Few red faces after Thump Turnberry
Charity brawlers let themselves down
drinking wells in Central Africa.
But hey, – splashing a little cash around will always do more good than bad.
In my Aviemore days, Mrs and Mrs Alistair McCoist used the house as a highland bolt hole – and a ‘ thank you’ was an invite to his table for a Glasgow Sick Children’s Hospital fundraiser. Ally’s son had been a patient there – and the cause was close to his heart.
On arrival, I noted the seating plan dripped with Glasgow’s ‘ A’ listers – and my own table companions included Mrs and Mrs Tommy Burns and Mrs and Mrs Ian Durrant.
When the auction came up, one of the star prizes was a little Mercedes convertible pedal car – except this one had a battery engine! It was the ultimate toy car. The bidding had stopped at £ 2000 – compere Andy Cameron was asking for £ 2500 – when Alistair whispered – “Bob, put your hand up!! “Eh?” “Trust me – put your hand up and bid . . .”.
I did what I was told – then someone else bid £ 3000! “Go again, go again . . .” said Ally “£ 3500!” I ended up “ghosting” Ally’s bidding up to £ 4500 – and bought the car.
“What a fantastic bid from Bob Shields of the Daily Record – let’s hear it for Bob” said Andy Cameron.
I was mortified – Ally thought it was hilarious.
And later, he discreetly paid the auction with his credit card. “What was all that about?” I asked. “Och, sometimes I like to keep a low profile . . .” he told me. Low profile, eh? There will a few people who must have woken up red- faced after Turnberry last week . . . and would sign a blank cheque for a low profile!