Best of British South Pole: Foundation launch at the House of Commons

What a superb evening. The history of Britain oozes from the walls of the House of Commons. Slavery was abolished here, the country taken to war on too many occasions and great men and ladies of state have graced its gilded halls. Last night, the Best of British Foundation saw light for the first time in the paneled walls of the Jubilee Room. Some 25 politicians from across the house came to see what this was about and left the room energised and fully onboard. Setting the scene, in the centre of the room, were maps of Antarctica surrounded by polar equipment with Steve's exceptional books on Scott and Shackleton opened on the page of Scott's last diary entry! The champagne flowed, the sandwiches were duly munched and the cameras rolled.

The Foundation has been created to help the people's of Britain "be the best they can be" through the inspiration of our Expedition and expeditions yet to come. Only yesterday morning the newspapers were leading with the story of the launch of the governments "Big Society". Our Foundation, created in thought almost a year ago, has become one of the platforms to deliver such a society.

With the Expedition only a few short months ago we are in a critical phase of our fund raising efforts, with the Foundation being of great benefit in providing a the CSR route to invest in the expedition. By linking the two, we have created a long term realisation of benefits and involvement and yet another reason to come onboard.

It was the first time for quite a while that the whole team looked like a real team. With blue cotton oxford shirts emblazoned with the new expedition logo, the ice team worked the room like professional social networkers, talking with passion and enthusiasm to our distinguished guests. The i-catchingmovies boys always professional and a new member to our support team, Sam, capturing the images for the media team, Natalie and Bernice from Primal PR, with Mim conducting affairs. Ours sales efforts have been bolstered with the addition of Corrine and Dominic to endeavour to secure the elusive final sponsor for the expedition.

It was a splendid evening that was one more big step closer to the Pole.

Hurrah