Saturday 17th October saw hundreds of people racing across Cheltenham as part of the Beards Diamond Rush – a fantastic fundraising event for the Maggie’s cancer care charity, hunting high and low across Cheltenham to find one of ten diamonds hidden by Beards – and #LewisLoves was no exception; although sadly we didn’t find a diamond, we had great fun hunting!
This was the second time Beards have hosted the event, this time with nine diamonds worth £1,000 and a tenth worth a whopping £5,000. As we approached Beards Jewellers at 8am for the launch breakfast, the queue to purchase a diamond hunt map was already winding round the front of the store, and it was clear the crowd of eager treasure hunters were very excited for the adventure ahead.
The launch breakfast, organised by Silverball PR, was beautifully executed with elegant cupcakes bedecked with edible diamonds, and sparkling flutes of champagne (can it ever be too early for champagne?!). The cheeky addition of pirate treasure hunt napkins added to the feeling that this was all for a good cause, and the opportunity to chat to other local bloggers and writers was fantastic. We did, at one point, almost have a diamond location revealed to us by an unwitting local business representative, but we quickly told them we were taking part and had a good giggle about the situation.
After a quick Mayor of Cheltenham selfie and me joking that he had plenty of room for a diamond or two on his ‘necklace’, we exchanged our ticket for a map, beautifully illustrated by the uber-talented local designer Angie B (please check out her awesome work, if you haven’t already), and headed off into the cool, crisp Cheltenham morning to find ourselves a sparkler.
Having split up to ‘cover more ground’ Adam and I inevitably ended up just a step or two behind several of the diamond discoveries – the most infuriating of which occurred in Horace Barton where I (accompanied by what felt like half of Cheltenham) had already searched through the pile of order forms where the diamond was eventually found. Sadly, I don’t think a career as a treasure hunter is for me.
By 11:30am, several of Cheltenham’s finest shops looked like they had been hit by a tornado, rather wonderfully two marriages had been proposed, and much to Adam’s relief, all of the diamonds had been found and he could stop running from location to location.
Not forgetting the reason behind the fantastic Diamond Rush, more than £6,000 was raised to support Maggie’s vital work and the whole community was brought together in a way that no other event has quite matched yet.
We can’t wait for next year, and this time, we’ll make sure we look properly!
Did you take part in this year’s Diamond Rush? We’d love to hear your highlights and top treasure-hunting tips.