The night before the big shave I took a picture for posterity:
I'll admit my hair wasn't that long to begin with, but looking back, it seems much longer!
The day dawned very cold, so I went to the World Record attempt properly prepared:
You can't see from this angle, but it's a Munster Rugby hat. And it is insanely warm.
I liked the set up at the Mansion House as soon as I saw it:
Today FM is pretty cool, and so well-organised! I was through registration in just a few minutes.
Light blue shirts were our barbers, dark blue shirts were the people getting their heads shaved. We all got a number on the way in and had to find our seats and barbers.
About an hour in, this is what the place looked like:
Up on the stage you can see Ray D'Arcy of Today FM. He's a great presenter, a lot of fun and a consummate professional. He's one of those great interviewers who can both make you laugh and handles the most heartrending stories with empathy and tact.
Everything kicked off on air and online about 9 am, and at one point, I got to wave at the camera! Which is always fun to do, but it was number 61's idea (I was number 62). Then I got to meet the other 62, my barber! Here he is!
I think he was probably more nervous than I was (though as I had a cold, I'm not sure I quite believed it was already happening). He was a lot of fun, and did an amazing job, especially on my thick mop of hair!
This lady was the first person to get her head shaved. It was very brave of her, and we all got to cheer her on. The support and encouragement among everyone involved was probably the most inspiring part of the day. Everyone had a story to tell, a reason to be there doing it. It was beautiful and humbling. And at about 11.30, we got into our positions:
I told you he was more nervous than I was...
Or maybe not. And while it may not appear so, I assure you, I am squinting without my glasses.
There is an eleven minute video of the shave and a couple of minutes before it, which I will try to upload at some point, but I think I might break blogspot as it's so long. Not to mention it keeps showing on its side, so if someone can tell me how to fix that, it'd be great. Anyway, we were told beforehand that the lady from Guinness World Records would be walking around and seeing if anyone would be disqualified from the attempt. The previous record for most heads shaved simultaneously was 77 in Australia in 2013. There were 179 of us in the room waiting to be shaved, with as many barbers at the ready. At the end of 10 minutes (during which the clippers died and a kind person who'd finished passed over his), this is what I looked like:
Today FM even skipped the 12 o'clock news to keep the coverage going! And after a commercial break, we found out nobody had been disqualified! All 179 of us made it into the record books!
And then we were brought outside and had a big group photo taken of the barbers and shavees. And let me tell you, it was cold out. I was glad when I got to put on my hat again.
This is what the hall looked like after we were all done:
Never have I felt so glad not to be on clean up duty...
My hair's been growing in amazingly quickly. Here's what I looked like last Saturday, just over two weeks after it all:
It's even thicker now. Between online and offline donations, I've raised about €950. The generosity has been overwhelming, as has the support. Everyone has had something positive to say (some people have told me I look better now!), and I'm truly proud and honoured to have taken part in something so amazing. The donations page is still open, so if any of you have something to spare and would like to donate, go here: http://www.mycharity.ie/event/jennifer_harwood-smiths_event/.
To everyone who has wished me well, and liked these pictures as they went up on Facebook (which made it so much easier to do), and all those who have donated, I can't thank you enough. It has been incredibly worthwhile. Cancer is a terrible thing, and all of you have helped towards fighting it. Quite a few people have told me I was very brave, and I suppose I was. But there are so many people so much braver, fighting such hard battles against so many different things going wrong in their lives, that a shaved head seems like the least I could do.
For those who want to learn more about the Irish Cancer Society and Shave or Dye, go here: http://www.cancer.ie/get-involved/fundraise/major-fundraising-drives/shave-or-dye. It is a fun and worthwhile cause, and even if I hadn't been part of the world record, I'd still have been proud to be a part of it. Making a bit of history was the icing on the cake though!
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