The day started like most in the last 20 years. The alarm went off and in kicked the lengthy hair routine of shampoo, conditioner, then blow dry and straighten. Then it hit me – this would be the last time I would need to do all that. As in just a few hours time I was having my head shaved.

I agreed I would shave off my hair if at least £1,000 was raised for our WaterAid trek Madagascar. Within two weeks that amount was smashed. There was a little bit of “remain” voting along the way, but the “hexits” clearly had it!

On the day of the big chop I was a little nervous at the reality of what was going to happen. It was also going to be my debut of live streaming on Facebook so all my friends and family could watch it real time. So no pressure then (particularly as no tech support a la Chris Cowan on hand).

The event took place at work in our ground floor open plan area.  There was a massive crowd of colleagues who came along to support and cheer me on. There were also people watching from the balcony above. Together creating an electric atmosphere.

I was in very safe scissor hands as my hair dresser, Becky, (from Tonic) kindly came into work so the job could be done professionally. She put my hair into a plaited pony tail first. Then out came the shears to cut it off. This was the point of no return! The sound of the blades cutting through my hair was scary. The crowd was deathly silent, with eyes and mouths wide open as they watched. The rest all happened really quickly – hair tumbling down my shoulders onto the floor. Then the dreaded clippers came out and off came the rest. It was reassuring to see the look of shock in the crowd’s faces turn to smiles as my transformation was complete.

The whole experience was absolutely amazing. I was blown away with the amount of support, encouragement and generosity of family, friends and colleagues. A humongous £1,935.75 was donated for this fund raising event. The money will be going to WaterAid projects directly within Madagascar, transforming people’s lives by giving them access to clean water, hygiene education and sanitation.

The pony tail of hair that was cut off at the start, measuring nearly 30cms, is being donated to the Little Princess Trust. It’s a children’s cancer charity that makes wigs out of human hair.

As for me – I’m getting used to the new look and surprisingly getting lots of complements. I’ve shaved loads of time off my morning routine, giving me a longer lie in. Plus it’s going to be ideal for basic camping when we get to Madagascar.

Talking of which – just 5 weeks to go. More about how the preparation’s going in the next blog. In the meantime, if you want to make a donation to our fundraising visit our Justgiving page.