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We had a fantatastic day at the auction. Everything
seemed to run smoothly. We had an attendance figure of around 120 which
is a record in any previous auction.
Also we raised a record
amount of £755·74
We have now raised a
total of £5449.77 from
all the charity fish auctions.
Last year we donated £1,347·34
alone.
This year we had a microphone & amplifier
which came in really handy as we had to get through 550+ lots. Again
a record amount of lots which we predicted. The microphone & PA
system were donated by TA Aquaculture & no money was deducted from
donations to cover this. In future auctions this will be used to help
everyone hear the auction.
We hear your gripes through the grapevine in areas we can improve on
& this auction saw a lot of improvements like the new entry card
system which worked well. It was something we needed to tighten up on
& this year we enlisted the help of the Leicester lads - Tim &
Dave to oversee things. These guys ensured that £200 went into
the charity kitty. Also the aforementioned microphone & smooth running
of bags from everyones boxes being put on the rack equally.
As one of the auctioneers I will say it made the job a little easier
recognising bids seeing the red paper held up.
Gripes from this year are people veiwing the rack while the auction
is in progress. This blocks the view of the stage in some areas so next
auction we are building a new stand with a sheeting system to cover
the racked fish while auctions are in progress. This will help the view
from the audience & keep the fish calm when not being viewed. Possibly
the new rack will be on wheels so it can be moved out of the way after
it's restocked. Again, one little improvement in the wellbeing of the
fish being auctioned.
The raffle had some great prizes including bottles
of whiskey. Amount received from this was £115. Pete & Jack
as always do a great job in organising this. I would like to thank both
of them & also those donating the prizes which were very impressive
this year.
The fish auction including donations & stand
fees raised £437.47. This was through 6 racks of fish. Includes
£46 for donated fish & eggs.
The penny jar raised £3.27 from one persons
efforts. If more contributed to this it would be a nice addition to
donations.
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Some Thanks...
I would like to thank the following for
putting in a lot of time & hard work on the day. Without
these people the auction just wouldn't work -
Dave & Linda MacAllister
- Populating the rack & moving
them onto the auction bench. They stocked 6 racks this time.
Roy & Pam Bryan. Also Mike
Boot - Financial control. This
is the heart of a successful auction & they did a fantastic
job. It's a high pressure job especially as we were going through
lots really fast. To keep up with 3 auctioneers takes some doing.
Trevor Williams & Chris
Cheswright - Auctioneers. Trevor's voice lasted through
to the end. This year I think we were all suffering with loss
of voice & senile dementure towards the end of 550 lots.
Pete Riley & Jack Holmes
- For organising the raffle again. They hussled up some
great prizes this year & managed to raise £115 which
went straight into the donated total.
Tim & Dave - The
Leicester lads worked hard to ensure all paid the entrance fee.
This was a hard job but something they volunteered to go for.
Many gripes last auction at those not paying the entrance fee
so it had to be sorted out.
The Runners - This is
hard work running up & down the room all day. It's harder
now as it's more difficult to move down the room with a bigger
audience. Dai worked hard & so too did a young lad but I
never did learn his name. Perhaps someone could let me know
& I will put the record straight.
Also thanks to the BCA, BKA, the Telford
lads & Brian for putting stands on.
The girls in the kitchen deserve a thank you along with the
bar staff & of course the Lodge Park Residents Association
for allowing us to use the room & facilities free of
charge.
Last but
not least we thank everyone for coming & supporting the
auction & especially the breeders for entering fish to auction.
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Some of the
high rollers....
X.birchmanni
- £20
X.malinche - £16
X.signum - £22
X.kallmani - £15
X.montezumae - £29
X.maculatus - £16
Riv.igneus - £13
Fp.sjoestedti USA - £16
A.bivittatum Funge - £14
A.rectogoense GEB 90/27
- £11
Austrolebias nigripinnis
Makowitz - £16
Simpsonichthys marginatus
- £24
S.boitonei - £14
S.carletti - £13
S.flagillatus - £10
S.sp.Urucuia
A.ocellatum GJS 00/5 Sikasika
- £21
A.elberti Ntui - £12
A.australe Gold - £11
Nothobranchius cardinalis
TAN 97/27 - £15
Nothobranchius annectens
- £12
Nothobranchius rachovii -
£13
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Poecilia caucana
- £13
Sceleromystax sp.113 - £17
Betta rubra - £16
Betta pugnax - £10
Betta rutilans £15
Corydoras sp.Argentina 2006
F1 - £16
Corydoras rabauti - £8
Corydoras pygmaeus - £12
Corydoras sterbai - £8
Corydoras ambiacus - £12
Corydoras reynoldsi - £15
Synodontis petricola - £10
Hyphessobrycon pyrrhonotus
- £12
Pelvicachromis subocellatus
- £12
Nannostomus eques - £11
Apistogramma hongsloi Rostrich
- £11
Apistogramma sp.Schwarzkinn
- £10
Apistogramma agassizi Red
- £9
Microglanis sp.Carlea -
£10
Lepomis gibbosus UK Tank
bred - £16
Aphanius mento - £11
Aphanius persicus - £12
Diapteron abacinum GBG 92/10
- £26
Fp.nigerianus P82 - £12
Poecilocharax weitzmanni -
£25
Brachyrhaphis holdridgei
- £15
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Tim & Chris auctioning
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Room for one more on top
!
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Alan tries to sneak past
but security makes him cough up the two quid
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Brian's tank & cuddly
toy stand
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Dai struts his stuff on
the dance floor
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Next auction is going
to be this big !
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Mike Boot, Roy & Pam
Bryan looking after the finances
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The viewing stand was
so busy a queue formed
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Still queuing....
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The auctioneers. Trevor
at the mic.
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Dick almost went through
the whole thing
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Next auction we will
have a new rack with
a new design
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Photos in this block courtesy of Jack Holmes
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What's Next..?
Next auction is already booked for June
6th 2010. This is the anniversary of D-Day so it should
be easy to remember.
The club now owns a small
marquee which will be put to use in the next auction. We were
let down last year relying on other people for the marquee &
PA system so both are now assured for coming auctions as we
also have our own PA system now.
The marquee is going to be a Cichlid area & the BCA are
going to run it for us & donate 10% of any sales from auction
or other activities going on in the tent which goes into the
main charity donation kitty. We hope this will take off. The
BCA have had a management committee shake up & are keen
to give the BCA a makeover & attract more members.
It would be great to get the rift lake & Discus breeders
involved here.
As the marquee is seperate it will not affect the way things
are run in the main room. Attendees will be free to roam between
both areas after parting with their £2 entrance fee.
One clarification on the entrance fee is that under 16's enter
for free. I don't think this has been published before. It is
important to encourage youngsters to get involved in fishkeeping
we feel.
As mentioned above a new
rack will be built. The old one has done it's job & was
great when we were getting 50 people into the auctions. The
photos above show queues waiting to view the rack. The new design
will probably be split into 2 racks with wheels so they can
be moved off the dance floor area during the auction to give
a better view of the stage from this blind spot. Also, the rack
can be populated off scene & rolled out after the auction
for viewing prior to the next auction session. A sheet or cover
will be brought in to prevent any viewing during an auction
session.
The last auction showed up a problem with such a big attendance
on the rack & hopefully this will make life easier on the
day.
We welcome any constructive
critisism to make the auctions better. Please contact
me if you have any.
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Donations
so far:
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2000 - June
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£49·00
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2001 - June
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£81·00
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2002 - June
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£85·00
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2003 - June
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£185·60
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2004 - June
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£686·20
( due to massive overseas input )
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2004 - December
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£176·50
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2005 - June
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£331·25
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2006 - June
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£449·96
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2006 - December
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£260·10
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2007 - June
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£383·82
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2007 - December
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£542·00
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2008 - June
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£372·00
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2008 - December
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£500·00
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2009 - June
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£591·60
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2009 - December
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£755·74
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Total
donations - £5449·77
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