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By Alex, November 18, 2011 1:07 pm

I headed to London on Wednesday for the Virgin Social Marathon with a whopping 20 #FirstTimes still to complete in order to get the big 50 for Virgin Unite.

Thanks to the help of the brilliant Virgin Balloon Flights team, our fantastic colleagues from other Virgin businesses, wonderful customers and a large slice of luck, I did it!

I worked on a train (juice trolley duty with Virgin Trains), did a Sudoku (eventually!), went busking, roller  bladed (like Bambi on ice),  visited the Tate Modern, went on a motorbike ride (with Rhys from Virgin Limobikes), learned to make tasty Hollandaise and fed flamingos (not Hollandaise!) at the Roof Gardens, swam in a lake, had my hair coloured and eyebrows plucked, played poker (responsibly online with Virgin Games), ate dragon fruit, ate jellied eels (not recommended). Facebooked @ Facebook HQ and tweeted ‘a poem’.

A rickshaw ride and frogs legs eluded me, but were replaced with winkles and pickled herring and being an impromptu newspaper street seller. We also threw in a celebrity encounter by meeting former MP Lembit Opik of ‘I’m a Celebrity Fame’.

I finished off by telling Sir Richard Branson a joke (via Twitter) ‘What do you call a nun on a treadmill?’ A Virgin Active. He replied ‘Haha! Great effort & well done for your 50 #FirstTimes‘

What a day!

Thanks to everyone who helped with this weird and wonderful charity challenge including Facebook and Virgin.com plus all those who have sponsored me. Hopefully, we’ll creep to the £1,000 including gift aid (sponsor me here) and then it’s over to you Virgin Unite!

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By Eve, November 17, 2011 4:55 pm

The 16^th November 2011 saw the first ever global Virgin Social Marathon, a groundbreaking event that took place around the world bringing together all sorts of digital types from Virgin offices near and far all working together for a day-long event at the Facebook office in London. Starting in Australia, then over to the UK and South Africa and finally ending in LA, California at Sir Richard Branson, Eve Branson and Virgin Unite’s event Rock the Kasbah.

The aim of the day was to reach out to our fans and followers across all of our social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ with the theme and hashtag #FirstTimes. A fun packed and fast-typing day, we started posting and tweeting in the UK at around 6am and continued through until almost midnight.

With Mini Draws of lots of Virgin goodies up for grabs plus a Grand Prize including 2 hot air balloon rides, an Aston Martin experience day, a 1 year membership to Virgin Active, a Virgin London Marathon place and a Virgin Media TiVo box to name but a few, getting all of our social media fans entering and playing with the brand new app Virgin First Times was great fun.

In keeping with the theme #FirstTimes and to mark the the launch of the new app, we asked some of our colleagues here in the Virgin Balloon Flights office to share their ballooning first times with us.

“Describe your first balloon ride in three words?”

“What did you think of your first balloon ride?”

First Timers

We also wanted to know what our colleagues have been up to for the first time lately – here are some of their firsts:-

“Became a Dad” – Alex F, “Produced work for my very first public exhibition” – Ben H “Saw Bruno Mars in concert”- Sophie E “Bought my first home with my fiancé” – Caz S “Attended a Management Board meeting” – Ryan L “Skydive!” 10,000ft of pure nerves” – Liz M “Planning a Vegas wedding. Won a comp to go to SA with @RichardBranson” – Kirsty M

If you fancy flying in a balloon for the first time, please visit our Experience page where you can learn all about what’s involved on a Virgin Balloon Flights ballooning adventure.

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By Kirsty, November 16, 2011 10:55 am

Well, Alex’s challenge to do 50 First Times in Five Days for Virgin Unite leading up to the Virgin Social Marathon today (16th November) is certainly allowing him to develop his skills!

His next 10 #FirstTimes have included ballroom dancing, a Zumba class, flower arranging, knitting, having his legs waxed, a facial, a spray tan, working in a call centre, attending a fitness class and a work out at an outdoor gym! Follow his progress on Twitter @alexrferg @virginballoons

See the latest pics below:

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By Alex, November 14, 2011 2:02 pm

Well, my challenge to do 50 First Times in Five Days for Virgin Unite leading up to the Virgin Social Marathon on Wednesday (Nov 16) is underway.

So far, I’ve been hit with a custard pie (watch this on YouTube), learned some Swedish, had a family photo shoot, made pasta from scratch and rewired a light switch (with supervision from an electrician!) all for the very first time. But this is just the start – there’s a long way to go.

Next it’s a 10-mile run followed by a refreshing ice bath! Having my legs waxed and eating a banana split will be a doddle after that.

Follow my progress on Twitter, on Facebook and sponsor me on my Virgin Money Giving Page.

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By Alex, November 11, 2011 6:21 pm

Hi there,

I’m Alex Ferguson (the real one – not a certain grumpy Scottish football manager!) and I’m head of marketing at Virgin Balloon Flights in the UK. I’d love you to help me raise money for Virgin Unite.

When was the last time you did something for the first time? It was probably just this morning. Was it cool, fun, interesting, surprising, scary, disgusting or totally unforgettable? Life is made up of first times and the first time is often the best. Life also tends to be more fun if you’re open to trying new things, even if they take you out of your usual comfort zone. I’ve recently become a dad for the first time – so this has opened up a whole new world of first times!

Like life, there could be some hiccups along the way and this list may change a bit (some things are more difficult to arrange than others and some substitutes), but I will definitely do 50 Firsts Times and I may even add some bonus ones along the way…making myself look extremely stupid for your viewing pleasure.

I really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations.