Diocesan News31 Oct 10

Successful Ardess Auction (Clogher)

In the face of tough financial times the Parish of Magheraculmoney, Ardess is giving thanks for another very  successful auction this year, with close to £13,000 raised in one afternoon - not that there wasn't tons of preparation for weeks and months beforehand!

The Reverend Henry Blair opened proceedings with prayer, then it was straight to work for the next four hours for auctioneer Derek Humes. From cake stalls to craft stalls, bric-a-brac, clothing, books, jams and chutneys as well as the usual array of auction lots plus the increasingly popular 'pledges', everyone pulled together for this important annual fundraiser.

This year with a bespoke computerised system in place (developed in-house at Ardess) nobody missed the bargain they were after, thanks to the real-time video display of current and upcoming items. Plus there were no queues at the payments desk - just instant itemised receipts!

It was genuinely a joint effort by the parishioners together with the wider community, many travelling from Omagh and beyond, who turned out in great numbers to spend some money, grab a bargain, enjoy a burger, sit and chat over a cream-tea and generally have a good day out.

Thank you all...and see you next year!