Sorry I haven't been around much recently - I had a rather sudden 10 day stay in hospital and am still very much at the start of my recovery having been diagnosed with 'severe haemorrhagic gastritis'
. I'm still in a lot of pain and waiting for test results to see if I need antibiotics on top of everything else, but at least I'm at home now. (I'd like to just quickly thank everyone for their lovely messages over the last 10 days, especially DaisyChain . And of course Barry and Louise who came to see me! 
)Ok, so now onto the 'support' bit... I know these competitions are often a source of ill-feeling among some people - me included if truth be known - but I've somehow found myself as a finalist in Miss York 2011...
It might help you understand my motives for entering:"To win Miss York 2011 would, for me, be a truly lifechanging opportunity. I'm not just doing this for myself - I'm doing it for every girl who has ever felt that she wasn't good enough, for every girl who has looked in the mirror and hated her reflection. Looking at the previous winners of Miss York, they are all beautiful and talented young women, something which I aspire to be. I would love the opportunity to represent the wonderful diversity of York's young people and feel that the coveted title of Miss York 2011 is a title I would wear with pride."
Apparently the judges were really impressed by that(!), and also by my work in the community, with the church and volunteering and things. And it's nice to have something else to concentrate on aside from studying constantly.
There's a 'voting' round going on at the moment - the girl with the most votes in it will automatically be through to the final 12. To vote for me, you can text "29Fiona" to 84205 or call 0901 656 1507 and key in "29". Calls and texts cost 60p. To view the results, click here - Results page
The final is on 22nd May in York. If anyone would like to come, let me know and I'll give you ticket details etc - the more support I have there the better!
The other things I have to do before then include contacting local businesses to get someone to sponsor me (eek...), fundraising myself, customising a dress for the 'eco' round and attending a 'sports' day 
. For the fundraising, I'm thinking of putting on a concert or doing a playathon (~12 hour stint somewhere central where people can pop in and out). Again if anyone might be interested, please let me know! I know it's fairly short notice but they haven't given us much time to do these things!
Apparently doing a concert would also help me in the 'talent' round. (A few people have said to me not to be disheartened if I don't win. I only entered this lightheartedly and definitely didn't expect to get this far...! Anything beyond this point is a bonus.
)Thanks for reading all this, and thank you for your support!
Fiona x
