Festive cheques handed over at The Swan

Big hearted festive boozers dug deep at the Swan’s popular annual Christmas auction back in December, and helped raise an impressive £3,500 for the nominated charities via generous bids on the plethora of goodies on offer.

There was a veritable selection box of items, including paintings from local artists Hilary Jeffries Bransom and Rita Banks, a holiday comprising a week’s accomodation in Tenerife donated by Dave & Lisa Russell, a canal boat trip courtesy of Pete Wyatt, a day on board Collin Taylor’s boat… Also up for grabs were a helicopter flight from Stone Gazette, restaurant vouchers from Cullens, Upper House, Crown of India, Bella Pasta, Chico’s and MoJos, all the necessary items to prepare a scrummy Christmas dinner, and many more (a papier-mache rhino’s head)!

The selected charities this time round were BLISS (for newborn and premature babies) – https://www.bliss.org.uk/ – and North Staffs Prostate Cancer Support Group – https://www.nsprostatecancer.org.uk.

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On Wednesday 29th January, each charity was presented with a cheque for £1,750. The Swan’s very own Helen Blundell accepted BLISS’s cheque on their behalf, while representative Neil Burton explained that the NSPCSG’s cheque would be used to help fund specific equipment for the North Staffs hospital’s urology and oncology departments.

The auction, now in its 9th year, is undoubtedly a major highlight of the Swan’s packed calendar – heartwarming, poignant and fun, expertly compered by Collin Taylor, and guarantees the pub is rammed to the rafters. Last year’s total was doubled – as Collin put it “not bad for a small pub in a small town”.

Raucous renditions of Yuletide favourites performed by the brass band (5 GOOOOOOOOOLD RIIIIIIIIINGS!), a buffet sponsored by Angel Home Care, and nibbles topped off a splendid afternoon’s entertainment. A real Christmas cracker, which, thanks to the tireless enthusiasm and generosity of the pub’s clientele and local businesses, looks set to get bigger and better each year.