Mixed Lot

I want a Victorian gentleman, preferably stout with a 'Dickensian' look about him - imagine some character out of Vanity Fair (the original, of course) and you'll get the picture. I want a real live one to promote The Cloisters Fair when it is sitting. If you know of someone who may be interested in this part-time job, then please do send 'em round.

Our first auction of 2011 took place yesterday at St Andrew's Hall in Norwich. At the beginning of the week it was looking like we would struggle to hold a sale because the number of lots that we had taken in were few in number. It's always quiet in the period after New Year but with just five Royal Doulton character jugs I was thinking 'Hmm...' An appeal to our supporters was, however, successful and we managed to put on a bit of a show. Not our finest hour, but good enough. Thank you to all of those who helped with entries - very much appreciated.

The sale was relatively well attended (again, considering the time of year) and fun to conduct as it always is. Things seem a little more 'back to normal' now so we expect our next sale, on the 27th January, to be of a higher standard.

This is a massive year for us - we intend to move toward a weekly sale and appoint a full-time auction rooms manager. That post will enable me to leave the day to day running of the business to someone more capable with that kind of stuff - I'm no administrator. We will also be changing the sale day from a Thursday to a Wednesday. This will enable us to host the auction in conjunction with The Cloisters Fair, a model of practice that I believe works well at Fakenham and Acle. Ironically, it is those two auction rooms that sell on a Thursday too and with which we will no longer clash. Until now we have been unable to manage The Cloisters Fair and auction together as they utilise the same space within St Andrew's Hall. However, with the closure of The Crypt Cafe, we can now utilise that area for the auction whilst The Cloisters Fair stalls in the corridor as it has always done. The Halls Management Team expect the work to convert The Crypt Cafe into a lettable space to take place in February so expect us to move dates sometime in March 2011. One thing that won't be changing though are the people that I work with - their support is invaluable and their place in our future assured.

As the auction becomes weekly, I will be unable to stall any longer at The Cloisters Fair. With that in mind I am looking at my options to sell at other fairs. One that I definitely will be booking this week is The Beccles Antique Street Market, which takes places on Sunday, 1st May. My friend, Kate Lee, has added a second date for this year, on Sunday, 4th September and I will stall then too. Last year we suffered because of the weather - it rained and we left without even setting up. This year I will be buying a gazebo!

Still, hectic though life is, there is always time for a giggle. On Wednesday at The Cloisters Fair, I returned from a strategy meeting to discover that seven cans of 7-Up fizzy drink had been meticulously placed on my table (see pic). Why? Because my football team had been beaten 7-0 by Chelsea the previous Sunday! Hmm, think I might have to reconsider our decision to hold the stall fees for 2011...