‘They say never meet your heroes, but he was honestly fantastic’
Claire could not believe her luck when she won the draw. (Image: Itison. )
Edinburgh mum Claire Phale described meeting George Clooney as a ‘dream.’ The 35-year-old attended a lunch with the Hollywood star at Glen Eagles after winning a itison prize draw for an exclusive lunch for homelessness charity Social Bite at the Gleneagles Hotel on Thursday April 30.
She surprised Oscar-winner Clooney with a set of personalised Scotland football strips for his family, joking it might even bring the squad extra good luck when they head to the World Cup this summer.
Claire presented George with a strip emblazoned “Clooney 1”. Meanwhile his wife Amal was gifted the captain’s strip inspired by Andy Robertson with number three on the back while the iconic numbers of midfield favourites John McGinn and Scott McTominay featured on shirts for Clooney’s eight-year-old twins Alexander and Ella.
Earlier this year, Claire entered itison’s charity prize draw in support of Social Bite and was shocked when she found out she’d won out of thousands of entrants.
Clooney appeared to be extremely excited by the gift. (Image: Itison. )
Claire said: “This has been an absolute dream – I was so nervous when I found out, but it’s been even better than I could have ever imagined. My mum is a huge Clooney fan and when I told him – he immediately said ‘Where is she? Go bring her in!’ and got a picture with us both.
“They say never meet your heroes, but he was honestly fantastic. I’ve been supporting Social Bite on itison for years – I always donate to the itison Christmas campaign, where you can buy a Christmas dinner for someone experiencing homelessness, but I truly never thought I would win this.
Claire presented Clooney with strips for his whole family. (Image: Itison. )
“The only thing I’ve ever won in the past is a hamper with some shortbread! My mum has had an absolutely amazing time and is over the moon with her pic – it’s been an experience that we will never forget.”
The VIP experience began with Claire and her mum being collected from her Edinburgh home by a chauffeur and whisked away for a luxurious overnight stay in a stunning suite overlooking the Gleneagles estate, before meeting Clooney for lunch. To date, itison has raised £4.75 million for Social Bite through its annual Christmas campaign, where you can donate £5 to buy a meal for a person experiencing homelessness – with funds raised helping towards Social Bite’s goal to end homelessness across the UK.
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Itison CEO Oli Norman added: “Our George Clooney fundraiser for Social Bite has been incredible raising over £50,000 with thousand entering. Giving our members once-in-a-lifetime experiences like this is what we’re all about and it’s been a day we’ll be talking about for a long time to come.”