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Sunday evening (4 Mar) was a milestone for the Friends of Tembaletu!  We raised £10,000 at an Auction of Promises in north London and the money raised will go towards building a paved playground for the disabled pupils of the remarkable Tembaletu School in Cape Town, South Africa.

There was South African wine, music and food to get the 100 strong audience in the mood to bid for more than sixty lots - anything from a weekend for two in a cottage in the country (UK), to an hour's argument with a Professor from the London School of Economics!   There were opportunities you'd never believe.

We were kept on our toes by actress Miriam Margolyes, who turned her hand to being the auctioneer for the evening.  I in turn was kept on my toes keeping her focussed on the lots, the sealed bids, the up-stretched hands, in fact the whole caboodle.  In fact, she did a great job, and kept us laughing and digging in our pockets in equal measure!

Many of those who came said they were transfixed by the Miriam finger outstretched at the auctionees as she cajoled and encouraged us to give that little bit more as the evening stretched into the night!!!

And if you want to find out how that argument went, read an article written by the man who bid £90 for the privilege of rowing with a professional contrarian.  http://www.newstatesman.com/200703190021  And I don't think we've heard the last of it as Ben (of New Statesman) seems to have started a family row!

All good fun and all in a good cause - Tembaletu School.  

I will be putting up some video very soon, so that you can see just why we all reached into our pockets on that rainy Sunday evening.