I should be so lucky

Last night I took part in the CEO Sleep out in Cardiff and had what I think was officially the worst nights sleep ever! It was however for a very good cause and it has really brought home to me how incredibly hard it must be to sleep out regularly and how desperate it would be to have to do so.

Here are my thoughts and lessons from the experience.

Despite the soup and pies (luxuries that would not be available to those sleeping out for real) I started to get cold quite early on so put on a few more layers. Just after midnight I retreated to my sleeping bag in the hope that this might warm me up a bit more. I did not think I would ever get to sleep; I was so uncomfortable and cold. I kept wriggling around in the sleeping bag to find a comfortable and warm position but failed.

Others were still up and I did contemplate giving up trying to sleep and joining whoever it was but must have eventually dozed off and getting back out of the sleeping bag seemed like too much of an effort. I remember hearing the clock bell ring at 1am, 2am and 3am. I may have missed the 4am but was awake by 4.40am (in need of the loo) so only dozed off intermittently.

As well as the cold and discomfort of a hard surface, it was very disconcerting to have people walking around near me. This was despite the safe environment we were in and the camaraderie of the brave souls involved in the event. I took my boots off and could not help thinking that if I was doing this for real, that would be a dangerous thing to do. I would be paranoid about my meagre belongings and particularly about my boots and would also feel very unsafe and vulnerable.

In some respects we were lucky with the weather in that it did not rain. I could feel a few spots of rain a couple of times but fortunately it did not amount to anything. The thought of getting wet as well as being cold was horrendous, as was the thought of having to try to move my pitch to a more sheltered spot in the “glamping” area.

As I dozed in and out of sleep, each time I woke I could hear the sounds of the city, sirens and traffic and late night revellers in and outside of the castle grounds (including dan Langford with his pies). Every time I opened my eyes I was greeted with a view of a concrete surface through the tiny gap between hat, scarf and sleeping bag, not pleasant although no doubt far better than the places the homeless would have to sleep.

When I finally had to give in to the urge to go to the loo, the effort of getting my aching bones out of the sleeping bag and putting my boots back on was enormous. I woke up to an aching neck, legs and back. However I did have the option of a proper toilet (and not too bad a one at that) to go to, again this would no doubt be very different in reality for others.

After the loo trip, I decided not to bother to try to get any more sleep so found a couple of others who were also awake and the luxury of a warmish cup of coffee. I the waited for the rest of the gang to surface and for the clock to tick slowly towards proper coffee and flapjacks time (thanks to Coffee A Go Go) and towards 6am when I was allowed home.

I do still feel really knackered and my bones are aching but I am now feeling a bit of a fraud; whilst it was not a pleasant experience I can not help reflecting on how much worse it would be for those who do not have the choice of a warm home to retreat to after one night. I am so lucky (and yes luck does have a lot to do with it) to have been able to:-

• be picked up by a loved one and have a family to return,
• to have a long soak in a warm bath,
• a few more cups of coffee and bacon sandwich,
• wash my hair and clean my teeth,
• have a few hours kip in a comfortable bed,
• slob on the sofa and put the heating on,
• not to worry about where I am going to sleep tonight or the night after that,
• not to worry about where my next meal is coming from.

if you have not already done so do please donate via my just giving page at

http://www.justgiving.com/Alison-Love2

The funds are going to the following charities to help those who are not so lucky and who have to deal with far worse hardships than I suffered last night.

Llamau (for homeless young people and vulnerable women, Cardiff Food Bank and Service Leavers Wales (to help ex-service personal who are suffering hardship and unemployment).

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