Here’s Another Present for #RichardArmitage, With Love

/ August 22, 2018

There’s no monetary value attached to birthday wishes – in the sense that they are priceless, cannot be measured in financial terms. And yet I have a number to announce here that you have been waiting for since this afternoon. Apologies for taking so long, sending the eBay invoices, monitoring the payments and filing the addresses of the winners with the correct items has taken up all this time, and there was that annoying thing called ‘editorial deadline’ that got into the way, too. Before I present you our final tally, may I urge you to find a comfortable seat, and possibly hold your jaws, ’cause they might drop.

Our combined total of the 2018 RA Birthday Auctions is…

Here’s a little breakdown:

We received donations to the tune of 393.50 EUR. The e-mail auction of the Custom RAPS ended at 130 EUR. And the total of the auctions on eBay came to a massive, unbelievable 1746.48 EUR. Congratulations to the auction winners, to everyone who placed a bid and thus contributed to rising prices, to the donors of the items, those who sent donations in lieu of an auction win, who bumped up their auction wins with an extra donation, and those who followed and signalboosted the auctions on all platforms. You have done an amazing job, and this has been a wonderful fundraiser to be part of. Thank you! 

To put it into perspective – 2269.98 EUR translates to 2631.02 USD$ and is equivalent of 2038.10 £. This is the highest amount we have raised so far in one of the charity auctions, and is testament to a) your generosity and b) to your willingness to support a cause that is extremely close to Richard’s heart. I can’t thank you enough for this. You are wonderful, and I don’t have the words to express how glad I am that we have achieved such a result in a community, collective effort. Congratulations to all – I think we are all winners today.

Talking of congratulations – with the birthday present now unwrapped, here’s the customary birthday message to Richard:

Dear Richard,

hooray, 17 again!!!!

Perhaps your fabulous genes may be the best present you have ever been given. I don’t think any physical present could ever match the gift of life, so foregoing a tangible gift, we have all clubbed together to raise some funds for LOROS in memory of your mum, on the occasion of your birthday. May it translate into a few more moments of precious time given to the patients and the families who are cared for by LOROS.

This may be a bitter sweet day for you, and I don’t really want to dwell on the loss that is doubtlessly at the forefront of your mind today. Mothers are something very special. They make us and shape us. And yours has made and shaped an extra-special human. I appreciate the evident kindness and consideration for those whose path you cross, your willingness to share your talent and art with the audience, your efforts at communicating with your fans, and your generosity of spirit when it comes to good causes.

May your next year heal all the wounds, provide artistic challenges, create wonderful encounters and give you many hours of happiness. Stay as you are! 

Fond birthday greetings, lots of love, and enjoy life,

Guylty

 

PS: FYI all auction winners: Thank you for promptly paying your won items. You are awesome! I might even be able to transfer the money tonight, still on RA’s birthday. The next steps are as follows: The items that are currently with me, will be put into the mail tomorrow. I will pass on the relevant addresses to the donors who are directly sending the items from their own location. A notification will be sent to you once the packages are on their way.

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94 thoughts on “Here’s Another Present for #RichardArmitage, With Love”

  2. No, I’m not crying at all…it’s wonderful to see how everyone has come together to honor Richard and his mother. I hope he feels the virtual hug we are sending him today. Wherever he is, may he receive comfort in his broken heart. Thank you, S! 💜

    Liked by 4 people

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    • That’s it, Violet – I hope there is some sort of karma attached to these fundraisers. Not just for any and all who supported the project in any shape or form, but also to the bloke who inspired it.

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    • I think he does. He’s unlikely to read our messages, posts, blogs, tweets, but he probably can gauge by the sheer amount of individual and collective donations coming in, that he is being thought of.

      Liked by 1 person

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  9. This is an amazing result, which just goes to show the collective love and spirit that Richard brings out in all of us. Would that there could be a little more of that in the world at large.

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  10. What a beautiful result!! And what a beautiful birthday message for Richard.<3 Thank you for your efforts and thank you that I could be a small part of such a great gift.:*

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  11. W o n d e r f u l, f a b u l o u s, a m a z i n g! Thank you, Guylty, and thank you all who were involved one way or another in this event!!! ❤ :*

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  17. What an extraordinary result! Thank you for all of your hard work, Guylty, and for the marvelous message to Richard. I hope that he can take solace in knowing that other families will receive the same comfort and care that his did.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I’m sure he can and he will. He’s a sensitive bloke, and I think it will make him feel at least a tiny bit happy that his fans are showing their appreciation by honouring his mum in this way – and doing it for a good cause.

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      • I received a notice from Ebay that my item has shipped already, so thank you very much! The email also included suggestions of other deals that might interest me, and they are all very pricey pieces of Cartier jewelry. Obviously your RAPS are categorized by Ebay as the truly fine works of art that they are. It does make me laugh, given that I didn’t win the Claude Becker RAPS, although I tried. How fitting would those suggestions be for that one?! I confess that I haven’t seen “Brain on Fire” yet. Does Daddy Callahan dabble in jewels, mayhaps? (Seriously, I’m dying laughing here. Me and Cartier! Whahaha!)

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        • ROFL – Cartier jewelry? Oh jeepers, eBay really needs to get their tech right and work on their targeting solutions. I mean, all very flattering for me, but somehow not quite right. As you said – it kind of would have made sense for the Claude Becker RAPS, but Daddy Cahalan, although probably some sort of rich banker type, was actually quite a plaid-clad DIY dude, tinkering with his daughter’s plumbing.

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          • And he was angry and skulking a lot and not in the attractive Guy mode of skulking.. Cahalan was a sort of passive-aggressive way, maybe?? He didn’t dress like a rich banker either in my opinion…

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  20. I´m speechless, this is just so amazing, WOW!! I had opened a bottle of Sekt for Richard´s birthday, he´s been in my thoughts all day long and I´m sad for him but this gives me the perfect reason no. 2 to raise a glass, no, the whole bottle… and the birthday message is really lovely!! Thanks for all your efforts and thanks to all the bidders, I´m glad I could be part of it!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Such a great idea. I should’ve thought of that and opened the bottle of champagne that is sitting in my fridge.
      Turning sadness into happiness, hopefully, but maybe there will be a little bit of consolation in the fact that we are feeling with him.
      Thank you for taking part, too!!!

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  21. What a wonderful message, and what a result! Fabulous effort by the amazingly generous and talented Guylty, but also by those who generously donated auction items. What a great bunch of well-wishers 😃❤️

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    • Too much praise for me. I am only the vessel. Massive thanks to those who donated the items, and congratulations to those who raised bids and won items. You have made this donation possible!

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  22. Pingback: Richard Armitage tangentially related (birthday edition 2018) | Me + Richard Armitage

  24. AWESOME!!! I bid on one or two items but they went beyond my limit, so perhaps next year…Thank you for your time in organizing everything and seeing it through! You are a beautiful soul…..Hugs

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    • Aw, thanks Tessa. Delighted to put myself in the service of something good. Sorry you lost out – but if you placed a bid, you contributed to the rising prices, and that is definitely worth a thank you, too.

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  25. Reblogged this on One Last time? Never and commented:
    So our guy had another birthday and this lovely lady organized another auction, gathered the donated items, kept track of all the bids invoiced everything out with the monies going to one of Mr. A’s charities….A round of applause for this fantastic individual ! Thank you sweetie, well done..

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Hehe, yes, annual. Well, as I always say: There will definitely be at least ONE more auction. Because should I ever decide to chuck in the towel, I will auction off all my own stuff. No worries, no plans of any chucking yet.

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      • Oh dear lord! Please do not leave us and Richard, my friend a) because you would be sorely missed, b) because I will need to buy a bigger house and c) I will need to win the lottery or divorce Mr. Clanger and find a sympathetic millionaire to marry in order to bid big 🙂

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  27. Just a quick note here to say thank you for all your comments! I will reply properly tomorrow – at the moment I am just too exhausted, even though I am still on a high from what we have achieved! I appreciate every single one of your gestures!
    Leaving the donation button open over night as I have not yet transferred the donation to LOROS.

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  28. And it’s a WOW! from me too, what an awesome result. *applauds* Congratulations and a huge thankyou to all concerned. You are an amazing group, so proud to belong to RA’s fandom. I’ve said it before but this -THIS is what counts, it beats the heck out of the fandom crap that rears it’s ugly head every so often.
    PS Amount converts to $3582.11 in Australian dollars. 😃

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Oh, that sum sounds even better in AUS$! Thanks for converting that. And many thanks for your thoughtful contribution (which I will accept this year).
      I couldn’t agree more, btw – sure, there is always a bit of conflict or disagreement, but it’s more than gratifying to overcome that and create something positive. It counts, as you say. Glad to have been part of it!

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    • … a force from above, cleaning my soul… Ooops, got carried away singing bad 1980s pop… Great result, and hopefully an exciting project for all to be part of. Thank you for your contribution, too!

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      • LOL! That’s what came to mind after I reread what I wrote. But, the sentiment behind it is real. Thank you for the amazing energy you put into this, and all the RA-related projects, that sparks the rest of us into action. Coming together like this, we are a formidable force. 😊

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  32. Your message really captures the spirit and purpose of celebrating RA’s birthday with giving him a gift that not only honors the memory of his Mum but that which will help provide comfort to other patients and families in need of such care. It was lovely to see the spectacular results and thanks to all who participated. A special thanks to you Guylty for not only organizing and donating, but for making this event so much fun. ❤️

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    • I hope I haven’t put everyone off with the spam of posts on my blog and of tweets on Twitter. But well, that’s the pro marketer coming out. If it meant that we widened our reach, I am happy.
      Many, many thanks to you, to, Donna. Your donations really made a lot of money!

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    • Thank you Carolyn. Words are so inadequate when it comes to the loss of a loved one, and we all know that that is overshadowing this year’s birthday. But maybe a bit of the good vibes that we created with the fundraiser, have found their way to Richard. Thanks for being part of this!

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    • Hehe, nicht ich, sondern alle die spenden und mitbieten! Und nö, Herr Armitage kann auch gut ohne mich. Aber vielleicht bin ich ganz gut für die Charities, die wir so beglücken…

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      • so happy about that! sorry for not being more active, just struggling a bit at the moment between work, the nasty cold etc But read all updates and really happy about it, there was so much lovely stuff and the result is amazing! I am sure it will warm his heart. Though i hope on the day he was nowhere near sm and and family in peace 🙂

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        • No apologies necessary, Hari – you are definitely excused, as you donated an item that received a lot of attention. Thank you for that.
          Good point re. the SM. Hopefully it was a nice day, not all sad, despite the gaping wound…

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  36. Wow, this is amazing! Thank you Guylty for making all this possible, and for the lovely Birthday greeting and to everyone for all their contributions to this event.

    When I first stuck my toe in the chilly shallows of RA Fandom I had no idea how incredible the community of my fellow fans could be; well, you are all officially awesome and I am so happy to be a part of something so creative, caring and generous. It is a privilege to be here.

    Respect and love to Richard, clearly a genuinely decent, talented, thoughtful and inspirational human (would it be shallow of me to add “incredibly hot” to that list? :))

    xx

    Liked by 2 people

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    • Yep, who would’ve thought that fangirling could be such a gratifying hobby? People always say that the internet is all anonymous, but I have met incredible people online, and this kind of project always reinforces my belief that the world is good and kind.
      And sometimes I also wonder whether it takes a particular type of “star” to bring together a generous and kind group of fans…
      PS: No, not shallow at all, just realistic.

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    • Och, dankeschön, das ist lieb von dir. Und ein Dankeschön auch an dich zurück – dein Beitrag wird dieses Jahr tatsächlich dem Bestimmungszweck zugeführt, denn die Gebühren sind angesichts der ‘eingespielten Summe’ ziemlich heftig.

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  38. That’s a wonderful amount, Guylty. Thank you for organising the auction and also for including the donation button for those who didn’t want to bid. Your birthday message to him is lovely. Mrs A is much missed, not only by her family but by the wider fandom who held her in great affection.

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    • Yes, somehow Mrs A was always there in the background, not least because she was associated with dealing with his fan mail. I remember how delighted we all were when he took her to the Hobbit premieres…

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  39. Pingback: It’s Not from the Birthday Candles! | I'm Feeling This

  40. Thank you for organizing such a successful event. You created a lovely way for RA fans to show their appreciation for the man, while bringing so many people together for a meaningful but also fun experience. Not that easy to do. The power of the RAPS is awesome.

    Liked by 2 people

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