And so much fun had by all.
Here’s what I had to say http://threekidsandthecat.blogspot.com/2010/09/mad-night-had-by-all.html
Good luck for next year.
Back atcha, Brighton babe.
Applause for everyone wearing a sponsored outfit 😉
He almost made me cry! Such a well-deserved winner, and actually, you were all such well-deserved finalists. A great time, and thanks for all of your help in making it happen.
Your dress looked FAB, and it was great to meet you, so glad you could make it.
Fab post, thanks Carol
Not over the top in the slightest, nope, nosiree.
Aw, Vic, thanks for that! Great post and smooches back atcha x
It was a public speaking MASTERCLASS. Thanks 😉
Thanks Mirka, great post!
Lovely post, Sharon, thanks – congratulations again on making the finals and so pleased you could come along and join us for the awards.
Here is my post about The MADS.
http://www.thebabblingmummy.co.uk/2010/09/mads-2010.html
Well done for arranging it all Sally 🙂 xxx
Here’s my post.. only a week late! http://www.methemanandthebaby.com/2010/09/mads-awards-ceremony.html
Hy Sally my post about the MADS is here http://www.singlemummy.net/2010/09/one-mad-week.html
Seriously you should be so proud of what you achieved! I really hope you are! 😀
Thanks Sally *blushes*…..can’t wait for the MADS 2011, had so much fun!
Thank you so much Sally for inviting me to be a judge and to come along to the awards. Here’s my post about the event
http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2010/09/18/the-mad-awards-weve-got-the-gossip-and-the-pics/
all the best
Joanne
Tsk, Pippa’s obviously already manoeuvering for ‘Most Prolific Blogger’ 2011… I, on the other hand, have but one post, written in a brief interlude post-ceremony and pre-bar and balloons on the night in question: http://www.bringingupcharlie.co.uk/2010/09/everyones-winner.html
And I mean that most sincerely, folks!