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By Kirsty, December 15, 2011 6:42 pm

“As the Virgin Unite Insider for Virgin Balloon Flights, the opportunities to use ‘business as a force for good’ are endless. When the chance of going to South Africa with Sir Richard Branson and his connection trip guests came my way courtesy of Virgin Unite, of course I grabbed it by the (Buffalo) horns and got packing!

A jam packed schedule allowed me to meet some of the most inspiring, motivated and dedicated people I’ve met in my lifetime; The Branson Centre Entrepreneurs, Jean Oelwang (The CEO of Virgin Unite), Dr Taddy Blecher (a pioneer of the free education movement in South Africa) and of course Sir Richard himself alongside his business mogul guests.

After a long flight with the superb Virgin Atlantic, a hotel check in and a stimulating meet and greet, I accompanied Jean, the connection trip guests and the Virgin Unite team to Newtown arriving at the Sophiatown Restaurant where we were delighted by African cuisine and guest speaker Dr Taddy Blecher. Post lunch we marvelled at Inner City Craft Initiatives and met ‘Prince’ an up and coming South African jeweller who designed & created the most interesting pieces of ‘junk’ jewellery. Who can resist a bracelet made out of a fork?!

From here we crossed townships to Constitution Hill. By far one of Johannesburg’s most moving sights. Originally a fort during the Boer War it later became an infamous prison housing many of South Africa’s most well-known resistance leaders and is now home to the Constitutional Court of South Africa. After a quick change we headed off to the Orient Restaurant and chatted over exquisite Chinese food before listening to more inspiring guest speakers.

Early the next morning guests enjoyed breakfast with Sir Richard before we travelled to Mzansi Designers Studio to meet Lesego Malatsi (a previous Branson centre entrepreneur) and saw his fashion house in full swing. We were later treated to seeing his first boutique shop in Maponya Mall too. We also experienced another previous Branson Centre entrepreneurs thriving business in Diepkloof, Soweto. A recycling plant started by Tshepo Nawane.

Inspired once more by the sheer determination and drive to create employment for local communities and to start businesses from scratch, we chatted to both Lesego and Tshepo en route to the grand opening of the Virgin Active Gym in Maponya. Greeted with steel drums, stilt walkers and Sir Richard, this feast of colour and sound gave the gym opening the atmosphere it most definitely deserved.

Departing the swanky new gym we lunched at Velo and chatted with Marious Minnie, the CEO of Southpoint and a partner and investor of the Branson Centre (BC) before crossing over to the BC to offer mentoring to the current entrepreneurs.

The pièce de résistance of the day was of course the Screw Business As Usual booklaunch at ‘Randlords’ where Richard spoke about his book alongside African children’s choirs and pure cultured entertainment. You can see my video montage of the #SBAU book launch here on our YouTube page.

After supper and wine back at the hotel with Richard and guests, it was off to bed before an early start to wave off the guests, Richard and Jean to Ulusaba for the next step of their trip. You can see Richards Blog about their game drive here. I spent my last day in South Africa with some of the Virgin Media Pioneers sightseeing and taking in some of South Africa’s most beautiful animals.

THANK YOU to Virgin Unite, Sir Richard, Jean and the rest of the team for the most amazing experience of my life. A trip I will treasure in my heart forever.”

Kirsty x

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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 Alex, November 17, 2011 6:29 pm

So I’ve completed my 50 #FirstTimes charity challenge yesterday in aid of Virgin Unite (the-not-for-profit foundation of the Virgin group) while the Virgin Social Marathon was in full swing. Here are the next 10 challenges I (just about) got through…

Working in a charity shop (thanks Barnardos!), making a coffee like a barista thanks to ‘We Are Mud’ in Bearwood, Birmingham, working on a stall, being a vet nurse at Bridgnorth Veterinary Centre, pulling a pint at the Kings Head, working in a hairdressers at Red Salons Bridgnorth, having his nails painted, bareback horse riding and kissing a pig at the Heath Farm in Great Bolas and eating a banana split!

#FirstTimes No.20-30 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Thanks to all the people and businesses who helped out.

See loads of videos of my challenges at our Virgin Balloon Flights YouTube channel and you can still time to sponsor me on my Virgin Money Giving Page.

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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 Kirsty, November 15, 2011 1:26 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) has kept me entertained!

My next 5 #FirstTimes have included a 10 mile run, held a chicken, had an ice bath, drove a tractor and played an electric guitar! Follow my progress on Twitter @alexrferg @virginballoons

See my 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.

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By Kirsty, September 26, 2011 4:35 pm

Virgin Balloon Flights are supporting an up and coming charity youth centre aimed at young adults in memory  of local 21 year old Danny Reynolds.

Sadly Danny lost his life as a passenger in a car accident last November, when the young driver was above the legal alcohol limit. Danny’s mother Di, has since set the wheels in motion to start the Danny Reynolds centre in Stafford that will be aimed at young adults aged 13-25. The centre will include the following facilities:

A free gym facility with a personal trainer to include self-defence classes by a qualified instructor.

A drop in centre – providing advice and signposting for benefits, education, training , voluntary work and housing advice.

Chill out zone – to give young people alternative options to alcohol, pubs, clubs and drugs, anti-social behaviour and links to crime.

Training Days – drugs awareness, alcohol awareness, speed awareness, independent living skills, sexual health awareness and any further accreditation training from external agencies.

A free childcare facility – aimed to provide young parents in this age group with a facility that is free including the socially deprived to enable them to access centre facilities.

Youth church – aimed to be run by young people in this age group to include them in local communities and provide them with pastoral care.

Quiet Room – a safe environment for young people to access after bereavement, which will include free usage for external agencies to use for counselling in all areas including unemployment and financial issues.

On the 28^th October, a Reggae night will be held at The Westway pub in Stafford to start raising funds for the centre; this will be where supporters get the chance to bag a pair of Virgin Balloon Flights which can be used at any of our 100+ launch sites in England, Scotland and Wales.

For further information on how to support this cause please email Di Reynolds on reynol509@aol.com. For information regarding balloon flights visit www.virginballoonflights.co.uk .

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By Kirsty, September 6, 2011 11:56 am

The wait is finally over for Lovedbyparents.com fans, as the site announced the winners of their
hugely popular parenting awards.

Virgin Balloon Flights sponsored the ‘Blogger of the Year’ award for 2011 with a spectacular pair of flight vouchers for lucky winner Katy Earley who writes www.modernmummy.co.uk.

Tina Summers Editor of Lovedbyparents said, “We were thrilled that Virgin Balloon Flights agreed to sponsor Blogger Of The Year  2011 and delighted that they provided the prize of a Balloon Flight for winner,  Katy.”

Hundreds of products were entered into each category and thousands of people cast their votes for their favourites. Social media sites were buzzing  with excitement yesterday as the awards were announced throughout the day.

All products were tested by a group of real parents and shortlisted before opening the final decision to the public votes. Winners were provided with a prestigious Gold, Silver or Bronze Lovedbyparents Award badge.

Gold Winners included Maclaren for Best Pushchair, Babybjorn for Best Babysling Leapfrog for the Best Activity Toy and Pampers for Best 
Disposable Nappy.

Special award winners included Wendy Shand of Tots To Travel who scooped the first FabWoman Of the Year Award. An award that was created to celebrate women who have been inspired to create a
business as a direct result of becoming a mother.

”We have been delighted by the response and support of our very first year of parenting awards and would like to thank all of our readers for their enthusiasm and continued support. It is fantastic to see such great products with an award that is genuinely lovedbyparents,” added Tina.