Good morning, all. Instead of a round-up, I am posting a final appetiser this morning. Time ran away from me yesterday. I had actually planned to have all auctions ready for listing by Friday evening. And then this happened: Mr Guylty was poorly all week, and Thursday late evening it came to a head. He was in such bad pain when he was coughing, that he finally agreed to be taken to A&E. The doctors diagnosed pneumonia and he stayed overnight. There was a lot of back-and-forth about being released on Friday, complicated by the fact that Little Miss Guylty needed to be taken to a second Covid test (routine if you have been identified as a close-contact and even if the first test has come back negative). That whole trip took 2.5 hours in the afternoon, so no time for auction prep. At dinner time it looked like Mr Guylty was staying in hospital for the night and Guylty could finally get down to listing writing in the evening. But then he called at 7.30pm to say he was ready to be picked up. Whoa. What a day. And now that you have sat through all this stuff, I am finally getting to the things you are *really* interested in:

The Final Appetiser

Even though you will see all that is on offer in the auctions in a few hours’ time, I want to take the opportunity and credit those kind contributors who have not been mentioned yet.

Esther has put together a fan pack that will blow you off your feet. LIterally. A red wine set – with tea, a sign, and one-of-a-kind RA socks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrea has donated a completely unused copy of Castlevania (bluray), still in its original packaging. It’ll come in a mini set with a tiny sticker of the Belmont family crest, supplied by Young.

 

 

 

 

 

An original Playbill theatre programme from Love Love Love has been contributed by Mimi. It comes in a set with a round pin/magnet of the RA crest.

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing with plays, Fran has donated a copy of the Uncle Vanya script by Nick Hern Books. Unused and perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

Ellen has donated a set of the wooden RA Christmas ornament that we had in our Etsy sale last year. I’ve added a little extra to make it a Christmas set – you’ll see in the listing later.

 

 

 

 

 

From Paula comes a DVD of The Impressionists. An earlier work of Richard’s, and well worth seeing.

 

 

 

 

 

Poppy has been creative and made an amazing hand bag that features many pictures of RA. More detailed illustrations will be seen in the listing later.

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, SahRA is contributing a full set of the three Crucible posters. All unused and never hung up. You know the posters, so I am only teasing you with the three rolls here.

 

 

 

 

 

A big thank you to all these contributors for their generosity and creativity! All these items will be available in the auctions on eBay. Which now brings me to the customary small print, just so you know the drill.

The upcoming charity auctions will be conducted on eBay for ease of transaction, access and visibility. They are all private and non-commercial, a fundraiser for charity. I.e. the proceeds of the eBay auctions will all be donated to our chosen charity (minus incurred costs such as eBay and Paypal transaction fees). Postage costs will be covered by the proceeds and/or donation by sender.

You need to register on eBay in order to be able to bid. You can do so on the eBay platform of your country/territory and in your own language – you will still be able to access the auctions (which will most likely be conducted over my home platform, eBay IE). I will provide direct links to the individual auctions in my kick-off post here on my blog, and you can click on them to access the items that you are interested in. The items will go to the highest bidders, upon payment. If you are the auction winner, you will receive a notification e-mail that contains all the info on how to pay for your item and other next steps. Please also note that I have taken the liberty of setting a starting price for the auctions. These reflect regular prices of the items as researched on eBay/Amazon and are an attempt by me to guarantee a nice minimum donation.

Please bear in mind that the fan items are pre-loved unless described otherwise. That means there may be signs of use on the items, as per item descriptions. Hand-made items are – hand-made! So they may have imperfections, but that is their charm.

Since our items are all for fundraising, we are charging no postage fees (see above). The items will be carefully packaged and sent anywhere in the world. In some cases, the items will be despatched directly by the donor and not me. I will note that in the listings themselves. Depending on items and final price, some packages may be sent by registered mail, so buyers will receive a tracking number to track the progress of their parcel. No returns possible, I am afraid, as this is a charity project: First and foremost, please consider your bids a donation to charity – with the won item a little bonus – hence the no returns policy. Bidding is open to all, anywhere in the world! (But to avoid disappointment, I would like to ask you to please have a look at your national postal services and check whether your postal provider actually accepts incoming mail from abroad *at this time*. Some countries have suspended all overseas postal services. If that is the case in your country, it is possible that there are delays in shipping your auction winnings to you. Also please bear in mind that there may be customs fees due, which will be your responsibility to pay.)

As always, here is a quick reminder that you do not have to spend money or make your Christmas donation in Richard’s honour via this fan initiative. In fact, you are not obliged to spend any money at all,  especially considering that we are still in a pandemic that may have impacted our finances. Bid and buy responsibly, please! The point here is to raise money for LOROS – whether as part of this fan-driven fundraiser, or on your own. LOROS (and Richard) will be pleased either way 😉. So please do not feel you *have to* donate/bid/buy. We are also thrilled to have you participate by way of commenting, cheering on and spreading the word. You are welcome to tweet along yourself!

The countdown is on! I hope to get the listings live by early evening! You’ll find out via a blog post here. See you then!