My name is Tom Robertshaw and I’m Fundraising Assistant at Breast Cancer Haven. I came on board in early February and when I took the role I was told I had to be dedicated, hard working and that I would have to make certain sacrifices (little did I know at this point what was meant by that!)
On my very first day on the job I had a meeting with Clearsilver about the High Heel-a-thon and I thought it was a fantastic idea. As the meeting went on I heard on numerous occasions my name and high heels uttered in the same breath, but I wasn’t worried because my secret weapon of defence was my size 12 feet! (I didn’t believe in a million years they would be able to find me a pair that size.)
Once the meeting had finished Julie said that we needed to get on the case of finding these elusive size 12 high heels, so I told her “don’t worry it’s on my to do list.” However, I failed to mention I wrote it at the very back of my ‘to do’ list and in the smallest font possible.
As the day of the launch drew closer, Julies hunt for my size 12 heals intensified (some would call it sexual harassment in the work place, but that’s for the courts to decide), but I was quietly confident she would fail in her quest as the days counted down.
Two days leading up to the launch I felt a warm sense of victory in my stomach, to the point where I decided to celebrate with a dose of masculinity by going to see the Gallagher brothers tear it up in Heaton Park, safe in the knowledge that Monday’s morning glory wouldn’t involve me masquerading around Breast Cancer Haven in a pair of elegant size 12’s.
Launch Day. I was the first into the office on the day of the launch and walked in confident of a successful launch with me behind the camera, but I was suddenly frozen to the spot in fear as I saw what sat on my desk. A gargantuan pair of white high heels!! I approached with caution and slowly my fears were confirmed as I made out the number on the sole of each shoe…12! I thought about turning and running in fear of my masculine crucifixion on regional television and also in fear that I might come face-to-face with the lady who these shoes actually belonged to! (You can use your imagination).
Julie then walked in with the smug look of victory on her face and said “told you I’d find a pair”. And true to her word she had. Just as I thought things couldn’t get any worse she dug the knife in deeper with “Have you brought your shorts?” In the space of a minute I had gone from having my own smug look of victory, to realising I would have to swan around in high heels and then the news that I had to get my chicken dippers out as well!
Of course I hadn’t brought shorts, not because I had forgotten but because I doubted Julie’s heel seeking abilities (something I will never to do again!) But this didn’t stop her, she immediately got Izzie, our receptionist to run up to Leeds Market and buy me a pair of shorts and so my fate was sealed.
Fortunately a silver lining appeared in the form of another Tom, the son of our receptionist Deb Hope, who was yet another pawn in Julie‘s painful game of humiliation. He had been drafted in to share the spotlight with me, and with his size 7 feet, finding heels for him was no problem at all.
However, now that there were two of us we felt that we had a bit more power to lobby for rights so we demanded anonymity, which the photography kindly granted us. Knowing this I began to loosen up and even, dare I say it, enjoy myself! (The Gallagher brothers would be ashamed).
Then up rolled the one woman band by the name of Kate from Calendar. As she was setting up her camera and pondering over potential camera shots Tom Hope and I decided it would be a fitting time to discuss the new ‘anonymity’ terms we had drawn up and like music to our ears she agreed. So there we were, strutting our stuff outside the Haven like two divas from the Catwalk, safe in the knowledge that only our Mums may recognise our hairy pins, when I noticed the camera moving dangerously close to our faces. Tom Hope and I gave each other a worried look and asked “What happened to no facial shots?” Kate then looked up from her camera and said with a look of mischief “I lied.”
The following evening I sat waiting for Calendar news to begin with a sense of apprehension over what they would and would not show. I was signed onto my Facebook account and thought about logging out before it began, but decided against it as it would give me an opportunity to measure the ratings. 15 minutes into Calendar and still nothing. ‘Maybe they had decided to cut it out due to some breaking news story’ I mused to myself. Then, just like Kate had promised, Gerri Halliwell’s ‘Look at Me’ began to ring out of my television set and I though ‘here we go!’
The clip probably lasted around 2 minutes but to me at lasted far longer. I literally had beads of sweat on my forehead by the time it had finished (I’m not joking!) Then without fail I saw things happening on my Facebook account, the notification number rose faster than ever before. Surprisingly it wasn’t the boys ripping into me but rather the girls saying how well I did in high heels! (I wasn’t sure how to take this but after much debate I have decided it is a good thing).
The following night in my local pub I was even greeted like a celebrity (all be it a very low budget cross dressing celebrity) and even got 2 drinks bought for my troubles! So was it worth it? I would defiantly have to say yes, as it contributed to what was a very successful launch that will hopefully lead to a very successful fundraising event.
My message to any men interested in taking part in the High Heel-a-thon is go for it! Not only will you raise money for such a wonderful cause but dare I say… you might even enjoy it!
