Even the mightiest of oaks starts out as a tiny acorn. Slouching towards Thatcham is hardly a Californian redwood of the parent blogging community – I like to think of it more as a beautifully sculpted bonsai – but it is that little corner of the web that I call my home. And it’s one which I can now refer to as ‘the award-winning Slouching towards Thatcham’!
LoveAllDads is a small (but growing) community that may be small in comparison to Mumsnet or Netmums but, as I’ve written before, that doesn’t make it any less important. Dads make up 50% of parents but only 7% of parent bloggers, and while there are many immensely talented mum bloggers out there with incredible stories to tell, a dad’s perspective is important too.
Normally I couldn’t win a raffle even if I bought all the tickets so when I discovered at the beginning of the month that I had been shortlisted in not one but two categories – Best Dad Blog and Blog Post of the Year – I was chuffed beyond belief, particularly when I realised that I was in the company of some of my personal favourite reads.
I certainly didn’t expect to win.
Jet-setter that I’m not, as the awards were being announced online last night, I was travelling to the glamorous locale that is Aberdeen (it’s not called the Granite City for nothing) and meeting up for a drink with some work colleagues in the bar of the distinctly three-star hotel where we’re staying. So there was no live satellite link-up to LADs Central and no celebrity on hand in the wings to hand me my awards. I didn’t even get to photo-bomb anyone’s selfie, which is de rigeur at awards ceremonies these days, right?
No, the first I heard of it was when I checked my phone an hour later to realise that I had received about 40 Twitter notifications from fellow bloggers congratulating me. It took me a minute to realise that I had won not one but both awards I had been nominated for.
I’d like to say that I fainted at this point and subsequently ordered the most expensive champagne available for everyone at the bar. In reality I retreated quietly to my room, where I danced a little dance of joy that absolutely, definitely, 100% will not be leaked online, politely replied to every message and started writing this post, which is as close as I will ever get to making an acceptance speech. (“I’d like to thank my work colleagues who have no idea that they are blessed to be in the presence of an award-winning blogger, the taxi driver who brought me here from the airport and the hotel staff who attempted to put me in a designated smoking room and served barely adequate bar snacks” doesn’t really cut it, does it?)
I’m such an amateur when it comes to winning.
Anyhow, I can now proudly display my award winner’s badges on the blog and I’ve even been invited on to an episode of the LoveAllDads podcast – which is, basically, the equivalent of appearing on The Graham Norton Show alongside [select two fantasy guests of your choice here].
But I’m not the only winner. If you haven’t checked them out already, here is the full list of both finalists and winners in the six LADs Awards categories. Take it from me, they’re all worth a read.
In the meantime, diva that I now am, I’m off to bed with a mug of instant coffee.
Top Tweeter 2014 – Sponsored by CoombeMill
Winner: DadWhoBlogs
Best Dad Blog 2014
Winner: Slouching towards Thatcham
Best Blog Post of the Year 2014 – Sponsored by UpAllHours
- DadCreek – Racism Is Alive – Parental Responsibility
- Slouching towards Thatcham – A letter to myself, from a father of three to a father of none
- Ideas4Dads – How I Delivered Baby No3 At Home!
- DannyUK – Mini mid-life crisis. Why you should act your age
- TheDadventurer – 5 Things I Probably Shouldn’t Do As A Dad
Winner: Slouching towards Thatcham – A letter to myself, from a father of three to a father of none
Best Newcomer 2014 – Sponsored by dadzclub
Winner: FatherhoodStories
Best Non Dad Blog 2014
Winner: YouBabyMeMummy
Most Entertaining 2014
Winner: Ideas4Dads