The hard work has taken its toll - andrew

I fear that all the hard work has taken its toll and I'm going to have to be pushed onto the stage at Salon in a wheelchair. On Saturday, I fainted and collapsed while I was out running. I picked myself up and limped home; had a bath, a glass of wine and some dinner and went to bed thinking I'd be fine in the morning. I was mistaken! When I woke up I couldn't put my foot down on the floor. A friend took me up to A&E, where they did all sorts of tests because I had fainted. They said I was over-worked and over-stressed but in otherwise perfect health - apart for my ankle, which I have broken. I now have a cast from my toe to my knee and am on crutches for the next six weeks, but it won't stop me going about my business, including fulfilling trips to New York, Rome and Asia. I'm just taking it very slowly and everyone has been really understanding.Today, I’m at a really exciting event, giving out awards for habia's Young Apprenticeship Schemes. The apprenticeships are a fantastic new initiative where training providers encourage young academic children into a career in hairdressing. As an industry, we don't have any problem attracting people, but we do have a problem recruiting people who have done well in education. The apprenticeships see people working through some of the criteria for the NVQ level 2 while they are still at school, with the aim that they will be the managers and business people of the future. My job is to give out prizes to pupils who have completed the first year and give a talk about my career and the opportunities it has given me. As I've said before, I see it as my responsibility as British Hairdresser of the Year to bring awareness to the industry and if my presence can help attract people to hairdressing then I'm happy to help.