My plans for @Chelt52...

So as you may have spotted, we're appearing on the @Chelt52 Twitter Handle this week! @Chelt52 is pitched as a 'rotation curation' social media account, with a different Twitter user taking the reins each week and giving an insight into those who live and work in Gloucestershire. Some keep it local and some share more topic-specific stuff, but every single week is different! It's great!

Although I am local (based in Cheltenham), much of what I do, follow and care about has a national footing! Hopefully, the organisers (and you gorgeous @Chelt52 followers) will let me off for giving things a subject / national twist along the way...!

Pretty Bald was launched to raise awareness of Alopecia, change society perceptions of hairloss and importantly, fundraise for charity including Alopecia UK and the Little Princess Trust.

This week, I'll be working to give @Chelt52 followers an insight into what it's like to be a girl without hair, how you can help, what needs to change and importantly what we want to happen. We'll also throw in a sprinkling of the things I love locally and of course other accounts I love to follow!

I hope you enjoy! I'm certainly going to!

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

BBC Radio Gloucestershire tomorrow...

On the morning drivetime show on our local radio station BBC Radio Gloucetershire, Presenter Mark Cummings has created an ingenious feature called 'The Phone With No Home'. It is as you might have guessed, a mobile phone that passes from person to person around the County. Started a few months ago, the phone is given to someone, who answers it at about 8.40am, chats about themselves, then passes it on to the next person and so on and so forth. The process is designed to be organic, and so you get a whole range of individual characters on the show, from local Business People to the owner of a Village shop, a retired person to a young adult. Anyone could answer the phone and what they say really might surprise you!

This feature is one of my faves and I listen to it nearly every morning! I've loved the personal and interesting stories which have been shared along the way and think it is a great way to get to know more about the County!

To my surprise, just over a week ago my friend Glyn text me on Sunday evening, letting me know he'd been given #ThePhoneWithNoHome by his brother and would be appearing on air on Monday morning. He wanted to pass it on to me if I was willing, to be on air on Tuesday! Of course I was! I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for a little more Alopecia Awareness.

So last Tuesday, I proudly answered #ThePhoneWithNoHome (a dream come true for me) and had a quick chat with Mark Cummings. Aside from one or two technical difficulties with signal, and a bit of muddling of words, it went pretty well I think! At least well enough that I can now announce that tomorrow morning, at around 7.15am I will actually be in the BBC Radio Gloucestershire studio sharing more of my story and importantly talking about Alopecia Awareness Month! A perfect way to kick off a month of awareness!

Please tune in tomorrow from about 7am (if you are up) and listen live to the show. If you aren't in Gloucestershire, then you can listen online here.

In the meantime, there are just two things left to do. The first is to thank Glyn from Collett and Holder for giving me the phone, and Gill Parker Sculptor for taking it from me, and the second is to point you in the direction of my stint with #ThePhoneWithNoHome on BBC iPlayer at about 2hr53!

Thanks folks and wish me luck!

Victoria x  

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald

And the Gloucestershire Business Awards Finalists are...

As many of you may have realised, I live and work in Gloucestershire in the South West of the UK, and whilst I have ambition to raise awareness of hairloss across the UK (with some other lovely gents and ladies), I'm also trying to stick my head above the parapet in my local area too!

Anyway, I'm proud to announce that the finalists for the Gloucestershire Business Awards have been decided and that Pretty Bald, together with apt marketing & pr has become a finalist for the “Best Marketing Campaign” category thanks to the success of the Pretty Bald Alopecia Awareness Calendar! Entering these awards is just one way of raising awareness, and even if we don't win, the business and the cause will benefit from local press coverage, as well as greater awareness in the community. Hopefully this will translate into better awareness of hairloss and importantly, more fundraising.

The Gloucestershire Business Awards are a prestigious local event and encourage businesses all over the Gloucestershire county to come together and celebrate their growth and achievements. The annual award ceremony is now in its eighteenth year and Pretty Bald was one of 134 businesses who entered across all the awards categories. We're delighted to be one of four finalists in the “Best Marketing Campaign” category and wish the best of luck to our fellow finalists BAM agency, Barrington Ayre Shirtmaker and Tailor, and Rock the Cotswolds!

The awards will be held at the Cheltenham Racecourse in October with a fancy three course meal and awards presentation... any excuse to buy a new dress and maybe even a new wig!

It’s so exciting! Fingers crossed!

Victoria x

www.prettybald.co.uk Twitter: @PrettyBald