Mission accomplished!
Can you still read or are you still on the floor? I’ll give you a second to recover.
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I would like to congratulate you all to this massive, stunning, breathtaking and overwhelming result of this year’s auctions and fundraiser in honour of Richard’s birthday. It is hard to believe, but the 2020 fundraiser has raised the bar higher than I ever imagined. Thanks to 40 fan item auctions on eBay as well as 27 individual donations to the birthday fund, we have generated a final donation sum of 3,100 Pounds. (Switching to British Pounds here because that is the currency used on the MuchLoved donation site for LOROS as seen in the screen shot above). In Euro and Dollars we are talking 3,440.23 Euro or 4,057.75 Dollar . Whichever currency, it is an incredible amount, and while there is no monetary value on the admiration and esteem we hold for Richard, it still is an indicator of how much we enjoy his work and appreciate him as a voice in this world. I hasten to add that that esteem is of course also expressed in the many individual donations to his charity pages that have been made by fans privately, as well as the countless birthday tweets and posts and cards he has received. He deserves them all, and however modest he may be about it all, it is to his credit that he inspires so much love and generosity.
Accounts
While the above screenshot of the donation via the MuchLoved site (click this link to see the donation on the site itself) may serve as proof of transfer, I can’t rest without making the accounts transparent for you. (Daughter of a German civil servant and multiple honorary treasurer here 😁)
The auction generated gross revenues of 2,835.47€ (i.e. before all fees). The donations came up to 1,022.86€. (The uneven numbers are caused by currency conversions as well as deduction of Paypal fees.) For the fundraiser total, I had to deduct the costs incurred through using eBay’s auction services as well as the transaction fees for payment through Paypal.
As you can see the final amount transferred to LOROS was bumped up by a few Euro to a nice tidy sum – these are monies left over from the postage fund.
Thanks
My final thanks go to all supporters of this fundraiser. First of all to the donors who put effort into creating unique fan items and who donated other coveted fan memorabilia for the auctions. Secondly I’d like to thank *anyone* who placed a bid at any time during the three day auctions. At the last look, there had been close to 700 bids in total – but that was way before the madness of the final hours began. Any of these bids was a contribution to the final item price. Thirdly, thank you to the auction winners who truly showed generosity of purse and spirit by investing their money in the (admittedly priceless!) items. Number four, thank you to anyone who contributed to the donations fund – many of whom added a donation on top of their auction payment or who put their designated auction budget into the donations fund when they did not win the item they had bid on. Finally, my grateful thanks also to everyone who chimed in on the auction excitement by cheering from the sidelines, leaving comments on blogs, tweeting, retweeting, posting and tagging. You all have contributed to the success of this fundraiser, and this achievement is totally yours!
As for the bloke whose birthday is at the bottom of all this…
Happy birthday, Rich!
Shall I leave out the number? I feel your pain, I really do. My milestone birthday is just past me, and *ouch*. It seems unreal, doesn’t it? But the number does not detract from what I see in you: an incredible energetic, multitalented, multifaceted, decent, kind and youthful man with a wide range of interests. What you have to offer still fascinates me, both as viewer as well as a fan.
To me as an interested onlooker it seemed as if your 49th year was one of the best yet: you expanded your professional life to Korean sci-fi, you returned back to the London stage with Uncle Vanya, you celebrated a massive success with a top billing in The Stranger, and you apparently brought your own production company on the road. And then there were your extensive activities inside assorted wardrobes and studios. You allowed some new insights in your private life in some very personal interviews and spoke out about causes close to your heart. It’s the latter that makes you an interesting person beyond the smooth veneer of a professional performer, and I look forward to seeing more of you as a man – as well as an actor.
So, 12 more months before you round the half-century. Now is the time, Rich – go get that tattoo; buy that house in New Zealand; shave off that beard; dress up as Thorin and finally whizz down a ski slope; drink Pinot Noir every day; record a trash metal album; live your life to the fullest. Surprise us. I suspect you’ll remain our favourite actor regardless of the antics you might come up with.
May your future be full of new projects, exciting professional challenges, fulfilment in your personal life, as well as hours of laughter, joy and happiness. Oh, and chocolate ice cream. Lots of chocolate ice cream.
I salute you with that Laurent Perrier.
Fondly and forever yours,
Sonja ❤️
Edited to add a link
Guylty Pleasure 
Damn.
Just… damn! What an amazing outpouring of love!
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Cool, right? I feel like this is a present to us, too.
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I. Am. Floored.
That is wow. I am speechless and that is saying a lot for the chatty German who wasn‘t even stuck dumb when faced with the man himself.
And your message is lovely. To the next 12 month of adventure with ‘our guy‘ in this lovely division of the Armitage Army. ❤
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IKR. It’s just incredible. Ok, I mean, I kind of expectedly hoped (or hopefully expected) that the auctions would generate more money than last year, due to the larger number of items on offer. But it was the donations that really stunned me. Over 1,000 Euro – I mean, that’s just breathtaking. What a spirit of generosity!
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bumper charity donation and he’s had a bumper 12 months aswell
onwards and upwards!
again, things like this don’t happen without a firm organised hand behind the wheel-so even with people being so kind-it literally wouldn’t happen without you and it’s really good fun all round 🙂
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Thank you for those really nice words, Rachel. I am very happy to be ‘steering’ the fundraiser. It’s fun – and worth all the efforts.
I can’t wait to see what the next 12 months will bring for RA. Those two films could be really interesting…
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I think Now and Then could be a corker- potentially a timeless classic. I was reading up about the author too and I think I’ll read the book even though it’s not something that would normally appeal.
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Wow wow wow! Fantastic news, well done Guylty and everyone who donated items, made bids and added to the total in other ways! So brilliant and what a lovely message, too. Now put your feet up Guylty and bask in glory for a while 😃😘😊
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Haha, I did put my feet up. Didn’t exactly bask in glory, but decided to enjoy the luxury of a big bed just for myself (due to Mr G being away) early. And slept through Richard’s replies to our fundraiser tweets 😂. It’s nice to see that he has acknowledged all those efforts by us all.
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We are the champions of charity auctions and you – our marvelous leader – have done a stellar job organizing everything and bringing it to fruition. I too am grateful to be part of the RArmy, and to be surrounded by such fun, quality people, united by our love for the peaches, the dashing smile, the magnificent head of abundant, shiny hair, the strong, perfect hands, the long legs, the chocolate voice and the dorkiness that wraps around the brilliant mind, kind heart and immense talents of our lovely man. Now I have to go get ready to host the rewatch of last episode of Spooks, Season 7. Happy Birthday, Richard!
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That is a fitting list you have compiled there, B. You have put it in perfect words.
And apologies for missing the rewatch. By the time I had set up my laptop, reattached the external hard drive and located the DVD, it was already 10 minutes in.
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Truly astonishing result Guylty, and it would not have happened without your incredible hard work and dedication to making this auction happen. Well done.Wonderful words too for our birthday man. Tattoo? What tattoo? The Red Dragon I hope, heh heh.
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Exactly!! I was thinking of that red dragon tattoo and Richard saying that he liked it and had considered keeping it. Ha! Probably just one of his throw-away remarks. But then again, maybe 50 is the point where he should give a tattoo a go…
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I’ve just come home from visiting Chekhov House Museum (it’s quite far from Moscow) and I’m a bit short of words. Can talk only with interjections and exclamations 😱😬😁 I mean, the result sum is unbelievable! I didn’t expect it due to the hard times for all of us but people/fans are really amazing. And that’s what always gives me hope in life. The best side in all of us. (No, I am not drunk).
Your message to Richard is amazing (sorry, I warned you, lacking words). I second every single word of it. ❤️
You are a STAR (it’s third time I say it, you must believe it now).
And last, judging from The Man’s morning tweet, he knows about the auctions (I doubt there were many 😉).
Lots of love and hugs ❤️❤️❤️
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I saw your pictures on Twitter – and oh, what a beautiful spot. It looked so idyllic in that lush, green setting. And what a great idea to visit it on that day!
You are so right – it had not even really occurred to me, but we are still living in extraordinary times, and some of us may be experiencing financial difficulties. All the more astonishing that we were able to generate such an amazing sum.
And have you seen his tweets to us? So nice of him to acknowledge the fundraiser directly. I am really happy for all of us.
Many many thanks to you for your lovely support, Olga xxx
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I believed Richard was aware about the auctions and it was already quite enough for me but seeing his tweets this morning, especially a reply to your tweet made me jump from excitement! It was a real pleasure to see your tweet on his TL 👍🏻 Yes, we do it for charity but it is he who inspires us in this particular case. It’s your hard work and efforts (plus all those who contributed the actions items) that made the miracle happen. For many years I donated myself, out of my admiration for RA, but these past two years made the donation for me not only fun but also gave me a feeling of unity, of team efforts, of mutual support. Saying “thank you” even many times is not enough ❤️
Much love ❤️❤️❤️
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Sonja,
You’ve so eloquently expressed how it feels to be a Richard Armitage well wisher.
But you deserves kudos as well.
You organized and coordinated the now annual Birthday charity auction.
You stepped into Ali’s tired shoes for RichardArmitageDotNet and re-“soul”ed the site, hiring expert coders to bring it to State of the Art.
Thanks and blessings to you my friend in Armitage.
Sahra
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Aw, S – thank you for those kind words. Too much credit, really. And rest assured: I wouldn’t put *any* effort into my fandom activities if I didn’t think that there were many people out there who appreciate it and who are WORTH IT. And I am not even talking about Richard here. It’s my fellow fan friends who make it all so much fun and worth-while. Richard – is only the glue that holds it together 😉
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That is a stunning result!! Thank you again to everyone organising crafting and donating. Wonderful celebration as are sll gestures big and small as a matter of fact in a year such as this 💓
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It’s such a strange year, even tragic in many ways. All the more reason to create some positivity and do something that has a positive impact – both for us (because doing something good lifts the soul) and for LOROS.
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I admit it, I´d like to steal your words, they´re so lovely and sum up so well how I see our lovely man. And what we all achieved together is just as wonderful, I´m stunned and speechless but like some already said you were at the steering wheel and without you it wouldn´t have been possible, thank you 💗💗.
P.S: I really like the beard in combination with the longer hair and wouldn´t mind if he kept it 😉💕.
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LOL – alright, I’ll let him keep the longer hair and the beard 😉
Hehe, and it’s getting difficult to find nice ways of describing him and what he means to me… 8 years in the fandom. I’m running out of phrases 😉
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I understand perfectly what you mean 😉…
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I understand perfectly what you mean 😉💕…
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Ooops, I thought my first reply was swallowed 😬…
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The happiest of birthdays to a wonderful man and kudos to you, Sonja, for making it a memorable one for us all.
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It’s really been a lovely birthday for us, too. I actually think the final donation is a bit of a gift for us, too. It certainly lifted my spirits.
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What she said — perfect!
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I love your message to Armitage and I support every thing that was said and wish it doubled or tripled.
I’m happy for those who were able to join and contribute how they could. Great job Guylty. I hope he understands how truly he is appreciated for who he is and for his work.
Cheers.
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It’s nice to have one day in the year where everything said and done is truly positive. I *always* enjoy Richard’s work, and I am glad that there is a way of showing him how much.
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😁
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Awesome, awesome result, Guylty!! What a great amount has been raised! Thanks to all the fans and very much also to you for organizing all this with such great enthusiasm. Add to that a lovely message for Mr. A. by you, accompanied by a glass of champagne – this has been a worthy celebration indeed. 🙂
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I really felt that yesterday was like a birthday party. (It helped that I was alone at home – I don’t believe that Mr G would have raised a glass to RA 😂. Maybe a bit too much to ask…) The results of the fundraiser really have lifted me up – not just because we know that our donation will make a *real* difference to a small charity such as LOROS. But also because I really think that projects like the fundraiser create a bit of community spirit, and I like that. It reinforces my belief that we can get great things done – if we work on it together. It’s a wonderful feeling to have been part of this with a large group of like-minded people.
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What an awesome total from an awesome community, thank you all! Your message is beautiful, Sonja, you describe how I feel about our lovely man much more eloquently than I ever could xx
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Your appreciation of RA shows in every gif you make, Mezz :-).
It’s been a wonderful experience again, and I can’t thank the community enough for allowing me to steer the fundraiser.
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Congratulations Sonja, just seen the message from LOROS
Twitter at its best when you can an immediate reaction
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Yay – that was such a surprise. And yes, social media is really good for that. I was very happy to see Richard use it for that purpose. It feels good to know that he knows about the generosity of his fans.
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Congratulations Sonja, I have just read message the thank you from LOROS
Twitter at its best
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Wow, that’s so great. Well done everyone!
Thanks Guylty for doing this again ❤
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