To Christopher Vickers-Jones and Thea Hunter
Contents
Title Page
Foreword
Lara Agnew
Ben Anderson
Gemma Atkinson
Matt Beaumont
Dave Berry
Manish Bhasin
Jeff Brazier
Amy Brookbanks
John Broome
Michael Butcher
Jo Carnegie
Alan Carr
Lucie Cave
Sarah Cawood
Chico
Brendan Cole
Jenny Colgan
James Corden
Tracey Cox
Lewis Crofts
James Crossley
Jason Cundy
Liz Cundy
Ann Daniels
Jakki Degg
Emma Donnan
Stella Duffy
Matt Dunn
Richard Dunwoody
Mark Eccleston
Jenni Falconer
Georgina Fienberg and Mama Laadi
Liz Fuller
Mike Gayle
Jacqueline Gold
Phil Greening
Zoe Griffin
Ashley Hames
Georgina Harland
Kate Harrison
James Haskell
Michelle Heaton
Lauren Henderson
Lucy-Anne Holmes
Humfrey Hunter
Steve Kemsley
Sophie Kinsella
Karen Krizanovich
Amanda Lamb
Kate Lawler
Jason Leonard
Lara Lewington
Rebecca Loos
Valentine Low
Ewen MacIntosh
Penny Mallory
Chris Manby
James Mannion
Sharon Marshall
Lisa Maxwell
Martel Maxwell
Jake Meyer
Jamie Murray Wells
Lembit Opik
Mark Parker
Charlie Parsons
Marie Phillips
Natalie Pinkham
Owen Pritchard
David Quantick
Heidi Range
Dan Rookwood
Simon Rouse
Raphael Rowe
Emma Samms
Paola dos Santos
Tony Schiena
Alice von Simson
Grub Smith
Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor
Brian Turner
Giles Vickers Jones
James Walsh
Clare Wigfall
Eddie Young
Acknowledgements
Copyright
In May 2007, we sat down over a couple of beers and started kicking around a few ideas for books we could do together. A few pints later the idea for The Best Day Of My Life was born. A few pints after that, it was nearly forgotten. But luckily we’d written down enough to be able to remember our main objective: to produce a book full of true stories which were special to the people who wrote them and which would become special to those who read them.
Then we set a few ground rules which we would break only in exceptional circumstances, such as no weddings, no births and no sporting events. Inevitably, we broke them and the stories about these things which have made the book are particularly good, for reasons which will become clear when you read them. But a word to those wives and husbands who will be irritated to see that their loved one chose to write about a day other than their wedding: you can blame us. It was our decision, not theirs.
We decided early on to do the book in conjunction with a charity so that contributors would have a good reason to open up to us. Profits from this edition will go to AfriKids, a truly remarkable child rights organisation which works to improve life for Ghana’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. AfriKids’ work ranges from the more traditional children’s projects including foster homes, schools and street child centres to more groundbreaking initiatives which tackle complex cultural issues including child trafficking, child labour and the spirit child phenomenon. Its aims are to listen to what the community knows it needs, empower them to make the necessary changes themselves and to ensure absolute sustainability. For more information, please see www.afrikids.org and read the story in this book by Georgina Fienberg, who founded AfriKids.
As the stories began to arrive, we noticed something very interesting, which was that they were not all about a single day in isolation. Some were – and are brilliant for it – but of the rest many refer to one precise day as either the end of an especially difficult period of their lives or the moment when months or even years of hard work began to pay off. We decided very quickly that those stories were just as valid and they are now among the most poignant of them all for obvious reasons.
There are some incredible bits of work in this book and we don’t just say that because we had the idea and put the thing together. The stories are extraordinary and we are sure everyone who reads them will find something in there to either inspire them, make them smile, make them cry or even just help them pass a few pleasant minutes on the loo.
On a serious note, wherever you read these stories, remember that each and every one is true and reveals something very personal about the person who wrote it. So please don’t rush through and only pick up the superficial details. Re-read the stories and be sure to take everything in because that is how you will get the most out of them. These stories are a truly unique insight into some extraordinary days and lives. We are very proud of them.
Enjoy the book.
Giles and Humfrey