Very many thanks to all who came and generously gave to the Auction of Promises last week in the Tudor Rooms at The Mermaid Inn. Thanks to the generosity of Judith, Georgie, and their continued support for Rye Bonfire, we all raised around £6,192, up on the £6,073 in 2018, towards Rye Bonfire Pageant 2019. We would like to thank, Ruth and Joan, our fundraisers, Rita for holding the purse, Jim Hollands for MC, and Paul and the chaps for portering.
We are grateful to Priscilla Ryan and family for the two John Ryan prints which raised £900. It was good to see our special guest Priscilla who, at over 90, was always smiling!
Highlights of the evening included the honour of 25th Anniversary Rye Fawkes 2019 which went to Andy Stuar,t who will be chaired down to the Salts and light the Fire.
Two sets of Romanoff Art works (all signed) raised £260. Rye Art Gallery donated a beautiful driftwood nautical automaton which sold for £240 and bidding was quite fierce!
Rye Jazz Festival VIP Tickets, donated by Ian Bowden, for concerts in August, were a new and special treat and raised £200 for the three concerts by Beverley Knight, Jon Cleary, and Kansas Smitties House Band
The magnificent silver candelabra donated by Simon Milne the jewellers raised £105 and local MP Amber Rudd donated a signed bottle of House of Commons Whisky which brought in £70.
Donations of meals from local restaurants were very popular as were overnight stays of bed & breakfast – all were snapped up. Other items amongst the 89 sales ranged through jewellery, wine tasting, squeaky duck (always a favourite) customers’ special from the local butchers, hampers, large decorated fruit cake, cord of logs, ton of top soil, giant cuddly toy, hand-knitted Bonfire Boy, crevettes, a side of salmon, several cookery items, lamps, altogether totalling 89 lots.
Image Credits: Rye Bonfire Society , Rosti Romanov .
While Neale is correct and I was hugely honoured to have successfully bid for Rye Fawkes, may I remind you that Rye’s ‘Fire Lord’ is like Dr Who – the bodily representation of whom regenerates – and is therefore never known till that moment when he/she is chaired down to the ‘Normous Fire on the night!