On Saturday I spent a large part of my day sitting in my local supermarket with a yellow bucket in front of me which was for placing donations to our annual Christmas Appeal which provides food hampers, food vouchers and fuel vouchers to needy families and pensioners at this time of year. The Appeal needs £120,000 this year, last year they raised £104,000.

I was gratified to find that I had raised £280 which was quite a respectable sum of money.

On Sunday we had the annual Charity Auction, the proceeds go to the Appeal. The various lots are all donated and range from used peat modules to things money cannot normally buy such as lunch in Government House with the Lieutenant Governor of the island, in other words the Queen's representative here.

The star lot was a holiday in India worth more than £10,000. This includes First Class travel and accommodation in two of India's best hotels. The story of the donation is, to me, worthy of comment and a bouquet to the donor. Our Finance Minister attended a function in his official capacity and bought raffle tickets with his own money. He won the top prize and felt that as he was only there because of his job that he morally didn't deserve the prize. Therefore he donated it to the charity where it raised over £7,000. Well done him, what an honourable man.

We like stories like this.

When we have politicians who can't even shell out for a poppy without claiming it on expenses, the fact that he "bought raffle tickets with his own money" becomes truly impressive. Good for him.

Giving is a great thing, Sue, thanks for sharing. I also think you should be proud of yourself for braving the elements as you did , to collect all that money. Hats off!

Thanks for sharing this Sue. Nice to hear some good news.

On a slightly different tack, last night I attended a Lions Board Meeting, where our club of 24 members distributed funds raised for the year - around $10,000 to such organisations as Royal Flying Doctor, Lions Save Sight and Hearing Dogs Foundations, McCusker Foundation for Alzheimer's Research and several others including the local hospital and schools.
The population of our shire is around 2100 - not a bad effort, I reckon !

I have been sitting with my yellow bucket again today and by heck it was cold! Knowing I would be sitting opposite the automatic door again, in front of the bargain offer toilet rolls, I dressed accordingly with the benefit of my experience two weeks ago. One longsleeved silk vest, one sweatshirt, one bodywarmer, one knitted scarf, one padded jacket, thick socks, two pairs of trousers, oh and a pair of lined gloves! I looked like Michelin Woman.

I couldn't get to the supermarket early this time as the snow made the roads too dangerous so I waited for it to thaw sufficiently which meant that I arrived about 1.15pm then left at 5.45pm. I collected over £141 so both weeks I averaged just over £30 per hour.

You get strange requests, one man asked me to watch his shopping for him and another asked me to tell his wife that he had gone to his car - how the heck was I supposed to know who his wife was? One man said he could have done with some of our buckets as he had been collecting money to transport the body of an 8 year old local boy who was on holiday in Venezuela to Madeira, he accidently shot himself just hours after arriving at his aunt's home. Horrific. They needed £15,000 and it looks as if they have reached the target after just a few days.

Last week, the Salvation Army in our town was emptying out its buckets for the day and they found a $1200 gold coin wrapped in a dollar bill.

Sue, I wish I could send you some warm Aussie weather - perhaps not quite as warm as it has been the last few days though.
Seriously, the generosity of people amazes me, as well as the other end of the scale - those who can well afford to give, and don't.
My dad used to tell a story about a wealthy local who was approached by a young Salvation Army collector. He asked "what do you want, lass?" She replied "a donation please". He then asked what she wanted it for, and her response was "for God". He asked how old she was and on being told she was 21, said.."well, I'm 71 and I'll be seeing God long before you do, so I'll keep the money and give it to him when I see him."

Sue has always been a Saint, and not just for this, and for more years that one can imagine!

Please don't tell her that I mentioned it though.

It is always inspiring to hear stories of people who provide great generosity during the holiday season.

Its even more impressive when they do it in anonymity. This time of year is so hard for some people. It is truly wonderful to bless others in a time of need.