Mark Foster's blog by Mark_Foster

Hello everyone. Well I've had quite a week with some good work and great fun, but another back injury which stopped me doing my London to Brighton bike ride!! I was really disappointed, but more on that later. Last week kicked off with London Fashion Week and although hardly a fashionista, I was invited to the Men's Day last Wednesday. And as my mate Gavin Myall (my Agent from Roost, London) knows everybody especially the people from The Fashion Council, I got to see some weird and wonderful shows and had the best seats in the house. I was invited to James Long at Somerset House which is a great venue and it was more like going to an art show. The clothes were a bit whacky and obviously not made for people like me to wear. But as people explained to me, these shows are about cut, design, colour and just a way to show a new view on traditional clothes and it was all about being inventive. The show was certainly that!

The next venue was the Savoy and the E. Tautz show, designed by Patrick Grant. This was more my style and all about traditional tailoring Saville Row style. I really enjoyed it. I then went on to the Top Shop show at the Royal Opera House which was a fantastic setting. Sir Phillip Green was there although not wearing his own brand strangely enough. But as I said these clothes are not made for people my age or his! Great show though. The women at The British Fashion Council, Louise, Hillary and Caroline were really friendly and fun and it was a great day hanging out with them. And after a day of watching these shows I can understand why British Fashion is still at the forefront of design. And it’s fascinating to watch another industry from the inside and see designers, models and photographers in action.

Now how about this for a job? As part of my work with Lloyds I was asked to have lunch with competition winners and accompany them on a flight over the Olympic Park. Yes that was really it! I drove to a hotel in north London, and met with the competition winners (although I felt like the real winner). The conversation was broken by the sound of a very sleek helicopter, as it appeared out the sky and dropped straight in front of the hotel (now how cool is that..) Unfortunately (or fortunately) the helicopter could only take up to 6 people, 5 passengers and the pilot. Well as there were 8 winners, I had to go up twice! I know hard work, and thank god I'm not scared of heights!! The weather could not have been better, blue skies and not a cloud in sight. The journey to the park took about 4 minutes. It would have taken an hour and a half in a car! Oh the joys of flying.

As I now live in north London, I knew lots of the landmarks we flew over, White Hart Lane on the way down and The Emirates on the way back. The Olympic Park is amazing; to see how far it has come from mud! The Aquatics Centre is obviously my favourite, the "Stingray" as it is known, but all the venues are great. It’s all taking shape and only a year to the greatest show on earth. I explained to the winners about the venues and what was going on in each of them, the names to look out for and how well I saw team GB doing because I really do rate their chances. After flying over the park, we flew up the Thames, past Greenwich Park, home of the equestrian events at the Olympics, over Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge and up to the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. I know the landmarks and route so well from the ground, but this a real insight into how London is made up.

I also always forget how green London is, Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Green Park. What a fantastic City London is!! On the way back up to north London, en route to the hotel which was by Cockfosters and the M25, you can see exactly what the green belt is all about and how we should fight to keep it. After landing and getting my land legs back it was lunch and a chat. I am always amazed and pleased at how interested everyone is in the Olympics and the Olympic Experience; life in the village, the racing and of course my proudest moment, carrying the flag!! It was a great day, a great bunch of people and what an experience for me! I hope they enjoyed it too.

Now for the downer for the week. I am sorry to announce that an hour before I set off on the bike ride to Brighton, my back gave way again and I couldn't even get on my bike let alone ride it. I felt really gutted as I had been training for the ride for weeks and looking forward to the challenge, plus so many of you had supported me. I am pleased though that John, the chair of ICT did complete the ride along with my mate Iain Thwaites and his partner Kassie. They also did it a staggering 5 hours which was really good going. Well done guys and thanks for picking up the slack. Now I know that many of you supported me personally ,so I have decided to donate to ICT as compensation and if any if you want your money back just ask and it will be sorted. I will reimburse the fund to make sure that the charity doesn't lose out. Again really gutted that I couldn't do the ride but pleased that the others did and raised a lot of money for such a good cause. Thanks for supporting it though, I know they do great work and I will continue to support them too. For more info on the charity visit their website. I do hope everyone is enjoying this amazing weather!! Until next week..........