Sheepwash Chronicle Christmas 2016 edition

Wow - Two Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty!
That’s the total takings from the Auction of
Promises, which we held to help “raise the roof” for
St. Lawrence’s Church. Although it took a good deal
of effort to arrange, the real effort came spilling
into the Village Hall on October 29 th .
About fifty residents of Sheepwash and a few
neighbours from nearby villages occupied the little
tables in the hall, where they were both
entertained and cajoled by our superb and funny
auctioneer, Dave Kent. We are very grateful for his
help and humour from the wobbly “scaffold cum
auctioneer’s lectern”.
Several folk pointed out that the Friends of St.
Lawrence bar prices were rather low - that bodes
well for the next money-raising event perhaps! Part
of our profit from the night was the £110 from the
drinks. And we perhaps took advantage somewhat
of looser purse strings during the selling of over
fifty lots in the auction. In total the auction raised £2,490. Many, many thanks to the generosity of the good
folk of Sheepwash.
You probably know Terry and Barbara Trinder from the bungalow opposite my house. Terry, freshly scarred
from his operation, spent the interval drumming up all one hundred £1 guesses for any one of a hundred
possible last two digits in the serial number of a £50 note, kindly donated to our appeal by his and
Barbara’s daughter Andrea and her friend Alison (who were here from Australia, and wanted to help). And
the £50 note was donated back to the fund at the end of the evening after its serial number had been
guessed!
People were really kind and generous throughout the evening. A very large jug from Svend fetched a good
price. A cubic metre of leaves made a showing. The reserve of £150 was reached on Brian Mayne’s caravan
holiday in Exmouth. Simon Crossley has already fettled, sparkled and adjusted a bike. A couple of Pollock
and the left and right sides of a Harris lamb have been duly handed over. Evening meals, teas, cakes, bread
loaves, and pizzas have been arranged, as have trips to Rosemoor and around Devon and or Cornwall. The
Painting Ladies’ day of labour added a terrific wadge to the coffers.
And there were lots more lots, too many and varied to mention them all. By now the winning bidders have
probably used the contact numbers or emails which were displayed on the night to make connections with
the right people, but if some folk have lost track of who to phone, just ask me. I still have the lists of who
bought what and for how much and from whom.
Once again, well done folks, and thank you on behalf of The Friends of St. Lawrence’s Church.
Mike Ritson
01409 231680
5