December 2017 – Oh What A Night!
What an amazing night and such a humbling experience. I have worked so hard over the past 6 months and have doubted myself at every turn. All of the amazing people I have met, both as estate agency contestants and professional dancers, have all encouraged me to keep going.
I was undertaking this “task” for 2 simple reasons:
1. To raise money for my beautiful sister Jan, diagnosed with terminal cancer and rapidly going downhill, but under the super care of Norwich Hospital’s Big C centre.
2. To come back from back injury which has stopped me from being a ‘morning runner’ and ‘fitness fanatic’ and left me barely able to walk some days, and piling on the pounds due to lack of exercise.
To top it all off I broke my toe about 2 months into training, and despite being told to stay off the foot, I have learnt how to strop the toe and plaster it with painkiller gel while I dance in heels that are way too high for me!
So on the day, I was determined to beat the nerves and enjoy the experience, and that is exactly what I did. I had a table of great friends to support me and was drawn in 2nd to the last place, so had a long anxious wait whilst my fabulous fellow contestants danced their hearts out. In fact, some of the judges’ comments were quite harsh, I started to wonder what the hell I was in for!
Of course, at my age (53) my bladder doesn’t like a long wait. I had been squeezed into a dress way too small for me, on top of flesh tights, Spanx and fishnets – all of which went a cropper when, 2 mins before my turn, I had to sprint to the loos downstairs, rip off my undergarments and empty a rather full bladder. Tights all ripped, I danced bare legged, much to the dismay of my professional partner (who thought I was sorely under-dressed!!).
Walking onto the floor arm in arm with 2 handsome chaperones, to a full table of friends cheering and displaying “10” paddles (courtesy of my good friend Richard Palfreeman’s (of Northfields) guests) I really did think “this is it, dance your heart out!” and that is exactly what I did.
WOW adrenalin rush! Here you go:
Thank you to everyone involved, you are all amazing! Thank you to Agents Giving for making me do this (And Lynn from LCA Jobs!!).
Special thanks to my amazing dance teacher Chris from Wright Rhythm Dance School in Enfield.
Jane Gardner
I work all over the UK with various business owners, dedicating my creative and expert property knowledge from 35 years in the industry. I am a Level 4 ARLA Propertymark examiner, I sit on the board of Agents Giving Charity and I love everything property related! I can be contacted on 01923 627777 or by email to jane@social-angels.co.uk
