Hospital teddy bear fund-raising supports moon bears charity

STAFF in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, have helped to raise almost £500 to save moon bears from a life of caged torment on bear farms in Asia.
The money has gone to the charity Moon Bear Rescue, which works to rescue farmed bears in China and give them a better quality of life.
The hospital’s speech and language therapy team in partnership with Moon Bear Rescue Somerset organised a teddy bear picnic and auction in December.
Staff and friends gave teddy bears and made cakes to be auctioned to raise money for the Asiatic moon bears.
Esther Corrick, deputy head of Musgrove’s speech and language therapy team, said: “We were all thrilled at the outcome of the auction and cake sale as we raised £473.
“This money will go to Moon Bear Rescue to help them in their campaign against bear farming in China and Vietnam.
“Thank you to everybody who was so generous with their time, enthusiasm, and support.”
Anybody who would like to become involved in the Somerset support group should call Lee Gibbons on 01278 741648.
More information about Animal Asia Foundation, which the group supports, is available on website http://www.animalsasia.org/.

• Our photograph shows (left to right) back row - Karen Dockings, Anne Baker, Lee Gibbins, and Rick Tillet; and, front - Laura Codrington, Helen Bernades, and Esther Corrick. Photo submitted.

Police to sell unclaimed stolen property on internet auction site

UNRETURNED and unclaimed stolen and lost property is to be sold off by Avon and Somerset police via an internet based auction website.
Bumblebee Auctions, a website specifically created for police forces, will be used to sell the property along similar lines to eBay.
Previously, the police relied on traditional auction houses to sell such property, but have now turned the internet.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary detained property manager Ken Dawes said: “Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we are unable to return recovered property to its original owner and in the majority of these cases the property is sold.
“In accordance with the Police Property Regulations 1997, the proceeds are used to help the local community by donating to charitably causes, schools, and local community-based projects.
“It is hoped that Bumblebee Auctions will expose these items to a wider audience and as a result generate increased funds.”
Mr Dawes said if an item could not be returned to its owner, it would be photographed and uploaded to the website with a brief description before it went on sale, initially for seven days.
Like other online auction sites, bidders register with the Bumblebee website prior to placing a bid and can then bid as many times as they like.
The item goes to the highest bidder at the close of the sale.
Payment is made online via Nochex and the website contains full, easy to follow instructions.
Mr Dawes said: “Typical items of property which will be sold on this site include jewellery, watches, electrical goods, pedal bikes, tools, CDs and DVDs, and games consoles.
“But there really is no limit to the type of thing which could be offered for sale, so if you do no't see what you are after on your first attempt, try again seven days later and as there are no minimum bids, you could pick up a bargain.”

• Our photograph shows a sample of the types of item which police will be selling on the internet auction site. Photo submitted.

Free frisbees for beachcombers as new online auction site is launched

BEACHCOMBERS were able to bag a bargain on Minehead seafront at the weekend as part of a promotion for MadBid.com, the UK’s new online penny auction which allows consumers to buy new retail goods at well below their normal price.
Madbid promotional staff spent Saturday morning handing out freebie frisbees with special voucher codes to people on Minehead beach and nearby.
The frisbees were promoting the fun new website at http://www.madbid.com/, which officially launched this month.
And they also contained vouchers for 10 free bids on the site valued at more than £10.
Madbid.com features premium retail products ranging from gadgets such as iPods, mobile phones, and laptops, to lifestyle products such as holidays and games consoles - often at a fraction of their retail cost.
Some recently closed auctions, for example, saw a Canon Ixus 70 plus kit sell for £2.23, a £100 Marks and SpencervVoucher fetch £1.86, and a Sharp 32-inch LCD television go for £4.33.

• Our photographs show some of the freebie Frisbee recipients. Photos submitted.

Borat-style beachgoers to promote new online auction site

STAFF from a new internet-based auction business will be storming the beach and seafront in Minehead on Saturday in mad-kinis (bikinis) and mankinis.
The stunt will be in honour of all things MAD, to hand out free frisbees to sunbathers and visitors to the area.
Yes, that’s right - mankinis... think Sacha Baron Cohen, aka-Borat (pictured) in the lime green suit that has wedgied its way into people’s long term memories.
The site in question is MadBid.com, an online penny auction which allows consumers to buy new retail goods at well below their normal price.
To promote the website, officially launched this month, the MadBid team will be wandering around the beach front handing out frisbees and vouchers for 10 free bids on MadBid.com - valued at more than £10.
The site features premium retail products ranging from gadgets such as iPods, mobile phones, and laptops, to lifestyle products such as holidays and games consoles, often at a fraction of their retail cost.

Museum to benefit from television's Time Team book auction

THE stars of Channel 4’s Time Team have pledged their support for the Museum of Somerset fund-raising appeal by donating for auction a signed copy of their book ‘Archaeology Is Rubbish’ (pictured, left).
Co-written by Tony Robinson and Professor Mick Aston, the book guides the reader through an imaginary archaeological excavation, and provides answers to frequently asked questions such as what to do if you come across human bones or find buried treasure in your back garden.
The book is to be sold on eBay by the Friends of Somerset County Museum, a charity established to help raise funds for the museum.
It will be available to bid on from December 1 until December 11, and the money from the winning bid will be added to the £80,000 already raised toward the £250,000 fund-raising target.
The book can be found by typing ‘Book Signed by Mick Aston, Tony Robinson and Time Team’ into eBay’s search facility.
It coincides with the news that people can now donate online to the Museum of Somerset appeal by visiting www.somerset.gov.uk/somerset/culturecommunity/museums, where they can also find out all the latest news about the Museum of Somerset project.
Professor Aston (pictured, right) said: “I have always fully-supported the bid to create the Museum of Somerset.
“By donating this book, we hope to raise another little bit towards the appeal.
“Every single penny counts, and, as we said when we launched the appeal, if everybody in Somerset gave 50p, we would reach the fund-raising target.”
County council portfolio holder for adult and community services, Councillor Justin Robinson, said: “The council is committed to conserving the history of the county and providing opportunities for people to learn about their heritage.
“We believe that this will be best achieved through the creation of the Museum of Somerset, and over 10,000 people have publicly backed our plans.
“We are very grateful to Time Team for donating this fantastic book, which would make a unique Christmas gift for somebody to treasure.”
The Museum of Somerset fund-raising campaign was launched earlier this year and aims to raise £250,000 toward the total £6.5 million cost of the project.
All single donations in excess of £500 will be permanently acknowledged in the museum by way of a commemorative display.

Postmaster buys Post Office to secure service for Dulverton

POST Office services in Dulverton have been saved for the foreseeable future after Christopher and Christine Dubery succeeded in purchasing the property at a London auction.
Mr and Mrs Dubery owned a lease until 2013 on the two-storey property in Fore Street, but auctioneers Savills put the freehold up for sale on behalf of Land Securities Trillium Property Partnerships, which was consolidating one of its property portfolios.
Mr Dubery travelled to London to bid for it and succeeded at a price of £215,000 after a competing bidder pulled out.
Mr and Mrs Dubery now have to await the outcome of a Government review of the Post Office service before they can be certain of carrying on in business.
The Government plans to close a further 2,000 sub-Post Offices nationally and will announce the fate of those in the Taunton area in December.
For Mr and Mrs Dubery, it was a relief to acquire the freehold of the Dulverton building, as they also live there.
Mr Dubery, who is currently also temporarily running the sub-Post Office in Milverton, said: “I have been to auctions before for things like antiques, but nothing with property, and being that we live there as well there was extra tension.
“I think the adrenalin was pumping quite a bit. It was quite nerve wracking.”
Mr Dubery said it would now be business as usual, pending the Government review, although he was quite confident Dulverton would not be among those listed for closure.
He said: “We will carry on living there and running the Post Office, and hopefully we will be there until we retire.”
Mr Dubery has also applied recently to Royal Mail to take over the Milverton sub-Post Office on a permanent basis.

• Our photograph shows Dulverton sub-Post Office. Photo submitted.