Afternoon.
Having cleared this with Eddie, I am now throwing myself upon your mercy to help me make a project I’ve got a success. Please take a few minutes to read through this as I hope it can turn into something special.
The Plan:
With apologies to stefaulkner, as this somewhat steps on the toes of his Holiday watch thread, I hope to send a watch around the world. Not so much in terms of exotic holidays but more unique experiences. It’ll be in circulation for a little over a year then shall be auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity, (The fundraiser will be seeing a share).
The Reason:
As some of you may know, my cousin lost a close family member last year. His name was Matthew Hadden and you can read about him here.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/new...ncer__aged_28/
I only met him once or twice but think him to be a rather inspirational chap. Sat over a beer with my cousin one night, we got to talking about doing something in his memory. This was where the idea of TakeTime took shape.
The Concept:
The fundraising element of this is almost secondary. The main force behind TakeTime is to raise awareness of a message that was close to Matthew’s heart.
It sounds silly, but how many of us actually take time out to appreciate what we have? To do something for no other reason than it makes us happy?
A walk through the park. Sitting in the back garden and listening to birdsong. Picking up the phone and giving your old aunt a ring.
In the most part, we keep our heads down and slog away, trundling through life with some hopeful notion that we’ll have all the time in the world once we retire.
Nothing wrong with hard work and ambition but it’s all about perspective. Ask a room full of young university graduates what they want out of life and you’ll likely hear answers like ‘A 6 bed house’ or ‘A Ferrari’
Ask the same question to a group of patients in a hospice. Which do you think will have a better handle on what matters?
Perhaps it is better summed up in Mathews own words:
“Look after yourself and your well-being, mentally and physically – make sure you talk about any issues with the right people.
“Value life because there’s not enough of it – appreciate seeing friends, eating your favourite meal with family, going to the cinema.
“Put your phone down, go out for a walk and appreciate the silly things, go dancing with your friends and engage with your community.
The Watch:
I had a loose wish list for the watch, 200M+ WR, tough enough to take a few bangs, suitable for use on a NATO for security. I popped in to my local watch shop to see what they stocked with those criteria and an amazing thing happened. One of the owners basically told me to pick out anything I liked, and it would be on them. Completely free of charge. This is a shop that sells Omega / Breitling etc so to say I was blown away was an understatement.
I thought about which watch Matthew would choose for himself. Not too flashy, good quality and decent value. There was only really one answer in my mind, a Seiko.
True, an Omega might have brought in more at auction but as said above, it’s about Matthew’s message first and foremost, (also wasn’t keen on the risk involved in sending an Omega or Breitling around the world!)
Perusing the range, there was a standout model for me:
A splash of colour in the bezel, an iconic design and looks great on a NATO.
A quick visit to the engravers to add a little touch personal to Matthew and we were sorted!
The Hope:
I’d love to get this watch as far as possible. To do all the things Matthew didn’t get the chance to do. I want it scuba diving. I want it up a mountain. I want it flying a plane across the Atlantic. Anything you can think of that might spread the message, please put it forward.
At this stage, it’s more an expression of interest and once I can see what’s what, I’ll get together some kind of plan.
I think it would be appropriate to auction the watch off on June 18th 2019, (Matthew’s 30th) so we have plenty of time to make this amazing.
Thanks:
Firstly, to CS Bedfords of Ruislip who donated the watch. Often with watch buying, it becomes a race to the bottom, finding the cheapest price from some faceless internet company. I think sometimes the value of a face to face deal, where relationships are built over time gets forgotten. They have also told me they will contact Seiko UK to see if they will put their online might behind the project.
Obviously, a massive thanks to Eddie. He has nurtured this amazing community and this sort of thing just simply wouldn’t exist with out it. Members of TZ have already been more than generous in relation to Matthew’s fundraising page also.
Also, thanks for those of you that have got this far! I know it’s a long thread but hopefully one worth finishing.
Finally, thanks to Matthew himself. He has instilled in me my new Mantra ‘Value life because there’s not enough of it.
Matthew Hadden: June 18th 1989 – December 6th 2017.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
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Originally Posted by Mr Curta
We are very fortunate in that respect and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunities that we've been given. We're conscious that our circumstances will change and we try to make the most of any situation. Matthew Hadden's inspirational outlook highlights how important it is to appreciate what you have, where you are and who you are with, at all times.
