auction-tastic

Well I am slightly lost for words.

(and that's saying something!)

Despite poor ticket sales (12/30)....
(despite copious advertising).....
Despite bad weather (thunderstorms)....
Despite Having friends and family who have already given so much already I thought I had wrung them dry....

Last night, the dinner and auction raised a fantastic £425.50! I am OVER THE MOON! I had predicted £500 for the full thirty people so I am SOOO grateful to all of you who bid / came / donated prizes. THANK YOU!

So, (now I have a swanky new camera) I thought you would like some more detail....here's me, doing the hostess with the mostess bit, snapped by Dad in front of the auction table....



The red eyes due to the HUNGER waiting for the eagerly anticipated dinner and auctioning!

So, as everyone arrived (in the pouring rain) they went eagerly through the rather posh front door of the hotel (actually not quite sure if this is a pub a hotel or a restaurant - but it's blinking lovely whatever it is!), into the bar, and then were promptly turned around, taken back out the front door, back into the rain, past the gents loos, past the rubbish bins, and in the trades mans entrance, up the stairs, open the door and WOW! The staff at the Bath Arms had done a fantastic job making the room look simply stunning. A long table with three candelabras was set in the centre of a long room with a vaulted ceiling.

As my wonderful guests came in there was chance to peruse the auction catalogue in the very luxurious sofas, while sipping a glass of wine. Lovely!



Here is my Dad's left ear, Jane looking like she'd had considerable more than her one glass of wine (actually I think she was on orange juice!) talking to Mary, while Jen laughs rapturously at the excitement of it all! (Sorry Jane. Will you ever forgive me for posting this?)



And as a sharp antidote to Jens humour, My Mum and Dad are obviously taking whatever Richard is saying exceptionally seriously!



And John and Chloe have a hard time of it as I turn down their offers to smile and insist I want to take 'relaxed informal' shots. In retrospect I think that was probably a mistake! (see earlier picture of Jane!)Stick to the day job Ruth!

So here we all are!



I would like to thank Craig, our waiter, for his great service, and for throwing himself into the action by bidding (and winning!) on the theatre tour! He also gave the opportunity for the best giggle of the evening, as I wandered over the the auction table (oh, I should mention, it was a silent auction, whereby you filled in a sheet with your bid rather than waving at anyone...)and queried out loud 'I wonder what the waiter went for?' Where by Chloe, overcome with excitement, leaps forward and says 'ooh! Is there a waiter up for auction?'

Chuckle. I wish!

Special mention to Lena for helping me keep my nerves calm by letting me thrash her at scrabble repeatedly in the run up to the event - and only showing her true colours by beating me in the aftermath! (Her reward is being the winning bidder on the homemade cake!) I would like to list everyone who contributed but that will really be rather boring to read.

You know who you are! Thank you!

by the way....

If you check out our justgiving page you will see that our grand target is now....

drumroll please

£9,112.40!!!

That means that three of us are definately going to Cuba, and more importantly with a LOT of help from our friends we have raised one HECK of a lot of money for a very worthwhile charity! (and don't forget an extra 28% of MOST of this is gift-aided - we can't count it towards our total but the charity still get it; so thats a maximum extra of £2,551.47 that the charity have recieved!)

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Now we only have £2,887.60 to reach our £12,000; seems like a doddle in comparison!

carbootastic

5.30am. That's time the alarm went off this morning. Yikes.

Yesterday evening had seen me desperately cramming a pushcahir, a CD rack, a cement mixer, a deep fat frier (new), a bread maker (used), a two tables, one chair, and a kitchen (amongst other things), into the back of my car. (After heaving all the seats OUT of the back of my car.)

By 6.15 am I had joined the unimaginably long queue of other cars, all also crammed to the sunroofs with old junk that they hoped to exchange for some poor idiots' hard earned cash! One mans' treasure is another mans' rubbish and vice-versa, or so they say.

On being allocated my pitch, I parked, opened the boot, turned around and got greeted with "oh I'M fundraising for them!" And there was Maggie, wildly gesticulating towards my 'women for Women' T-shirt.
Maggie and I had never met, and of 60 women world-wide who are going on the Cuba trip from 21st November, here, by a complete coincidence was another of them, parked right next to me, also geared up and ready to pass off her old unwanted stuff to get a bit closer to her £3000 target! Maggie's Mum was parked up the other side, also selling for Women for women - so what are the chances! Three car booters set up in a row all raising for the same charity!

Anyway, the weather held out, the flask of tea held out (yes I was very prepared) but the jam sarnies were devoured woe-fully early and I later regretted eating them as I was hungry again! It was especially galling when the two car-booters opposite pulled out bars of chocolate and started tantalising me with them. Hey ho. I survived the rush, did let the pushchair go for far too little, but got a good deal on most of the stuff. After six hours, I packed the remaining stuff back in my car, having not managed to convince the public of Frome that they wanted it.

So, two hours of sorting the stuff and loading the car, and six hours of selling, plus another hour or so to come of unloading the stuff (probably into the nearest charity shop) and I have raised my self the grand sum of £61.40.

I think my report for the day would echo those classic lines from school. "could do better". But hey - could do worse as well eh?!

Now, anyone want a CD rack? Its yours for two quid! Go on! You know you want to....its for charity!

hmmmmm

Well,, that's a bit mysterious.

I had abandoned the thing outside the back door yesterday - too tired to bother trying to put it in the shed, especially as the jammed chain made rolling it backwards impossible and hence I would have had to half lift / half roll / half dance with it to get it there. No doubt falling over it on the way.

Anyway, poor thing, he found itself abandoned for the second time on a very short space of time. I was lying in bed at about 1am when I heard the heavens open. I mean seriously. I think God stood on the roof above my bedroom window and just threw bath tub after bath tub of water down. Seriously, it wasn't just raining. It was RAINING.

So, I sighed, thought about the rain, was glad I hadn't bothered to water the garden. And then remembered the thing. Now the situation is that the thing isn't even really mine. He is my sisters; who is off doing good works in far flung places, so I do feel a sense of responsibility for looking after the thing for her, and also I do need to try and keep it in some sense of working order so I can train!

So I sigh, heave myself out of my warm bed, don robe and slippers and go downstairs, out into the torrential downpour, and wrestle (yes wrestle - literally) the thing into the kitchen (it is much easier than trying to put it away in the shed in the circumstances!) I then return to bed damp, a little achy and tired, but with a virtuous sense of having done the right thing.

This morning, I come down, and have another look at the chain. Wait a minute! Where's the jammed bit gone? Well it must be....no its....Yes. It had gone! Amazingly over the course of the rain / wrestle / cozy night in the kitchen it has un-jammed itself! Hurrah!

Is it karma? Is it the thing displaying a sense of gratitude for being allowed in the kitchen? Is it the force of the rain (it was THAT hard!)? Or was it my brute strength in the course of the wrestle.

I am afraid, that only the thing shall ever know. And he isn't telling.

school runs

I have done a couple last week and this week I have done 5.5 - on the bike that is! The way TO school is really tough, as slow steady up all the way, but coming home is a breeze! Today tho, disaster struck! My chain, in mid gear change, somehow managed to lodge itself very firmly BETWEEN the cogs on the bike, and I cannot get the flippin' thing out! I stood and tugged for about five minutes, and then had to abandon the thing so I could go and get Jack from preschool on foot! And yes, as a reward for being heavy, cumbersome, and now unreliable my bike will hence forth be UN-affectionately named 'the thing'.

I have now managed to recover the bike from its lonely roadside resting place, and bought it home on the car to have another go. 20 minutes and several screwdrivers / implements later and still no luck!

Darn!

Just as I am getting into the habit of leaping on and off the thing every time I need to leave the house it packs up on me! How typical is that?

So, anyone know any magic words?....

woops...

Sorry. Have been a bit rubbish at updating recently. Events have somewhat taken over. And rather scarily the last entry - 27th April - was the last cycle ride I did, and I haven't run for longer. I can feel my fitness slipping from my grasp as we speak. However I am now back to (almost) rude health and plan to get going again. The question is, if I go to running club tonight will they have to piggy back me along? I wonder if I should try a little on my own first - but in fact the very being with other people makes it easier so.....

We have a few fundraising events up coming, the first being Alison & Olives School reunion, and in swift succession the following weekend I have my formal dinner and auction at the Bath Arms - only 20 tickets remaining so quick off the posts guys! There are some great auction items up for grabs including signed celebrity stuff, paintings by local (somerset) artists, pottery classes, knitting supplies and classes, gardening and more! The star prize of the evening is a nights stay in a lovely B&B in Frome,

If you would like to see the auction catalogue and bid on any items then let me know - you do not HAVE to come on the night - although of course it will be a great evening so much more fun if you can do your bidding live!

I would also like to thank ST Johns First School in Frome, who raised a fantastic £197 by having a mufti day at the end of last half term. Their support is very much appreciated.

If you check into our justgiving page you will see that we are now just skimming the £9000 mark. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us by taking sponsor forms to work, organised events, donated, slimmed etc. We are really grateful. With your ongoing support we have three months remaining to reach our target of £12000.

I know we can do it!