Success!... to some degree at least, the evening of the 27th November saw the Oar Raisers first large scale event. After two months of stress and an incredible amount leg work the night arrived with little to no hiccups - noticeable or not there were a few but in true Oar Raiser style we 'got it done'.
Ordering people around and directing the general operation (meticulously I might add) has become the new order of the day for Rower 2 and as such the proof came with the pudding as the night unfolded a creamy, silk smooth schedule bar the cock ups out of his hands. Even in the face of the last minute alterations, necessary changes and unpredictable scenarios R2 kept calm and carried on.
The attendees thronged into the lobby for their mulled wine and pleasantries to the subtle sounds of jazz piano and a roaring open fire, 136 guests took their places at the tables and were informed of the events about to take place. Seated, starters issued and some classical guitar drifted over the chit chat and clinky clinking of cutlery and wine receptacles - it was a decadent and charming affair with a great dynamic. The courses came and went fluidly with smiles and praise for the food. The top table looked on in anticipation of something going wrong but it never seemed to, a relief.
Food done, a spat of comedy leading into the auction which lasted far longer than predicted but raised far more than we originally thought it would. Auction lots came and went with varying degrees of interest and bids, There were some tremendously generous people and the kindness lasted the entire evening with over £500 being raised separately on raffle tickets!...
Truly the people around us are very supportive and we are privileged to have such wonderfully kind friends and family - if you had asked me a month a go if I thought this event would be a success - I would have said absolutely not, too little too late but to have seen everyone glammed up and prepared to spend their money on a charity auction the way did - I am proud, shocked but proud to call these people my friends. I thank you all and I am sure Parkinson's UK will be delighted with our result.
Total count for the night is a staggering £2821 plus some money to come from the Land Lady of The Alexander Arms Cambridge who kindly did shuttle runs in her car to the hotel for a donation, thank you to you Caroline - you wonderful woman.
A further addition to this months fundraising came in the form of a race night at the Frog and Toad pub Gillingham Kent - David, Glenda and Sophie managed to raise a brilliant £300 - a massive thank you family!...
The band (run for cover) played everyone out with great cover songs from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and many more artists, a fantastic performance and one to be remembered not least for the dancing Black tie wearers, Rhod Davies put on a particularly good display of Welsh revelry.
All in all with donations from the table boxes and everything else we have reached over £3K which is to my mind a huge success, owed mainly to you guys that cam and supported us, so thank you all, I am utterly over awed (oared) by you...
The Auction over, we made a few speeches kicked of by Master Auctioneer Sir Colin of Johnny Bowles (I would like to convey my personal thanks to him for his hard work and terrific effort) Speeches of thanks from both R1 and R2 accompanied by a welcome message to bright shiny new baby James - Congrats Bill and Jayne!...(still wish you'd had the baby at the auction the publicity would have been great!) haha
And one last but by no means least thanks, to Abigail for her enormous patience, her dedication to our cause and her ability to keep me on track when all else seems to be falling apart - thank you my darling little toe.
Keep up to date with our progress and we will endeavour to put on some large events in the new year, but from now until Christmas I am training and concentrating only on much smaller fundraisers and sponsorship... If you want to get involved by running an event for us please just ask and we'll get something sorted, don't forget you can also hire us for a days labour at anytime in return for a donation....
We do hope you all had a great time and thank you all once again!
R2.
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