Happy Fri-yay dear readers! (Fri-yay – too much?) The rest of the editorial team are all cringing, and rightly so.
But never mind – the sun is shining and Diary is feeling in a rather perky mood, despite the doom and gloom that is the news agenda. Luckily for everyone, this columnist has still managed to find some quirky charity stories for us all to enjoy.
First, one warning: no cute animal news was available this week. Diary apologises most sincerely, and will try to do better next week.
Let It Be (something expensive)
In a Diary gold-mine, The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has released a “hall of fame” showcasing some rare and unique donations that have passed through its doors, and Ob La Di do they live up to expectations.
For those who weren’t aware, when rare items are donated to the BHF, the donations can be sent to the charity’s eBay hub for verification and be listed online for buyers to shop all over the world – it’s all quite an operation.
First on the list, is The Beatles’ Love Me Do seven-inch demo promo, which was donated to the BHF Midhurst shop and sold on eBay for a cool £9,400.
This was the promotional record that made the Beatles famous and before this they were an unknown band, even the spelling of Paul McCartney’s name is wrong and is printed “McArtney”. Sultry Dairy can only imagine the frustration of being misnamed by an incompetent editor.
The highest selling item the BHF unearthed was an 18-carat Cartier Tank Française watch (fancy), which sold for £9,766.66.
Finally, the hall of fame includes a Manchester United FC shirt, signed by England star Harry Maguire, which went for £205.01. Diary hates to be snide when money is being raised for a great cause but given that unsigned football shirts go for over £100 these days, Maguire’s John Hancock doesn’t appear to have added a huge amount of value. And it’s quite a sharp depreciation when you consider Slabhead’s signature cost Man U £80m four years ago.
Pride Pride Pride!
This Pride month, the Albert Kennedy Trust, which provides services for LGBTQ+ people facing vulnerable housing situations, has partnered with Deliveroo to provide free meals through its Friend of Dorothy initiative.
By saying “Dorothy” at participating restaurants, LGBTQ+ individuals experiencing homelessness can get a free meal along with onward support.
Now, a bit of history for you all; the phrase, “A friend of Dorothy” was first used as a coded synonym for gay men to identify a safe space when homosexuality in the UK was criminalised.
The term has since expanded as a catchall term for other people who identify as LGBTQ+.
The Dorothy in question is thought to be Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz, which is seen as an allegory for “chosen family” and a journey towards home.
In other Pride news, the National Trust and Outernet London invited Diary to the opening day of Space to Have a Ball last week.
For the sake of anonymity, Diary cannot reveal whether they were in attendance, but apparently it was quite the event.
Space to Have a Ball took influence from the LGBTQ+ history of three National Trust places, and combined the history of ballroom culture with the creativity of contemporary dancers – marvellous stuff.
Anyways, Diary has kept you long enough. Go and enjoy your well-deserved weekends, wonderful charity sector people.
Related Articles
