I am a very, very fortunate man indeed.
Andrew presented me with a card this evening. The card contained a list of names and a cheque, and an instruction to “go out there and buy a new camera”.
Circumstances had dictated that I be told that my friends were having a whipround “behind my back” as it were, but never, in my wildest dreams did I think that so many people would chip in, or that you’d all raise such a staggering amount. You’ve raised more than enough to buy me a new camera and to say that I am both touched and grateful is an understatement of some magnitude, but if I attempted to convey the depth of my gratitutde here, we’d all be horribly embarrassed.
So, the plan is this: In the next few days, I am going to go out and buy a new camera, and very importantly, some iron-clad insurance. If anyone so much as looks at the camera funny, I’m going to be claiming dammit!
And because a number people responded to my own plea for aid (which was taken down when I was told so as not to cause embarassment, but not before a number people responded to it), come payday, I am going to match what they donated via paypal and by purchasing prints, and donate the resulting amount (around the 250 pound mark – more details when I can get the money out of paypal and photobox, minus their processing fees) to cancer reseach.
I’ll say again: I am hugely touched, and unbelievably grateful to all of you who’ve helped me out.