We’ve been talking a lot today about breaking records in the office and it reminded me of Roy Castle. Roy was a dancer, singer, musician and television presenter. He played jazz trumpet (amongst other instruments) and, in 1972, he first presented Record Breakers, a children’s show, where he remained host for over twenty years. He recorded the theme song for the show himself and, while presenting the show, he broke nine world records, including (according to Wikipedia):
- Fastest tap-dance – 1,440 taps per minute – 24 taps per second, set on 14 January 1973 (a record that has, to date, never been bettered)
- Longest wing walk – 3 hours, 23 minutes
- Playing the same tune on 43 different instruments in four minutes
He was awarded an OBE on 31 December 1992, almost a year after his lung cancer diagnosis. He was not expected to live more than six months but died in September 1994. He was a host of Record Breakers right up until a few months before his death, alongside Norris and Ross McWhirter, Fiona Kennedy and Cheryl Baker. Cheryl Baker took over the hosting of the show and was joined by former athlete Kriss Akabusi. Record Breakers continued for 29 years until 2001 and is one of Britain’s longest-running shows.
We have broken records today with the largest amount of signed for mail we have ever received in one day. Chief-in-Charge of Post (Dawn) was a little bit shell-shocked this morning! And not only that, a myth has been busted…. Over the years, when I meet new people at networking events, they often say things like “I’d love to do what you do!” or “Can you find me some money?!“. More often than not, I laugh and say that it is highly doubtful that I would be able to find them money which is owed to them on an estate. Wrong!!!!
A while ago, I met a young lady locally who had just been made redundant and was setting up her own business. She was new to networking but since our meeting, her name often appears ‘in dispatches’. Today, her name appeared on some research case notes as the daughter of a potential beneficiary. I am not sure who was more surprised, her or me, to have the conversation we had earlier today. Suffice to say, contact has been made with some of the potential beneficiaries and we are meeting up later this week!
It just goes to show: small world. And myths can be busted….!
