Last month I had a grand old time in London town for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, so thought I’d tell my fellow mucky nutters a bit more about it.
It all started earlier in the year when I was invited to register for the awards. Somewhat sceptical at first (must be the grumpy northerner in me), I was persuaded to throw my hat in the ring by my better half, Heather. And I’m well chuffed that she did!
There were numerous award categories to choose from but the one that stood out was ‘Made in the UK’. All Mucky Nutz products are made in the UK and have been since day one, and we think that's bloody marvelous!
Off the entry went and I thought no more of it until a few weeks later. An email dropped saying I’d been shortlisted and invited to attend the finals in London. Wow! WTF! Okay, that’s far more than I was expecting, so might have had the odd tipple that evening.
The awards were held at the luxurious Grosvenor House Hotel and would bring together over 1,200 entrepreneurs from across the UK. Fortunately, Heather spent many a year living and working in London so took great pleasure in organising the whole shebang: booking transport, accommodation and arranging drinks with friends, old and new. And what a fantastical time we had. On the day of the awards, we enjoyed a pleasant winter’s day meandering the streets of London, inadvertently looking at every bike for Mucky Nutz fenders and being entertained by the resident squirrels of St James’s Park, looking for nuts and getting too close to mine. I was obviously enjoying myself too much as it was soon time to get back to the hotel, put our faces on and scrub up for the evening.
Being fashionably late for the awards, we missed reception drinks but did manage to find our seats before opening speeches began. With table chat, dinner, and plenty of red wine flowing the evening was set and the awards began. Category after category, nominees, and winners were announced. It was great to see so many people in one room having fun and simply enjoying themselves. And then our table had a winner... a huge congrats to Helen and Matthew Goddard for taking the Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year award - Decorating Centre Online (https://www.decoratingcentreonline.co.uk/)! We were all in high spirits and more drinks fell.
Now slightly pickled, the Made in the UK category was announced. I remember my name and Mucky Nutz being mentioned and the table going mental! I thought it a bit much for simply announcing the nominees, but I got it wrong... They were announcing the winner! Shocked but absolutely buzzing, we went to collect the award. What a feeling! Photos and drinks continued and my intoxicated face had a smile from ear to ear, which broke, now and again, to release confuzzled laugher and words of bemusement.
After much merriment and celebrations, the evening came to a close and we said our goodbyes, with everyone returning back to their corner of the UK, us included.
It was a whirlwind couple of days and something I’ll look back on and cherish forever. I’m thankful to Team Mucky Nutz, our suppliers, distributors, resellers, GBEA, the judges, and you, mucky nutters, who use and endorse our products day in, day out, for making it possible. The recognition gives me and the team appetite for more success. So, watch this space for more products and news.
AUTHOR - SHANE