MORE than �5,200 was raised for two local charities at a special event which included an auction involving a cricket bat signed by last year's England cricket team.
MORE than �5,200 was raised for two local charities at a special event which included an auction involving a cricket bat signed by last year's England cricket team.
The event on Wednesday last week was in St Nicholas' Church, Great Yarmouth, and raised money for the Palliative Care East Appeal and St Nicholas' Parish Church Preservation Trust.
Nearly half of the total raised came from an auction conducted by Charles Bycroft with the highest bid of �510 going to a Rowland Fisher oil painting, donated by Mr and Mrs Philip Molineux, who gave several other paintings for the auction. A pair of small watercolours painted by C H Harrison donated by Mr and Mrs Michael Falcon fetched �310, and a cricket bat signed by last year's England cricket team, given by Mr and Mrs John Burton, reached �210.
The majority of the guests were in evening dress and had the opportunity of a conducted tour of the church by Dr Paul Davies. Guests were able to have antiques appraised by Malcolm Ferrow, Valerie Howkins, Frank Hume and David McDermot.
Mayor Tony Smith stressed the importance of St Nicholas' Church to the town and how important it was to support the �300,000 appeal to renovate the organ.
Hugh Sturzaker, one of the organisers, explained the organ was regarded as one of the finest in the country and the appeal is centred on individuals and organisations sponsoring organ pipes, which range in price from �25 to �1,000. It is hoped many people will want to remember friends, relatives and events by sponsoring an organ pipe.
Details about the appeal and how to sponsor a pipe can be obtained on www.sncpt.co.uk.
A passionate talk about how an organ works and the defects in the present one was given by John Stephens, the organist and choirmaster of St Nicholas'. He demonstrated the great power and beauty of the organ by playing Widor's Toccata from his 5th Organ Symphony and JS Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
Photographs taken on the night may be seen and ordered on www.weddingsbyelizabeth.co.uk or on www.palliative-care-east.org.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here