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Pot of cash from the traders with hearts of gold
TRADERS at Camden Market needed all their strength to hold aloft the pot of money they have collected for the CNJ Christmas hamper fund.
The year-long effort brought in a bumper haul of well over £1,000.
Peter Johnston, pictured front right, caretaker of Camden Market, who organised the collection, said: “It’s nice to give something back to the people of Camden. We’ve been doing it for seven years now and this is our biggest pot yet.”
Fast-changing fashions had contributed to the pot, Mr Johnston revealed. “Clothes have changed so quickly this year they’ve been in the sale a week after they’re on the stalls,” he explained. “I hate to see stuff get wasted so we knocked down the prices and gave all the money to the fund.”
l More than £2,000 was raised for the hamper fund at the Oxford Arms pub quiz on Monday. See centre pages.
l Film classic It’s a Wonderful Life Christmas fund screening – see Review
REGULARS at the Oxford Arms pub in Camden Town always know to leave a gap in their calendar for the institution that has become the Christmas quiz – all in aid of the New Journal’s Hamper Fund.
And this year was no different, with more people taking part than ever before in a record-busting fundraiser that boosted this year’s collection by an amazing £2,514.
All the money will be converted straight into hampers and distributed to Camden’s elderly and vulnerable residents over the festive season – a perfect reminder that nobody should be forgotten at this special time of year.
Publican and quizmaster Pat Logue took on the MCing duties as usual, before serving up the traditional supper of chips, beans and sausage, which never fails to perk up flagging quiz-goers. He said: “It was a great evening. We are more than happy to do our bit for the appeal. It’s a bit of fun but it’s for a good cause as well.”
The record-breaking total smashed last year’s sum of £1,700.
It was a bittersweet night, however, as the usual gathering was missing Bill O’Connor, who each year raised money for the fund by collecting loose change at the bar of his family’s local pub, The Sovereign in Stanhope Street.
Each year, Bill silenced the hubbub of the pub with his electronic voicebox – the result of a laryngectomy 20 years ago.
He died two months ago and left an extra £300 to the fund.
His son Michael handed over a cheque on behalf of his father – bequeathed on his deathbed – and also donated a further £450 supplied by Mr O’Connor’s charity, Speaker’s Corner.
He said: “The operation gave him a second lease of life and he thought ‘give back to others’.”
Camden Town Unlimited, a business regeneration body for the area, also did their bit to help the quiz smash the record, donating £250 to the fund. CTU turned out a team for the evening’s festivities – including chief executive Simon Pitkeathley.
David Stainer and his wife Katie Bramall, a couple from West Hampstead, came first and passed their £100 straight into the charity pot. |
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