I have never posted on behalf of anyone raising money on this site before, and I may never again.
Generally promoting one person's campaign leads to multiple future requests and a relentless stream of runners, baked bean bathers and Kilimanjaro climbing crusaders asking you to do the same, making you (unintentionally) feel guilty enough to continue posting pleas for extra money.
However, this one has caught my eye for two reasons. One it's for a particularly personal cause and one which, I imagine, doesn't necessarily receive big cheques (or electronic transfers I suppose in this day & age) very often.
Secondly, it's because a member of the #bristolcitytwitterfamily who goes by the name of Big Stan Hibbert, is going to wear a Onesie!
For the uninitiated of you, a Onesie is like a baby-gro. I've got plenty in my house, but they're all in 6-12 month age groups and are a bugger to undo when my Junior Robin's nappy needs changing at 2am.
The sight of grown men & women struggling to stumble out of their outfits whilst half-asleep in the middle of the night sounds like something out of a Some Mother's do 'Ave 'Em sketch, but apparently it's the in thing at present...sometimes I'm so very very glad I'm in my mid-thirties and lacking the motivation to keep up with the Joneses!
Anyway, this one particularly struck me because anyone whose Twitter moniker is 'Big Stan Hibbert' sounds like they fancy themselves a bit as a man's man. Indeed, when you probe further and come across his profile "I own a gorgeous wife and 2 kids that I'm aware of", that picture is crystallised even further.
So for 'Big Stan' to front up at football, the ultimate in a man's macho world, where swigging too much cider at lunchtime and shouting horrendous abuse at other human beings is commonplace and seen as earning stripes, wearing just a Onesie and perhaps a cheeky Santa hat, understandably caught my eye!
Here's Stan to pick up the story...
"It started off as a bit of banter on Twitter. “I’m going to buy a Onesie” I said. Now, a few weeks later and I have acquired said Onesie. Not only that but I have agreed to wear it to the pub and to Ashton Gate on 1st December 2012. The reality of this dawns on me a little bit more every time I write it down. I’m not the sort of bloke who would normally wear a Onesie, let alone in public, so this is a big deal for me! It is all for a brilliant cause though - the Barbara Russell Children’s Unit (BRCU) at Frenchay Hospital.
In 2011, aged 6 months my son Reuben was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus (water on the brain). He was having regular treatment and scans and then one Saturday afternoon, when City were at home to Leeds, I received a call from my wife at about 3.20pm saying that I needed to get to Frenchay quickly.
Reuben had developed complications relating to his condition which had made him seriously ill. To cut a long story short, I have never felt so frightened and useless in all my life and I have no doubt that the staff at the BRCU prevented anything tragic happening.
For a while afterwards, Reuben remained at the BRCU and the level of care the staff provided was inspiring. I am thrilled to say that Reuben is now improving all of the time and able to get up to as much mischief as any other 19 month-old boy!
Back to the Onesie thing... as I mentioned, on 1st December before the Wolverhampton Wanderers match, both Kezsa Mitchell and I will don our Onesies and wear them to Bar BS3 (if our dress code allows), before heading to the Gate at about 1.30pm collecting as much money as we can. All the money raised will go towards the Play Team at the Barbara Russell Children’s Unit who do such a brilliant job in making the children’s (and parents!) time in hospital that bit easier.
Thanks for reading
If you wish to support the appeal you can donate at:
Text “BARB80” plus the amount you wish to donate (e.g. BARB80 £5) to 70070.
Follow us on Twitter using #WearYourOnesie or message us directly @BigStanHibbert and @Kezsajm. You can also see us at Ashton Gate on Saturday, either outside or in the EastEnd, we shouldn’t be too difficult to spot! Thank you so much for your support.
THIS IS TOMORROW!!!
Please do support Stan and Kezsa (who is lending much needed moral support), this is a fairly unique way of raising money and a special cause. If you can't get to the Gate tomorrow the justgiving link again is: www.justgiving.com/
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