If you want to feel good help others! And you can do just that by bidding high on some fabulous lots to help save lives in Derbyshire, writes Charles Hanson.
On Friday, November 18 I will take to the rostrum at Hansons’ Etwall Auction Centre to host a live sale to benefit Derbyshire people. It will raise funds to buy a public-access defibrillator which will be sited between Derby Station and the Derbion shopping centre. Any excess money will go to Derby St John Ambulance to fund training of the city’s army of life-saving volunteers.
A wonderful array of auction lots – several celebrating Derbyshire life and heritage – have been sourced thanks to the hard work of my wife, Rebecca, who is leading this initiative. She is a dedicated health professional and Derby St John volunteer.
The auction catalogue is live online at Hansons’ bidding/catalogue platform www.hansonslive.co.uk – and bidding is open. However, the last chance to bid will come when the auction is broadcast live on Friday.
Thanks to an avalanche of generosity shown by individuals and businesses throughout the area – we’re very grateful to them all! – Rebecca has sourced some exciting items and experiences.
So, what can you bid on? Well, how about a Tea and Tour for four at Derbyshire’s Tissington Hall courtesy of Sir Richard Fitzherbert, 9th Baronet? He will personally show you round the early 17th Century, grade II listed Jacobean mansion.
Derbyshire heritage shines bright again in lot 10, afternoon tea at Lea Hurst for up to four people, plus a house tour. Lea Hurst is the Derbyshire property famous for its connection to the founder of modern-day nursing Florence Nightingale.
You can also bid on a visit to Hope House Costume Museum in Alstonefield, Derbyshire. The treat includes cream tea and a glass of Prosecco for four. This beautiful museum, set in idyllic countryside, displays costumes from the late 18th Century to 1970s. It is owned by Notty Hornblower, a clothing and textiles consultant at Hansons.
Our Staffordshire friends have been generous too. For example, Tutbury Castle has donated a season ticket, allowing two adults and two children to enjoy its events for free throughout the 2023 season.
And football fans shouldn’t miss the opportunity to bid on a full hospitality package for 10 people at a Burton Albion home game at the Pirelli Stadium. Enjoy a three-course meal before the game (excluding the Derby County home fixture). This lot, kindly donated by club chairman Ben Robinson, is worth £600.
If you love TV’s Bargain Hunt you can snap up an opportunity to enjoy a Bargain Hunt experience at Bishton Hall, Staffordshire. Every year the popular series films episodes at Hansons’ salerooms. See behind the scenes, enjoy a glass of fizz and meet yours truly!
Other lots to tempt you include a seven-night UK holiday in a two-berth motorhome, donated by Geoff Cox Leisure, and a seven-day holiday in your own motorhome at Lakeside Park, North Somersotes, Lincolnshire, donated by Don Amott. Or how about dinner, bed and breakfast at The Peak Edge Hotel, Stone Edge, Chesterfield?
I will also be auctioning a shirt signed by Derbyshire’s cricket team, kindly donated by cricketer Wayne Madsen, and an oil painting entitled Restless Seas by Derby-born marine artist Jim Brereton. One of his paintings, Cornish Breakers, sold for £7,500 at Christies. Explore all the lots – and bid now – at www.hansonslive.co.uk.
This event will shine the spotlight on the tireless work undertaken by St John volunteers. They give their time to provide first aid at public events such as football matches. They also support the NHS by crewing ambulances and in recent times have trained volunteer vaccinators as part of the nation’s fight against Covid.
Derby’s St John unit has around 60 adult volunteers as well as a thriving youth section with Cadets aged 10 to 17 and Badgers aged from five to 10. The adult unit alone provided 12,000 hours of service to the community in 2021. These are the people who step forward in the moments that matter, to save lives and keep communities safe.
Rebecca has chosen a fantastic life-saving community cause. I hope people across the city – and county – will support her.
For me, hosting charity auctions is a key part of my life. A week rarely goes by when I don’t pick up the gavel to help a good cause. For example, in November I helped to raise more than £1.9m as auctioneer at a fundraiser for the CRIS Cancer Foundation in London. However, charity begins at home and it will be a privilege to help St John Ambulance and my home county.
The St John Ambulance Auction will be held on Friday November 18, from 7pm, at Hansons Auctioneers, Etwall, Derbyshire. Watch and bid online at www.hansonslive.co.uk. To donate to Derby St John, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/derbyshirecharityauction
Alternatively, text DEFIB to 70460 to donate £5
