Island Life by David Slack

It was a bloody good night. So many people from different sides of different fences all coming together for a wonderful cause, helping a guy and his family because we have known him (or friends invited them along) for a long or short time and he has influenced us all.

It was a priviledge to be part of it. My praises go to those who organised it and donated stuff, but most of all it goes to Russell for exposing himself and his family to all of us for a great cause. It takes real bravery and passion to do what he did - it made it easy to contribute.

Not to say I don't always love my job as a PR strumpet (because I do - go the dark side!), but last night really topped it all...

The most poignant moment for me was halfway through one of the Clean's most epic of tracks (Point That Thing?) when I was getting all nostalgic and emotional (as oft happens with The Clean) - and I glanced over to see Russell with his arms around Fiona, both sporting the world's most enormous grins. Magic. As Morrissey might say, my cheeks were moist.

Thanks all. The calculations are yet to be finalised but I can tell you an *incredible* amount was raised for Russell and family. People are pretty wonderful sometimes. xxx

And it's not every Monday night you get to catch The Clean at The Windsor Castle! A great night. Well done to all the organisers. :-)

A wonderful night for me too, and a very interesting crowd - like the Great Blend but shinier:).

A wonderful night. I hope Russell understands there really are a large number of folks who want only the best for him and his family. My personal gratitude stems from the time I spent in Texas where Russell's Hard News was just about the only real touch of NZ I could get, for that time and so many thought provoking posts since last night was not even the smallest thanks.

My moment of the night...

Russells speech! That needs to be transcribed and posted, it was simply beautiful - a testament to his writing skills and it so clearly came from the heart.

cheers
Bart

Noticed when I got home I had ticket number 1, now that will be kept for posterity:).

Russells speech! That needs to be transcribed and posted, it was simply beautiful - a testament to his writing skills and it so clearly came from the heart.

I was pretty relieved once I'd done it, to be honest. Several people have asked about posting the speech, but I'll want to edit it a bit before I do that. Our kids live in a world where their peers use the internet, so there's the matter of their privacy to consider.

I'll post some more on it all soon. But for now, wow, what a lovely and unique evening. Thanks everyone.

I've known Russell since ICONZ was an ISP in a broom cupboard in Airedale Street. He has always been part of my online life.

I'm in the same boat - as I was working at ICONZ at the time (yay the Chris/Kim/Terry/Rowan/etc days :)), and I've bumped into him at IDG too, when I was contracting there.

I'm still yet to met a nicer bloke out of the list of people I dont know really well.

Hardnews on bFM was a reason to get up on a friday morning in my last year of uni (no lecturers on fridays :) ), and I look forward to getting it on PA now.

Pity I live in welli and couldn't come. :( Oh, well - I bought a virtual ticket anyway :)

So, Russell - thanks. I can't really say any more than that without giving you a handshake or a big hug ;-)

However, I'm still curious as to the discussion between you and Kim Schienberg at the ICONZ wake..... if you wanna spill (maybe not here)..... :)

Ah, nice it went well. I don't know about anyone else, but I've been involved in a few fundraisers that didn't quite live up to expectations despite a worthy cause and an incredible amount of good will and hard work. It's pretty hard to just shrug your shoulder and say 'shit happens, move on' under circumstances like that.