A message from Colin Westwood, following on from the report below on the Christmas Auction held recently at the White Horse Farm Inn:
CHRISTMAS AUCTION 2012–A big WELL DONE to all Rosedale and Hartoft residents. Thank you from the Reading Room Committee.
Last Saturday evening witnessed a magnificent turnout for our annual Christmas Auction at The White Horse Farm Hotel. The event raised a greatly appreciated and needed £573 for Reading Room funds and a similar amount for Martin House in Boston Spa, the only children’s hospice in Yorkshire.
Dave Seller, in his wonderfully ebullient style, conducted the auction with great panache and at pace befitting his increasingly befuddled audience. A brilliant job Dave. Meanwhile, Christine and Jim our perfect hosts for the evening ensured some thirty partying guests from Darlington and we ‘woolly backs’ got on famously, often vying to be the top bidders for several ‘real’ Rosedale pickled onions and two foot high cones whose contents remain a mystery to this day. A scurrilous rumour that several items for sale were stolen goods, out of date stock and Pound Shop returns, did not deter telephone bidders from around the world going to extraordinary lengths to secure the lots of their choosing.
Judging from the number of items for sale including cakes, preserves, watches, large toys and wood carvings plus generous money donations and the use of holiday cottages or meals at local restaurants, I suspect that the vast majority of people in Rosedale and Hartoft contributed in some way. We owe you all a massive debt of gratitude.
Finally, I would like to thank our Reading Room committee members and supporters who along with Christine and Jim planned and executed a most memorable evening to perfection.
Colin Westwood, Committee Chairman.
