So, it's been well over a year since I last posted, and so much has happened with the poppies.......I eventually raised £2000 in 2011, way beyond my wildest dreams of £500.  To top that off, I raised £5000 in 2012 ! Not only was I interviewed on BBC Radio Manchester, Stoke and ITV News, but I was honoured to be invited to present the cheque to The Royal British Legion Battleback Centre at Lilleshall in Shropshire.  What a fantastic day - we had a tour of the facility, had a go at wheelchair basketball (not very successfully !) with some of the students, and met some of the tutors. 

Here's a picture of me presenting the cheque to Chris Joynson of The Royal British Legion along with my Mum, Dad, and partner, Shay.

But the money raised was not without it's trials and tribulations.  Long story short, The British Legion mistakenly reported me to Ebay for infringing their copyright the day before Remembrance Sunday.  Even though I stated on Ebay that I had permission from TRBL, they both forgot to check with their internal records whether this was correct.  It caused me no end of upset and heartache, mainly because all my Ebay customers received an email saying that they should return their Poppy to me and ask for a refund because I was not genuine. 

So as you can imagine, I had dozens of horrid emails from people who took Ebay's word (which you would) and called me a fraud, etc etc. 

HOWEVER.....I decided to try and turn this negative into a positive.  I figured I could either spit my dummy out and never do it again, or keep the momentum going and try and remember why I started it in the first place.  I had already got loads of lovely volunteers ready and willing to help, so here we are again in 2013.

And much better news on the horizon.  I have had my permission renewed by The Royal British Legion (anyone who needs to check the validity of it can email my local Fundraising Manager, Julie Dove on jdove@britishlegion.org.uk).  But most exciting news is that we are having a 2103 "Remembrance Poppy Crochet Day" at TRBL's Battleback Centre (Lilleshall, Shropshire) on Friday 27th September.  We're asking for volunteers to come along and join us to help make a huge stock of poppies to sell around Remembrance time.  You can either crochet the poppies themselves (or the little leaves) or just lend a hand glueing buttons and brooch pins on and packaging them ready for sale.  TRBL will be providing lunch and refreshments on the day, and I am in talks with a big craft retailer about them *hopefully* sponsoring the event and donating some equipment/materials.  Fingers crossed.

So, if you would like to get involved, please either email me, or drop me a line on my Facebook page (top right).  Other than that, watch this space and I will start posting a bit more regularly about the progress, and any other "Poppy News" !