November 2006
November 2006 finds Join Me in the middle of a particularly hectic period. Planning for the fifth Karmageddon (details here)on 2nd December is well advanced, and to recognise Join Me's 5th anniversary, Leader Wallace has set us the challenge of funding the building of a school in Kenya! Already, well over a thousand pounds has been donated directly, and bids towards lots in the Join Me Auction have pushed the total over two thousand pounds, in little over a week!
PLEASE help us to keep the momentum going over the next month or so, and with luck, together we can provide a whole community in Kenya with the best Christmas present we could imagine!
The 10th of November also marked a year since we lost Gold Joinee Cazz of Sydney to leukaemia. In her memory, Gold Joinee Parkin has started up a memorial fund, (here) where people can make donations, and the money raised at this year's Halloween Karmaval in Chester went to the same beneficiary: The Anthony Nolan Trust
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Which brings us neatly on to G old Joker Brake's review of events at:
The Merry All Saints Karmaval - MASK 200666
Halloween has a lot going for it. Pagan festival turned over-the-top commercial celebration of all things weird, wonderful and slightly disturbing, it's now one more excuse for an annual Join Meet! In its second year, the Merry All Saints Karmaval (or MASK) 200666 was quite a while in the planning - and all the better for it.
Last year it had been a collaboration between Gold Joinees Simon Brake (newly arrived from London) and Steff Worthington (life-long Cestrian and key Joinee in the region). This year, despite Steff moving to Birmingham, it was all very much his Meet, although in many ways it was dedicated to the memory of Gold Joinee Cazz, with all money raised at the charity auction going to The Anthony Nolan Trust, who provide life-saving donors for patients in need of a bone marrow transplant.
Vague plans had been pencilled in for the Friday night. Some people opted to go to the cinema to see a horror film, whilst others just wanted to chill out at The Shropshire Arms. Ultimately the cinema trip was called off, since Radio 2 DJ Mark Radcliffe and his jig band, The Family Mahone, were performing at the back of the pub. Purely coincidental, it was a brilliant start to the weekend, the band playing in a state of inebriation, joined by a couple of similarly inspired young ladies at one point. Nice fellows, they hung around for a while sipping further pints, whilst Joinee Parkin attempted and succeeded to talk Mr Radcliffe into donating his hat for the following day's charity auction.
Last year we'd managed four of us meeting up the night before. This year it was closer to fifteen - a good indication of things to come.
Come Saturday, the plan was to meet outside the Town Hall at midday. People met the deadline with varying degrees of success, Steff turning up quite a while later - although judging by his costume it was probably time spent well. On a personal note, I've discovered that if you're worried about walking through town with green hair and full make-up its best to arm yourself with a small child first. Nobody gets in the way of a psychotic-looking clown pushing a buggy.
Joinee-Squared Brake2
Once we'd moved from the town Hall? to The Cross, (a central pedestrianised part of the high-street just outside a church), we we began handing out cakes to the general public. One thousand of them. After confusing, amusing and feeding the masses with cakes, and posing for photos, we headed off to Alexander's Jazz Bar for the charity auction, plus some chilli served up by Joinee Bear. At this point we were also joined by some Lovely Citizens.
Prior to the auction Steff introduced us to Ruth Carter, a representative of The Anthony Nolan Trust, who? had been invited along to tell us a little about the trust and where the money goes, as well as giving us the option to become donors ourselves (which I'm glad to say many of us were interested in).
?Steff had previous auctioned a couple of items online, netting £250 for a Sheffield United top signed by Sean Bean and eight shiny pounds for a pair of shorts signed by Shane Ward, but the following items were auctioned there and then:
- A collection of celebrity photos by Linda McCartney - sold to 'Toby' for £15.06
- A history of L.I.P.A signed by the curator - sold to Joinee Sweeney for £16
- Theatre tickets for a family in Manchester to see 'The Golden Goose' - sold to Joinee Pud for £16
- £50 meal voucher in a Japanese restaurant in Liverpool - sold to 'Ade' for £25
- A Little Britain CD and postcard signed by David Walliams & Matt Lucas -? sold to Joinee Pud for £25
- A Trilby Hat signed by Mark Radcliffe - sold to Joinee Sweeney for £36
- All four of Danny's books, personalised for the winners - sold to Joinees Curfew & Spacamonkey for a mighty £60)
A signed selection of Stuart Pearce pics and a signed Bolton Wanderers pennant went to Joinees Cooke and 'Larry' respectively.
The auction, combined with the money collected through the sales of Joinee Bear's chilli, raised a grand total of £802! So a big thanks to all that contributed!
The night was concluded, as last year, at the canal side bar called Telfords Warehouse, where prizes were given out for fancy dress, including the Best Dressed Joinee (being awarded to the combined brilliance of Ghostbusters Goldy, Sweeney and Spanna, ?and second place awards for Joinees Pud and Ray. Joinee Drought, dressed as a pirate, received the award for Joinee Most-Not-Getting-Halloween, despite an excellent costume, and Goldy got another award for being the Most Helpful Joinee, for driving people to Chester in the Karma Bus.
Everyone then proceeded to RaoK the Bar's takings, and someone broke out the glow sticks, for further silliness. A local act called P-theory, who seemed to be a mix of funk and rock and I'm not sure what, were incredibly popular, the lead singer inviting ladies onstage to dance with him. Slowly the events of a long day out, (and perhaps the alcohol), got the better of people, and gradually the crowds thinned as people went their seperate ways.
Come Sunday morning most people were quick to head off on their long journies home. If anyone made it to a pub before doing so, they're a braver man than me. Including the women.
MASK 200666 was a really good Hallowe'en Meet. The money raised speaks for itself, but the meeting of old and new friends is always great, and when you've made an effort to make yourself particularly scary (or stupid), the ice melts all the faster. Thanks all that made it - hope to see you next year!