149-My Special Surprise announcement

I have always thought that if you want something done, get it clear in your head what you want to do, and give it a crack, but my special surprise announcement is too important to be blase, so I employed the services of a professional, and the result is awesome.

I started working on my surprise in January with a view to having it ready for Give it a crack, 2014, and I had high hopes and expectations back then, but the finished product is better than I dared to dream. There are less than 10 people in the world who know what the surprise is, so I can't give any clues, but all will be revealed at Give it a crack on November 12 where this mystery item will be auctioned off. 

If you'd like to see what the event is all about, go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_6n4pYVnDNZUFJN0dEaE5aVTdiYnZkTFExNU5mVDhQR$30 sXkw/edit?usp=sharing, - I will be auctioning off my secret surprise item on the night. Tickets are $30 and are available at: http://sa2.seatadvisor.com/sabo/servlets/TicketRequest;jsessionid=4967D57F8E1AC69B8E3C3D6B53E53711?eventId=100729193&presenter=AUCENTURY&venue=&event=&version=

75% of money raised will go to the Pennant Hills AFL club

148-wedding thank you

I have never had an idea of what I'd want my "fairy-tale wedding" to look like, but if I did, what's about to happen this Sunday when I marry the woman I love, is exactly what it would look like. Nothing just happens in wedding planning, and we want to thank all the people who have made it all come together for Angela and I.

2 of the most important people in our planning have been our sisters, Angela's sister Christine and my sister Ashley. Christine has organised Angela's hens weekend and a "henna night" that have made Angela feel like the Egyptian goddess she is, and Ashley, an event planner by trade has given us checklists & templates, and has given timing & supplier advice to make sure nothing needs to be sweated over on the day.

Our parents, Ross & Denise and Mary have provided every bit of support either of us have needed, but most importantly, they've all given us their undying love.

The bridal party, Angela's girls Christine, Lina, Sarah and Ashley have been by Angela's side to give her whatever she needs at the time, and my boys Adam, Lachlan, Adrian and Andrew have been...my boys. Nothing has been too much to ask for any of the bridal party.

Our flower girls, Charlie, Mia and Sienna and our page boys, AJ, Yohan, Oscar, Hugo, Peter and Kiaan - we are honored to have you guys as part of our day, and we can't wait to see you all walk down the aisle. One of the most important roles of the day is our Queen of the kids, Mary Kyrillos who will walk down the aisle with the page boys and flower girls.

Our Priest, Father Matthew has been guiding us through everything we need to know about getting married in the Coptic church - he has been friendly, flexible & helpful, and we are thankful that he will be the man in charge at our wedding ceremony.

The generosity of people who have offered their time or expertise has humbled Angela and I, things that would have been impossible are now reality and the day wouldn't have been half as spectacular without their help. Luke & Lauren from Turneraround photography, Brooke Khouri from Vesna Grasso florist, Ash Mansour - wedding car rental, Ash Turner - Gorgeous Hair & Make Up Studio, Emmanuel Kelly - entertainer, Lillian Botros, Christine Shaw, Janine Pensini & Donny Daboul, Marg and Ray Miles, Magdy Kyrillos, Andrew Botros, Mary Andrawis Megalaa, Germeine Albert & Castro Shehata, Yvette Francis, Ian Parker & Judy Jack.

If I have forgotten to thank anyone, please remember that my memory is like Dory from Finding Nemo these days - I have turned up to work twice on days off, so don't take any offence, as my Grandmother used to tell me "A slip of the tongue is no fault of the mind."

My future wife, Angela and I are so thankful and humbled by the lengths our family and friends are going to to ensure our wedding is going to be the most beautiful day everybody there has been a part of, and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

147-Goosebumps after reading testimonial from Hills Grammar student

A good mate of mine recently told me that one of my best personality traits was my modesty, but given this is the third day in a row I am blogging with a testimonial from someone talking me up, he might need to reassess his opinion.

Reading this testimonial from a student who was at the speech I gave at my old high school gave me goosebumps, as some of the things the young lady took out of my speech were EXACTLY what I was hoping audiences would walk away with. Words like "real," "beautiful" & "motivational" are words I'd use to promote my speaking, so to come unprompted from a school student is pretty humbling.

Here is the testimonial: 

"I was one of the students in the very front row at the Hills Grammar Sports Evening and your speech was extremely motivational and real. You had a beautiful way to touch people’s hearts, what you have been through is absolutely horrific yet amazing. Your speech thought me never to give up not matter what because there is somebody that is always worse off! This has come at a perfect time as I prepare for my yearly exams, as I get sick and tired of study I think back to what you said ‘life is for living, go play in the puddles’ I finished my study for the day now and go and have fun for the rest of the day and enjoy myself. Because this is the oldest I have ever been and the youngest I will ever be!
Thanks so much for the inspirationxxx"

146-Give it a Crack to be MC'd by former life saving surgeon

Comedians have been booked for Give it a Crack, and they will be led by a really funny Aussie bloke with a really moving story to tell.

Andrew Barnett will MC this years Give it a Crack at Sydney's comedy Store on November 12, and he brings with him not only a brand of good natured Aussie hilarity, but a history of performing life saving surgery on malnourished African children.

When you see Andrew on stage, your first thought will almost certainly be "I want to go and have a beer with this bloke," but he has more layers than Shrek. Andrew spent the first years of his medical career in Africa, treating children suffering the effects of malnutrition, but after seeing his first episode of Letterman, he gave up his promising medical career, and is now one of Australia's most sought after comedians, and he will be hosting a huge talent pool of raw comedians at Give it a Crack.

If you'd like to see what the event is all about, go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_6n4pYVnDNZUFJN0dEaE5aVTdiYnZkTFExNU5mVDhQR$30 sXkw/edit?usp=sharing, - I will be auctioning off a secret surprise item. Tickets are $30 and are available at: http://sa2.seatadvisor.com/sabo/servlets/TicketRequest;jsessionid=4967D57F8E1AC69B8E3C3D6B53E53711?eventId=100729193&presenter=AUCENTURY&venue=&event=&version=

The talent pool includes:

Paige Hally

Showed off her eclectic mix of observational comedy and deadpan humor in a recent co-production of "Intern Funeral"

Geoffrey Windle

started stand-up comedy in 2009, going on to win the Queensland State Finals for the [Melbourne International Comedy Festival and] Triple J RAW Comedy and Green Faces Comedy Competitions in 2010, also coming runner up at the RAW Comedy National Final.

Gearard McGeown & Tom Cashman 

Raw Comedy State Finalists and stars of Two guys, a girl, one cup

145-"best motavational speech I have ever heard" - more feedback from Hills Grammar speech

When I started doing motivational speaking, I wanted to offer something different - I wanted to tell a real story about a real bloke who, after he got knocked down, didn't want to come back and conquer the world, he just wanted to give 100% to what was in front of him so he could get back to being a real bloke again - and after speaking at my old high school last night, I think the message is getting through.

I've got 2 unprompted comments about my speech last night, both from mothers who both said the speech had a big impact on their children. I posted the first comment in an earlier blog, but this one blew me away, so I thought I'd share it:  

"I was at the presentation last night and that was the best motavational speech I have ever heard.  It really highlighted the important things if life and I know it really hit home with my teenage daughter. Thank you." 

144-Making Hills Grammarians proud of giving 100%

After speaking at The Hills Grammar School's sports presentation night last night, the head of School Council told me that "if silence was an indicator of a speech's success, you nailed it." Then when I got home, there was a note from one of the mothers present, saying "That was a brilliant speech...THANK YOU! Brilliant," and I realised my message had hit home.

I was trying to get the message across that sport can be more important in life than you may realise at the time - nobody can predict what the future has in store though, so all anyone can do is give 100% to the task in front of you and be proud of yourself.

I left the kids with one thought - if you think you've been hard done by in sport, or in life, remember that rain falls on the just and the unjust alike, but there comes a time when you just have to get over it and go and play in the puddles.

143-shaping the next generation of Hills Grammarians

I had no idea that all the experiences I had at school were shaping me into who I was, my views were simple at the time - I thought some things were cool and others sucked, but as I prepare to give a speech at my old high school tomorrow night, I feel like I'm now in a position to shape the next generation, and it's quite exciting.

I'll be speaking at The Hills Grammar School's sports presentation about how sport brings people together, I'll also be adding my own little flavour to it and talking about how sport can metaphorically, and literally save your life.

At an informal school reunion last week, it showed how important school was in shaping all of my old classmates - none of the class of 97 went on to become Prime Ministers or Olympians, but everybody at the reunion were REALLY good people. Conversations had turned from "have you done enough study for English?" and "what was your result in the Science prac?" to "how much did you pay for your house?" and "what are your kids names?" but thankfully not much else had changed, they were still good people making good decisions.

So tomorrow night, whether the kids think my speech is cool or it sucked doesn't really matter, it will be an experience they all share, and will go towards shaping them into the men and women they will become.

142-Bringing Blepharospasm out in the open

After nearly running into the back of somebody walking down the Devonshire street tunnel this morning because my eyes closed involuntarily, I thought it was time to bring my condition of "blepharospasm" out into the open.

Blepharospasm is a neurological disorder characterised by involuntary muscle contractions and spasms of the eyelid muscles. Basically "bleph" is an extended blink that can hit at any time. It is not life-threatening, but it's really annoying - it's totally unpredictable, it can happen in the middle of a conversation, at the top of a set of stairs, walking across the road, or writing a blog. 

Blepharospasm comes about due to extreme fatigue, so to get on top of it, major lifestyle changes are needed - good, unbroken , early sleeps, which 2 weeks out from a wedding is highly unlikely to happen, so if I'm talking to you and my eyes close, I apologise - I'm not bored, it's blepharospasm.

Bleph isn't an epidemic or a viral scourge - it's not even all that common, but I'd never heard of it before I was diagnosed with it, so I just wanted to let people know it exists.

If you are able to - get a good sleep tonight.

141-Importance of giving it a crack proven at rugby sevens

A Scottish rugby union player proved at a tournament against Fiji how important it is to never give up, and showed that no matter how hopeless a situation may look, to keep giving it a crack.

A huge Fijian player made a break down the middle of the field and was running away to an open try line with hardly a soul near him...besides one little Scot who looked like he was kidding himself. The Fijian giant crossed the line, and casually jigged in celebration thinking he'd scored, but he had forgotten to touch the ball on the ground.

All of a sudden the little Scot didn't look so hopeless - he charged at the giant who freaked out and dropped the ball as the Scot drove him over the dead ball line.

Giving it a crack, no matter how bleak things look, is important in a lot more fields than just Rugby Sevens, and on November 12, it will be coming to the world of comedy when "Give it a Crack" comes to the Sydney Comedy Store. In the second annual "Give it a Crack," a host of comedians from the RAW comedy festival - an event where inexperienced comedians step up and give it a crack themselves, and if they are chosen as having the "right stuff," are invited to perform at the Comedy Store. - will perform stand up to help raise money for the Pennant Hills AFL Club.

If you'd like to see what the event is all about, go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_6n4pYVnDNZUFJN0dEaE5aVTdiYnZkTFExNU5mVDhQR$30 sXkw/edit?usp=sharing, - I will not only be announcing what my secret, surprise announcement is, I will be auctioning it off! Tickets are $30 and are available at: http://sa2.seatadvisor.com/sabo/servlets/TicketRequest;jsessionid=4967D57F8E1AC69B8E3C3D6B53E53711?eventId=100729193&presenter=AUCENTURY&venue=&event=&version=

I hope to see you there.

Barnaby

140-Pennant Hills jumper signed by 2015 AFL premiership captain

A Pennant Hills jumper is up for auction which has been signed by Sydney Swans listed player and diabetic, Brandon Jack, his father, former Australian Rugby League fullback and NSW Blues and Balmain Tigers legend Garry, and 2015 AFL premiership captain Kieren.

Declaring I have the signature of next year's AFL premiership captain in October the year before may seem like a big call, but the events at Ern Holmes Oval circa 2002 at the Pennant Hills Demons vs East Coast Eagles game mean it's a call I can confidently stand behind.

Penno and East Coast are like cats and dogs, with a rivalry older than time itself, and on this day, the Eagles had Penno on the ropes - with about 30 seconds to go, East Coast were ahead by less than a goal and looked like they were cruising towards a win. Enter Kieren Jack.The Demons pumped the ball into the forward line where a big pack went up, but no one could take the mark, and a little kid, known to most as "Garry Jack's son" swooped in, picked up the ball and snapped a goal, giving Penno a win by a couple of points.

This is why I think the Swans will win the 2015 AFL Grand Final, Kieren was never interested in how he looked, or how many times he got on the highlight tapes, what made him a good footballler at Pennant Hills was the pride he had in his own performance - if he didn't work hard enough, his pride was so badly dented he did everything in his power to make amends the next week. With Grand Finals though, there is no next week, only next season, so Kieren will be a man on a mission in 2015, and as the co-captain at the Swans, making amends for his own performance won't be enough, he will be carrying the entire Swans squad with him.

This jumper WILL BE SOLD in this silent auction: www.32auctions.com/BarnabyHowarth, NOT finalised at Give it a Crack, so if you want to get this totally unique item, click on the link above and create an account (click on "LOGIN" which will take you to the "create account" button) and have a crack.