The great thing about this job is the people you meet. I have been lucky enough to get to know Albert who runs an amazing charity auction that is known locally as "Albert's Auction". It raises money for the Parkinsons Disease Society. Albert is retired having worked many years for the National Park. But his passion is antiques of every variety. Down the years Albert has raised thousands of pounds by collecting and then auctioning off donations from antique chests to linen to a wheelbarow of garden gnomes.
This year was the last ever auction and the village hall in Slaley was packed. I arrived late after an event in Haydon Bridge to find the auction in full swing and the professional auctioneer in fine voice. My favourite of his sayings was when he waxed lyrical about a picture, before adding that "this would cover a big hole in the wall!"
More importantly there was an amazing sense of community, that needed to be seen and felt to be understood. Slaley is a village on the edge of Hexham Shire but the village Community and the Hall itself is more active than a town 10 times its size. A great afternoon.
