The Ben Mclean Trophy

Over the past few months we have been organising a golf day for Ben. We decided on golf because a lot of the family, the boys especially spent most of their time with Ben on a golf course! I have to say I had no idea how much work an event like this takes, and I am so proud of my mum and dad for organising such an amazing day. 

We all agreed that throughout the day, any of Ben’s friends or family could take part in the competition and then those who don’t play could join us in evening. The turnout for the golf alone was incredible, with over 100 people playing over the course of the day!  

    
    
 
My dad and his horrendous trousers presenting the top 3 golfers with their awards, and all of beautiful trophies! 

At night we were joined with by an overwhelming number of people; it’s always lovely being reminded how well liked and respected Ben was by so many people. We had a band and it goes without saying that after a few drinks we were all singing/dancing our hearts out! It was so lovely to spend time with all of the people that cared about Ben, and to see both family and friends that we don’t get to see often. 

   
    
 
Some pictures from the dance floor!

As a family we decided to make the day a charity event, and we chose to donate to Action for M.E. as this would undoubtedly have been a cause close to Ben’s heart. One of the most incredible donations we received was from Paolo Nutini. Our whole family adore his music and when he heard we were having a night for Ben, he donated a signed guitar. We put the guitar up for a blind auction, along with a signed Celtic and rangers strip. (I really have no clue about football, but the buzz generated from these items was amazing!)

   
    
 
Ben’s golf day was massively successful. Not only were we given an opportunity to share stories about Ben but we all had a great day and we can now contribute to a cause that our family care about. Including donations, money made from the raffle and the blind aucfion, we were able to raise over £3000 which is incredible. So many people worked so hard to ensure everyone had an amazing day, and I am so grateful to be surrounded by such generous, kind and supportive people.

I hope that everyone who came had an amazing day, and I hope that next year is even more successful! 

Update

I can’t exactly justify not posting for over two months, and I hope to start getting into better blogging habits now that I am set in a fairly consistent routine! I thought I would get back into the swing of things with a bit of an update. 

Well first things first, I’ve missed blogging. Having my own place to talk freely was something I hugely enjoyed and not something I had intended to give up! During the summer I have made incredible progress in terms of my M.E. and I am so immensely proud of myself for how far I have come. For the first time in around 3/4 years (I’ve actually begun to lost count) I am back at school pretty much full time! I know for most people returning to school would perhaps be a bit of an anticlimax; a punishment for my hard work instead of a reward, but for me it is the opposite! I love learning, and I am so excited to finally have a chance to reach my full potential academically, without my health holding me back! 

The improvements in my health have changed my life dramatically, and I could not be happier about it. I am able to actually go out and see my friends without my body punishing me for it, and for a long time I never thought that would happen for me. I feel like things are finally falling into place for me after years of very hard work and I only wish my amazing brother was here to see it. I can honestly say without any doubt that I could never have made this progress without Ben cheering me on, his support was uplifting and he believed in me when I no longer believed in myself. It breaks my heart knowing that he isn’t here to feel the joy of seeing me back on my feet, but I promise you Ben, I couldn’t have done this without you.

 

Me and the most supportive boy in my life.

Other than being back at school, I also went to Belfast! Me, my mum, dad and younger sister Olivia had an amazing weekend seeing the sights and spending some time together. There is something truly bizarre about being on a plane for less than an hour, but I’d take that over a long flight any day of the week! We did the bus tour and I now think I’ll do the Glasgow one too, definitely a worthwhile day out! 

    
   
Some pictures from our weekend in Ireland, featuring some very rude men ruining the titanic photo!

Now obviously if I told you everything I have done in over two months I would be here forever, so I thought I would focus on the things that mean the most to me; my progress and my family. 

Hopefully you’ll hear from me more regularly from now on, I definitely have missed posting!