And finally….

….the Oscar speech!

I just want to take this opportunity to thank some people for helping me on my journey to this amazing award, my parents for having me (sob), their genes for giving me this limitless talent….

Ok so I didn’t win, I didn’t actually make the final, but I did get a MEDAL!  Now proudly pinned up on the board in the kitchen.  I did wear false eyelashes and a ton of make up and, of course, my glamorous strictly dresses.

I am sad now I won’t be dreaming of contra checks, or keeping my legs straight and my feet pointed outwards.  I will miss our teacher Gabriel saying ‘one more time’ so very many times and more than anything the hours with calm GG, ever smiling, ever patient, but the journey is done and it’s time to move on.

Here’s a thing, when I was young I watched ‘Dirty Dancing’ and had such a dream that one day I would be on the stage to ‘I had the time of my life’. Well I’ve achieved that – I did have the time of my life – and instead of not very gorgeous Patrick Swayze, I danced with the Greek God GG!!

So here’s the real speech – there are so many people I do want to thank:

 My fellow celebs, for just being lovely

My generous sponsors – up to £578 now!

Therese, my agent and PA extraordinaire

Kate, marketing and PR

All of the brilliant and talented Denman staff for being so supportive

Rachel, the best costume designer in the business

Hannah and her team for make up and hair

Nacho for touching up the photos 🙂

Jen, daughter No. 1 for endless encouragement (you can do it Mum!)

Amy, daughter No. 2 for saying ‘Aw Mum’, every time I talked about it

Chris, son, for never phoning so I could get on with practising

John, for putting up with endless diva behaviour…

 

And of course –

Generous, gracious, gorgeous George.  I struck so lucky being partnered with him!

 But most of all for the staff of Vale House, who work every day as hard as they do, to care for their residents.

 

Am I going to keep dancing?  Absolutely – this is just the beginning!  But sadly the end of my blog.

If you enjoyed the blog or just think there should be many Vale Houses all over the world, why not dig deep in your pocket one more time and spare a little more – http://www.justgiving.com/Jane-Dixon6

 Now here’s some pics!

 Maybe GG is nervous before our tango?

 But a bit happier now!

 Ready for our salsa freestyle

  And with Nacho (aka Ken) at the after show party!

 

Thank you all for reading and giving – oh and keeeep dancing!

Strictly Jane

Nearly there…..

Well it’s 2 days away. Sunday is on the horizon.  I could do with a few more weeks of rehearsal but there we go, there’s always more you can learn.

In my sleep I am counting, I wake up and stretch. I go down to the kitchen and do a few Cubans and a quick head turn or two, step-close-step around the cats, walk with straight legs into the bathroom…. 

The costumes are ready, every time I look down I seem to be in a sea of sequins. I am not sure they entirely meet GG’s requirements (he knows a lot about this stuff) but they will do and the fringes will be flicking around the stage.

I am a bag of nerves, not that I don’t know the steps, I do. But can I perform on the day? 

I’m taking Monday off. Not to recover, you understand, but to sulk.  I know after all this moaning and whining and nerves and fears I will miss it.  I’ll miss the practise, I’ll miss my fellow celebs and, of course, the amazing GG.  But all of this will be worth it if I can just raise a tiny bit more for Vale House.  Go on – just donate a little extra on my justgiving page….

Wish me luck, or rather wish dear GG luck! Oh and it’s not too late to come and watch – tickets still available, New Theatre Oxford – Sunday at 6.30.  See you there?

The other day GG said…

The other day GG said to me, ‘What do you most like about dancing?’  I gave a sort of waffly answer about feeling good after exercise, because, all of a sudden and (let’s face it, quite unlike me) I didn’t know what to say.

 The fact is, I realised in that stomach churning moment, I like everything about it!  Ok so I am not good with the technique and my toes will not point outwards and I can’t do different things with different limbs, but I’ve started to love it.  I love the way the music makes me feel (well apart from the cha cha track).  I adore the tango music now I’m getting into the ‘disdain’ performance and that sort or Argentinian bit (still makes me blush).  Our freestyle music is exciting and I am going to do my absolute best to perform it as well as I can.  But what do I most like – I think it’s that when I’m dancing I can’t think about anything else at all, not about work, or what to get for dinner, or when the baby’s coming (daughter due very soon…..) I just think about the steps and try and feel the music.

 So, hark at me, all that moaning and now I love it!

 Here’s something to think about.  A few years ago I met up with an old schoolfriend, who I hadn’t seen for far too many years than I’m prepared to declare.  We recognised each other straight away.  We both brought photos from school.  It was a great afternoon, we reminded each other of people from the past.  She remembered things I’d completely forgotten and I could do the same for her.  (I remembered coveting her raincoat!)  It’s like she mentioned something and it opened a little drawer in my brain, which then opened another drawer and so on.  If you have dementia, there isn’t a drawer there to open.  Not only would I not have recognised my friend I wouldn’t remember my schooldays.  Someone told me once that music can calm people with dementia, maybe they remember the way the music made them feel, I don’t know, I think I might.  Whatever, I do know that the best place to be would be Vale House, so please, even though my journey is nearly done, spare a bit for this amazing charity!  http://www.justgiving.com/Jane-Dixon6

 

Not long now…

Ok, so it’s less than 2 weeks away.  When I think about it my stomach starts churning…

This week we practised walking on and off the stage, that was enough to worry the hell out of me!  I have been practising in the kitchen, in the hall, everywhere I get a moment and I still can’t remember some of the ballroom steps!  This, fortunately for me, is not dementia – just a complete lack of dancing skill.  I can go right through the latin dance on my own now, (everything is easier with GG, he does the leading/pushing in the right direction), so it’s just a matter of technique.  Here’s the problem – anyone who knows me will tell you my feet turn in, but I have to get them to turn out, and at speed and I’m expected to smile as well!

 Just for a moment on Saturday I thought Gorgeous George’s patience was going to crack, a tiny frown across the temples…  I could see ‘one more time’ was wearing a bit thin, but on he went – 2, 3, 4 and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 1.  You’ve got to feel sorry for him.

        Looking a bit stern

 

      But a bit happier here

 So tomorrow the costumes should be sorted!  I have enlisted the help of Rachel (costume maker extraordinaire).  She should be arriving with a car full of sequins attached to some tiny bits of material.  It’s ok, it’s such a big theatre the wrinkles will be difficult to spot.  Apparently you can’t have too many sequins.  I’ll try them on and if there are too many bulges I’ll wear the Bridget Jones pair I’ve got hidden away at the back of the drawer.  I do mean to stick to the diet, but it’s all so stressful I keep resorting to wine and chocolate (yes, in that order).

 Last push on the fundraising now, so please dig deep in your pockets and spare a few quid for the wonderful Vale House and, in return, I promise I will try my absolute best not to let GG down.  Of course, if you want to come and see us there are still tickets available! 🙂

 

Vale House

Last Thursday I went to visit Vale House.

The organisation describes itself as ‘dedicated to excellence in dementia care’. This is an understatement, I am overwhelmingly impressed by what I saw. I was shown round by lovely Sandy who gave up her time and displayed not only her knowledge but the dignity with which each person is treated.

  Here she is!

The first surprise is there is a high ratio of staff to patients, all of whom are qualified in dementia care. There are 40 patients, although we should describe them as residents. Vale House does not feel like a care home. It is bright and airy and attractive. So much thought has been put into the architectural design and each individual’s need. For example the house has corridors built in a circular way. This supports the residents because dementia patients often like to walk. Instead of pacing rooms they can walk around the building, so much further for them to go and to experience. Each resident has their own ensuite room, outside of which is a little display with their name and things such as family photos and objects which reflect some part of their life. They are known by the person they were, before this terrible illness struck, as well as the person they are. I saw the staff caring gently for people with incredibly challenging behaviour, with respect and kindness. The thing is, if you think about it, we respond to the people around us in different ways, but our close friends are those with whom we have common interests, those we admire perhaps and those with whom we ‘click’. People with dementia have lost the ability to be interesting, or helpful, or kind, or funny, or loving, or many other attributes we can think of. They have no way to build relationships again or to ask for help or to defend themselves. I work with all sorts of people every day, but all of them, however challenging they might be, I can communicate with. The staff at Vale House have to be patient, kind, respectful and go the extra mile every single hour of their working day.

Amazingly inside the building are courtyards, little gardens open to the sky. Even on the first floor there is a rooftop area where residents can sit out and breathe the fresh air and look out at the countryside.

                               

They can go into the garden quite safely, without the worry of them walking out into the road. Many of the residents are bed-ridden but this is not a barrier to their carers. They provide very sophisticated chairs so they can make sure the residents are comfortable and can be wheeled into a garden area, or into different rooms to join in activities, or just for a change of scene.

I could go on and on, but here are some facts. In the next few years in Oxfordshire 37% of the population will be aged over 75. Everyone knows our existing services will not be able to cope with the demand. Vale House is just one place, but there should be many Vale Houses all over our country. This seems an impossible problem and none of us can wave a magic wand, but we can help this fantastic organisation to go on providing care for the most vulnerable people. Who wouldn’t want their most loved ones or themselves, to be cared in an environment such as this? Vale House needed to raise £5.6 million for this purpose-built home. They still have a long way to go to raise the remaining £663.738. And what happens after that? Each one of those chairs I described costs £2000. With the high level of staffing which is required if we want to treat people with dignity and some sort of quality of life, the cost per person is around £850 per week. So next time I whine on about how hard it is to learn a few dance steps, or I say my feet are sore and my job is exhausting – kick me! Save your sympathy for the relatives and residents of Vale House and poor GG, of course. Please, please spare a few quid for this amazing organisation and donate right now. Let’s go for a staggering amount – can I raise £2000??? http://www.justgiving.com/Jane-Dixon6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 3

I have a partner! After weeks of not-so-patient waiting I have been introduced to George.  George is Greek and gracious and graceful and generous.  Not a flicker of annoyance crosses his face, as I get the funny kicky bit wrong for the twentieth time.  When I get it right we do a high 5.  This is also new for me.  George can dance, boy can he dance!

                                

So George has many talents, he’s a chemist and he works at ‘the university’, (I mean imagine doing that in another language!), his English is perfect. He’s probably got a PHD at least to add to his many other charms, but for the purpose of our blog we will call him Gorgeous George, or GG for short.

                                                     

We are now on to lessons on Saturday afternoon and Tuesday evening. The Tuesdays are for those who need ‘a little more help’.  A nice way of putting it.  GG and I made great strides on Tuesday – or I did – he made elegant flowing steps.  You have to have some sympathy for GG, his partner is old enough to be his mother and has no sense of rhythm, timing or, even worse, any memory of the steps.  But he carries on smiling.  Another thing about GG is he doesn’t just concentrate on repeating the steps, he talks about the ‘attitude’. Our dances, when perfected will be more than just elegant movement (his) across the floor, they will tell a story.  How exciting all this is!  But actually so hard as well. I am frustrated with my slow progress, I cannot imagine ever learning all the steps and I haven’t even begun to think about the freestyle. I ache and I’m tired. Running a college, no problem, co-ordinating my limbs, impossible.

Now this week I won’t be dancing on Saturday as it is my graduation day.  I am StrictlyJane MBA!  Watch out for the photo!  I am not at all daunted by missing a class, I now have GG and we will practise, practise, practise.  And one day I will get over the sad thought that my bottom is twice the size of his….  Oh for a sylph like figure.

Seriously though, I am writing this blog because I want all of my 3 readers (thank you children) to donate to Vale House – look at www.valehouse.org.uk.  Please give generously by going to my justgiving page www.justgiving.com/Jane-Dixon6.  I am struggling to learn to move, but none of this is a patch on watching someone you love become a stranger to you and themselves.

See you next week and – keep dancing!

 

Week Two Photo

Tags

dancing, Denman, Strictly Oxford

All those gestures are a little flamboyant for us, not the language of the business meeting at all.

For more photos, go to: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyOxford.

Photo Credit: Step by Step Dance School

Week Two

So it’s week two and, of course, I am riddled with nerves. Up the stairs to the dance studio with the dreadful wall-to-wall mirrors and I was so comforted to be confronted with several of the other ‘celebs’ saying ‘Well I don’t know why I’m so nervous about this….’ And there is Jeremy, our local newshound, man about town and Mr Confident, wearing a headband to keep his glasses on (they kept slipping down his nose at the first session) and sporting white cotton gloves (as my hands got so sweaty…) – ah bless him!

The thing is we are out of our comfort zones. So called ‘leaders of business’ we might be, but show us a pair of dancing shoes and we turn into wimps.

Now our dance teacher has the patience of a saint, although at one point when he opened the window I did think he was going to jump. He bounces around showing us his hip movements constantly shouting ‘Smile, look like you’re enjoying yourselves!’ Well some are I suppose.

Half time and we get cheerful Mary, organiser extraordinaire, handing out water, bananas and chocolate fingers – the best bit so far!

My theory is we are all very ‘British’ – we are not used to wiggling our hips or dancing cheek-to-cheek or (heaven forbid) hip rather close to hip. It is all slightly embarrassing. We are learning the tango with a stiff upper lip, all those gestures are a little flamboyant for us, not the language of the business meeting at all. Not to mention the tango has some very tricky steps as well as those scary head movements. Apparently the tango is ballroom, not latin. Really?? I’m sure I’d be better at a sedate waltz.

The tango is not as bad as the cha cha though. There’s this thing we do called the ‘New York’. We turn away from our partners flinging our outer arm up doing something odd with our fingers. I do want to take the opportunity again to apologise to the two dancers I smacked in the face. It really wasn’t intentional, despite them being rather pretty and nippy on their feet.

Now readers out there, let’s face it I am not likely to win, but I could win the sponsorship! If you would like to support me through my ‘journey’ as someone put it recently, please sponsor me and help me to raise a huge amount for Vale House. Here’s my just giving page.

Session three is just a week away…

Week One Photos

Andrzej, starts us off with what he calls a ‘warm up’:

The fun begins:

Cha Cha:

Think of Bambi on ice, only not cute:

For more photos, go to: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyOxford.

Photo Credit: Step by Step Dance School

Week One

Tags

Strictly Oxford, Vale House

Just before Christmas, Denman’s lovely dance tutor Sally asked if I wanted to do Strictly Oxford. What’s that you ask? Well it’s like Strictly (all those sequins!) but it’s to raise money for Vale House, who specialise in dementia care. They ask local ‘business leaders’ to be the celebrities. So a really worthwhile charity and I get to learn to dance, with a professional dancer and wear a sparkly dress! Why wouldn’t I say yes?!

So I get to the first session, very nervous and there is the lovely organiser offering glasses of Prosecco. It’s right up my street already. I chat to a tall dashing man who tells me he has two left feet and will be the John Sargent of the group. Several of the women all declare they have never danced and probably will be awful. Nothing to worry about then.

A few minutes later we are up into the dance studio and a whole wall is mirrored! (Why didn’t I think of this?). Our teacher, Andrzej, starts us off with what he calls a ‘warm up’. Oh my goodness, this consists of Andrzej beginning to leap around doing different things with all four limbs and we have to follow, in unison and in time to the music. Even worse, I can see myself in the wretched mirror. Think of Bambi on ice, only not cute. At one point he turns around so I think (obviously) we all turn around – but no – horror of horrors – only I turn around. He is just turning round so he can see us better!

Then we have to do a bit of a cha cha. Fine, I can learn. But he starts with ‘find a partner’. Well, do you remember at school when they picked teams? And here I am again, the last one to be picked. The misery continued. We had to do this kicky thing with one leg and then the other. Then I thought well everyone must be having a hard time but no! Tall and dashing has turned out to be Twinkletoes and all those women have clearly been to master classes.

So, it’s three weeks until the real training begins. Please lend me your support and your sympathy. Follow my story as I summon my courage and hopefully find some coordination…