Sally Gunnell's blog by Sally_Gunnell

I can feel the warm sun on my back and there’s hardly a cloud in the sky; is this the same month that brought us such a deluge of windy rain last week? Apparently… I’m watching my eldest son compete in the South East Schools Cross Country Championships. He’s not happy. There are two reasons: 1; His younger brother has just won his race against boys a year older (the third year in a row that he’s come first); he did it with no training whatsoever. And 2; He’s in the older age bracket and they have to run a lot further, which he clearly doesn’t fancy! We’ll see what happens. One thing’s for sure; he won’t want to listen to his brother bragging about being the only one of them at the National Championships.

On an entirely separate note, do you have a list of things to do before you die? I’ve certainly got some ticks to put in boxes in the next few years. But one I didn’t have on my list was wearing an expensive diamond necklace. I suppose being a farmer’s daughter and a school-run mum, it’s never really crossed my mind. But I did it the other day. Half a million pounds’ worth of rocks round my neck! I was doing an Olympic related photo shoot for BA’s in-flight magazine. They were taking off one of those Vanity Fair photos, featuring a load of athletes in fine clothes. I was lucky enough to get my face and hair done by some seriously good professionals.

I was then handed a Katherine Walker dress; it was so beautiful that I was already feeling a million dollars. Then came the crowning glory; the diamonds. Two burly security guards appeared with a box; they opened it, we all gasped. Half a million pounds’ worth of diamonds look pretty good, I can tell you. I put them on. They were so heavy! And they looked beautiful, setting off my dress perfectly. Sorry, it’s all getting a bit girly! It wasn’t that girly in reality, mainly because Linford Christie was there. He’s so funny (and so rude) that we were all laughing in a very “blokey” way. Roger Black was there with Kris Akabusi, Iwan Thomas and Christine Ohuruogu.

The photographer deserved a medal; we were supposed to be all stern and serious, but as you might imagine, we were tittering and mucking about like schoolkids. And then, another experience to tick off the list; losing your diamonds. The security guards took them back and into the box they went. I’ve heard women say you feel naked with no diamonds on, but always thought it was a bit silly. Not any more. Less than two hours after losing my rocks, I was at the school parents’ evening with my kids. People were looking at me and smiling and I suddenly realized I was still sporting my fancy hairdo and make-up. Slightly different from the “school-run scarecrow” look that they usually get…