Jamie
passed away suddenly and
unexpectedly at the age
of 14 in 2001. Since
then the Lister family
have been working hard
to raise as much money
as they can for CRY,
with the last event held
in 2008. After a
couple of years off, and
2011 being the 10th
anniversary since Jamie
passed away, they hoped
that this year’s event
could be the most
successful yet!
With
the evening proceedings
promising live music
from two fantastic
bands; a wealth of
amazing prizes on offer
in both the auction and
raffle; and the promise
of a ‘special guest
appearance’, tickets for
the event sold out in no
time.
This
was a great start to the
fundraising effort and a
massive boost to the
fundraising pot.
With
DJ John steering the
evening’s proceedings,
guests enjoyed music
from "Northern Lights"
and "Souled Out" while
family friends donned
CRY sashes and worked
the room, getting people
to handover as much
money as possible for
raffle tickets and
quickly filling the
donation buckets with
generous contributions
and plenty of spare
change.
A
brief break in the music
meant another
opportunity to tempt
even more money from the
generous guests.
The
empty dance floor was a
perfect playing field
for rolling £1 coins and
with a large bottle of
Bell’s finest whisky up
for grabs, the male
competitive streak took
over and there was
another £40 in the
kitty!
With
the band safely back
from the bar, they
started up again with
some more classics that
got everyone up out of
their seats and showing
us their best moves.
After another great set,
everyone took the
opportunity to rest
their feet as raffle
tickets were drawn and
the excellent prizes on
offer were shared out.
With
donations from local
businesses, friends and
family, there was
something for everyone
on the raffle table.
From a bottle of
whatever you fancy, to
restaurant vouchers,
high street hampers and
even a full English
breakfast hamper direct
from the farm!
The
charity auction was when
people got really
generous, with meals for
two; pamper sessions and
family days out up for
grabs for the right
price.
However, the big bidding
wars of the night were
over the Preston North
End lots. A signed
football, signed shirt
and hospitality match
tickets brought in a
combined total of £320
from charitable bidders.
The
evening was rounded off
by the ‘special guest’
appearance of the night!
As the lights dimmed and
spotlights centred, the
familiar sounds of Phil
Collins’ hit, ‘In the
Air Tonight’ played out
to the audience. The
twist this time being
there was not one, but
two Gorillas revealed,
ready and waiting to
re-create the infamous
advert!
The night’s success can
only be put down to the
help of friends, family
and local businesses and
their generous donations
of prizes, time, and
money, to all of which a
huge thank you goes out!
The
2011 grand total was an
amazing £2310
raised and donated in
the memory of Jamie
Bucknall. Fingers
crossed in 2012 it might
be even more!
Helen Brady