Ollie Phillips is best known for
tearing it up on a rugby pitch, as a former England 7s man and player at
Newcastle Falcons, Stade Francais and Gloucester he delighted us for years with
his skill and talent on the field… however now it is his dedication off the
field which we should all be applauding. Ollie has set his sights on raising as
much money and awareness as possible for the Alzheimer’s Society after his
grandmother very sadly passed away earlier this year. Last night marked the next
event in a series of fundraising days and activities all of which are known as Ollie
Days. The last Ollie Day was a Lions Brunch at the Henley Regatta; a fabulous affair where guests rubbed shoulders
with the current England Captain Chris Robshaw, enjoyed the delights of the
Regatta and the outstanding 3rd Lions test, whilst raising a huge amount of money.
Ollie Days already have a
legendary reputation and this meant that last night the No1 Sports Bar on City
Road was full to bursting with guests eager to have a great night… with the
promise of beer pong, a ‘man auction’ and a few current/ex rugby players around
it is no wonder that there wasn’t a spare ticket in sight. Speaking to the man
himself it is clear just how much Ollie Days and raising awareness and funds
for this outstanding cause means to Ollie and last night was a great way for him
to enjoy a more relaxed fundraising night before he takes on some of his bigger
challenges.
Firstly there a 'small' 379km bike ride
at the beginning of September. The ride will take Ollie and his team from London to Brussels in just
4 days, ending at the Brussels Beer Festival for some well-deserved re-hydration
and rest! After that Ollie takes it one step further, distance wise, with the Around
the World Sailing Clipper Race. Ever the professional he is already hard in
training for both events, some skills I believe are already in the bank… certainly
the re-hydration at the beer festival won’t be too taxing on the body however
the rest will be gruelling and physically demanding even for an former
professional sportsman.
Back to the more ‘relaxed night’
last night… arriving to paparazzi is always exciting, however when they tell
you that you’ve dropped 5p as opposed to wanting to take your picture, you do realise
that you really haven’t made it just yet!!! Getting over my disappointment at not being papped, I grabbed a quick beverage for hydration purposes and immediately set my sights on the beer
pong and auction. Luckily it was a silent auction as I am hugely dangerous with an
auction paddle! Having sussed out the situation and made a few bids it was off to sample the next delight, the photo
booth!! This wasn’t a quick affair, Becs and I spent an extraordinary
amount of time deciding which were the best props to use, settling on a fireman’s
hat, pirate sword and star glasses we struck some outrageous poses and left our
photo in the Ollie Day’s Guest Book.
As the beer pong got more and more
competitive and the drinks flowed it was time to raise even more cash. With the
women to men ratio definitely favouring the ladies it was no wonder that the second
auction of the night went down so well. An all expenses paid 3 course dinner
with Ben Bidwell, James Haskell and Nsa Harrison was the lot. A bid of £20 started by yours truly
didn’t last long and as the pounds went up the tops came off… true to form the main man Nsa Harrison took it one step further revealing some outrageous union jack budgie smugglers
which helped ignite the bidding! £1,000 later and one lucky lady guaranteed
herself a dinner with the 3 of them; needless to say I’m sure that she is now
very popular with her girlfriends!
The whole night was a roaring
success and I hope raised a huge amount of money for the Alzheimer’s Society. I
thoroughly recommend that you all get yourselves down to the next Ollie Day,
you cannot go wrong, rubbing shoulders with current and ex professional players
whilst having a great night out with your friends and raising money for a
superb cause. As soon as the next Ollie Day is announced I will be there with
bells on and I hope that some of you will be too!
To support Ollie on his upcoming cycle and overall fundraising donate here.
