Well what a night it was! Anyone who thinks that people living on the street might be "at it" in certain cases (I was one who might of pre-judged from time to time), should try a Byte Night out!
 
Total respect from my team to anyone forced to live on the streets of the UK, young or old, because this one night turned into one of the hardest experiences of my life to date - in fact harder than the 4 days I spent at altitude walking 4 Alpine glaciers - hand on heart!

And So It Begins!

After a bowl of warm chilli, we ventured out of the Scottish Parliament around 10pm to take up our places in Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, only to be met by rain and wind as soon as we stepped out of the door - great start. After some banter and an auction inside a small marquee, during which we met the beautiful STV weather girl Jean Johansson, it was out in to the field of battle. Off we trudged miserably with our ground sheets and sleeping bags in hand and of course the most essential item, our orange survival bags. Over 100 hardy souls decided to take up the challenge in Edinburgh, how many in the South I wonder, hundreds?

Spirits were high amongst the Bright Purple Noses (our team name!), but maybe that was because the spirits that were drunk to battle the cold were taking affect? Everyone was suitably relaxed and the patter was good and then the wind started to drive in and it was only midnight. Dee decided to sing, it started with 'Stary Stary Night' and actually it was the same song for an hour -  she can be really annoying (but a real star at the same time)! The rain started to fall even heavier and we tried to jockey for positions on the groundsheet - old boy Nick, wisest of the crew, found his strategy had worked and found the middle of the sheet, flanked by Ryan and Claire - natural wind and rain breakers! Mike was snuggled up, cozy in his bag and with his Rick Astley haircut still intact! Dee, well she was still wandering around in her own little world, still singing and annoying everyone who was trying to get what little sleep they could.

3am

We were hit by absolutely driving, torrential rain and the wind was whistling through our flimsy survival bags. Dee told us she needed the bathroom 'again' and Ryan still suffering from jet lag, having just returned from a wedding in Chicago, was trying to keep his eyes shut. However Dee, who decided against sleeping in her sleeping bag, wanted to cuddle in with him - Dee I don't think you realised Ryan's bag was made for just one?

Puddles were now forming fast all around us as the rain continued to fall and one thing you notice when sleeping rough is how noisy it is! Bags rustling, people talking, singing and laughing, snoring, cars passing at a distance, everything just seemed even more noisy. Why is that?
 
5am

The rain was now pounding our position and if we had been in the trenches fighting, we'd have evacuated our post by then, and as expected, that's when there were rumblings of discontent in the Noses camp! Dee still needed the bathroom and now really needed to go! After whining for a few more minutes, Dee raised herself off the groundsheet – rain sodden and headed off. I turned to put my umbrella up, to see Claire now laying off the groundsheet and on the flooded grass- with her head and hat (Steve Tierney's) in a large puddle of water. I thought, wow she might actually drown, but then I thought "tough, I’m too cozy in my own bag – well as cozy as I could be."

 

 

You'll be happy to hear she didn't drown, she did in fact give us all a fit of giggles and as we all realised that the groundsheet was now flooded, we couldn't stop giggling - tiredness maybe? We were all getting wetter the more the rain fell and nothing was going to stop it. Everything was now funny and it didn't even matter when we eventually found Dee's mobile phone laying some way away from us and soaking - that seemed funny as well.
 
Now it became a battle of the strongest, or daftest, to see who'd stay the course and be the last man or woman standing!
 
5:30 am

Now 5:30am.......first off the sheet was Dee, bathroom bound and then Ryan followed, looking shattered. Claire after nearly drowning decided enough was enough. "I'm cold" she exclaimed....as she tried to release herself from her survival bag and 3 times falling backwards in to the puddles. Eventually she managed to drag herself and her gear off towards the marquee in the distance to try and warm up.

 

So it was down to Mike and me, but Mike soon gave up and after a lame excuse about needing the bathroom, it was the old man of the team left laying in his bag and starting to feel soaked? That was because as soon as everyone got up the puddles on the ground sheet started to relocate and I found that now my shoulders were in the water - my jacket was fast becoming a sponge! While still trying to tough it out, I got a visit from Claire, who asked me, "why aren't we going home?”

I lifted my head, rain still falling and looked around the field, people were now getting up and moving about, so it was my turn to vacate the premises. I got out of my bag and stepped in to my Merrills, only to find I was now standing in a giant puddle - feet now wet through................. And it was still raining.

We packed up, the team had a coffee and a bun and we said our goodbyes. Made our way to the car park some distance off and all slumped in to the car - putting the heating to full blast and cranking up the sounds of Madness, Baggy Trousers... it's was nearly 7am.

 

Did we have fun........maybe fun is too strong a word to use, but we got to share an experience together that the 5 of us will be able to talk about in years to come. We did it and we got wet, very wet and yet, we still stuck it out.
 
When I got home, I showered, had a hot breakfast, brushed my teeth and jumped under my duvet - I was exhausted. I thought to myself, how does someone who really is homeless, with absolutely no where to turn, no friends to help, more tired than I could ever imagine, at threat of danger all the time, just do the basic's to get through their day?
 

They don't have an address, so they can't get a job, how do they earn enough to get back on the ladder? This event made me think how lucky my family and I actually are, because my kids are not going to be on a street tonight, hidden under a piece of cardboard, trying to fend off the weather. They are not going to face the day without hot food or a warm bed to sleep in? They are not without friends to call on when they need help.


I would like to say thank you to everyone who has helped my Bright Purple Noses (clients, suppliers, friends, family and colleagues) to reach the financial target we set ourselves and we couldn't have done it without your wonderful support.
 
Finally I would like to offer a very big thanks to 4 very special people, who I am proud to know as my colleagues and my friends, Claire Webster, Dee Tears, Ryan Lynch and Mike Leeman, without them there would have been no Bright Purple Noses. They worked hard to raise money for the needy, they battled the elements on the night, they laughed, they got wet and they definitely got very cold, but they did it - congratulations to each of you, you are all great characters and your efforts have helped others less fortunate than us.

Set a target of £2500 by the Byte Night organisers and Action for Children Scotland, the Noses raised a grand total of £3807!