Going once, going twice... all in the name of charity

Gill Ellard invited family and friends to her Fulwood house for an auction in aid of Rosemere Cancer Foundation. She asked each of her guests to bring along their perfect present, which then became the auction’s lots.Her friend Barbara Askam was in charge of the hammer, selling off a variety of items, including DIY help, a couple of hours help from a computer expert and an afternoon sail down the Lancaster Canal with a barbecue, donated by boat owner Kevin, Gill’s husband. The auction raised £860 and as Gill is a member of Preston Cecilian Choral Society and Chorale Amici, she topped up the money to £1,000 by taking home-made cakes to rehearsals. Gill and Barbara also raised £758 for Rosemere last autumn when they organised a fund-raising quiz night at Fulwood Tennis Club.A spokesman for Rosemere said: “Rosemere Cancer Foundation is delighted with this donation. It spends the donations it receives on vital equipment, research and training that cannot be funded by the NHS. “It strives to bring world class cancer treatments and services to local cancer patients throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria via their local hospitals and the region’s three specialist treatment centres: the Rosemere Cancer Centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, Blackpool Victoria Hospital for blood cancers and the Royal Blackburn for liver cancers.“The charity also funds those things that can make the cancer journey a little more comfortable such as free access to complementary therapies for all newly diagnosed patients.”For further information, visit http://www.rosemere.org.ukChorale Amici next performs in St Anne’s Parish Church at 3pm on Sunday, July 31. Tickets are £5 and its On the Lighter Side programme includes a medley of favourite songs.