Homes under the Hammer presenter, I’m a Celebrity...Get me out of here! contestant and columnist Martin Roberts shares an insight into how hectic his life can be - when he spends just 24 hours in Singapore
I went to Singapore for 24 hours. As you do. It was supposed to be slightly longer, but I did something that I’ve never done before in my life.
Bleary eyed, whilst making my first cup of morning coffee, I casually checked my messages. ‘See you at the airport shortly,’ said a text from my host in Singapore.
Halfway through composing a reply, along the lines of ‘silly person I’m actually not due there until tomorrow,’ I thought I’d better check the itinerary…
Do you remember there was a moment in the original Jaws movie when the police chief first thinks he’s seen a shark in the bay? Or when Macaulay Culkin’s character realises his parents have left him ‘Home Alone’? Well, such a moment was re-created as I realised my flight had left Heathrow airport the night before.
Luckily Singapore Airlines has numerous daily flights, so I was able to hot-foot it to Heathrow and catch an alternative.
I arrived 12 hours and 6,700 miles later with 90 minutes to spare before the start of my engagement.
I caught a plane back home exactly 24 hours after landing.
So why did I go to these extraordinary lengths to fly halfway around the world for such a short length of time? One word. Charity. I was helping to raise money for Carers Trust and my endeavours contributed to a £40,000 windfall for this worthwhile organisation.
On my return, I dashed straight to another charity event in London and compered a fundraising dinner that put £270,000 into the coffers of Marie Curie, whose incredible nurses provide help when it’s most needed.
But I’m not alone in my charitable efforts, and the reason I highlight them is to draw attention to a fact that I was recently privy to. Apparently, we are by a long way, the most charitable country in the world. All of us give more money to more charities than in any other place on the planet. How wonderful is that? In a world of bad news stories, fears about the future, personal struggles and general uncertainty, we still manage to find it in our hearts to give money and support to those who need it.
I’ve even gone to the extra lengths of recently setting up my own charity (The Martin Roberts Foundation - Charity no: 1172905) which will provide money to initiatives that support the protection and education of children - including supporting Childline through a series of children’s books called The Villes that I’ve written.
But it occurred to me that out of the population of giving, caring inhabitants of these isles, I bet if you did a sub-set which was to look at the charitable work and giving of the Somerset community, I think you’d find that it was even more generous and supportive.
For some reason, this wonderful county of ours attracts the kind of people who genuinely care about others - whether that’s giving a frail neighbour a lift to the shops, or running a marathon to raise awareness or funds - and I’m sure that manifests itself in the greater charitable community. And that’s something that we should all be very proud of.
For more information about Martin, his property training courses and his property and children’s books, visit his website. You can follow him on Twitter as well at @TVMartinRoberts.
Martin’s new weekly property radio show is on TalkRadio every Saturday morning- broadcast live from his treehouse in Somerset from 11am-1pm, repeated Sundays 5-7pm. Listen on DAB or online at TalkRadio.co.uk.
