Excellent value too. |
Today, we went fundraising.
Mike is the treasurer of our son's rugby club. He is a rugby man from way back, son of a dedicated, rugby obsessed Kiwi, living and breathing the game for his entire childhood. Playing for his school, his state, at uni, well into his twenties, when the pressure of being a 5'6" hooker eventually took its toll.
To this day, he has a very dodgy neck. And an Osteopath.
Even though it's still summer, the rego days for local winter clubs will be held over the next few weeks. Soccer, Netball, Hockey and of course, Rugby.
So the enterprising fundraising guy for our club thought it would be a fine idea to run a BBQ at our local Bunnings (fresh and new and recently opened).
Bunnings have an excellent approach to this, they give you the gas and the BBQ and a marquee thingie, you supply your snags and bread and keep the profits for your club or cause or whatever.
Look! There's a queue!! |
So this morning when we awoke to pouring rain, we both wondered how a rainy day affects the busy-ness of a Bunnings. Did the weekend warriors decide to start a DIY project inside because they couldn't do the outdoor activities they'd planned? Or did they not come because they had been wanting to finish that thing in the garden and now they couldn't and were going to the movies instead?
Only time would tell.
Mike took the kids up at 8:30 so they could help set up. Sarah was keen as mustard, and was deemed big enough to be in charge of selling tokens for sausages and soft drink. Her mental arithmetic skills were put to the test and she passed (whew!). We were really proud of her and she was proud of herself. Unfortunately her brother, the actual rugby player in the family, heartily resented being made to work for his club and whinged and carried on a good deal. This caused Mike (and I when I got there) to become sick and tired of his attitude.
Don't be misled, he just got behind the counter for the photo. |
Issy stayed home with me, my planned 27km Coastrek practice walk being called off due to torrential rain (aawwwww shame). When we did go up to pick up the kids, she excelled herself by drinking her first ever whole 375ml can of soft drink in record time and needing to wee three times in one hour.
Another compelling reason not to let them have soft drink right there.
After a quiet start, things started hotting up at about 10:30 and the BBQ, when I last saw it an hour ago, was going great guns, doing a fantastic trade in sausages over the lunchtime hour.
Bunnings traffic inside reflected the weather, with a great deal of action in storage, lighting, paint and building materials, while outdoor furniture and gardening were a bit quiet.
Dotted around the store was a petting zoo, jumpy castle, two face painters and a magician.
Clever Bunnings knows their market indeed.
And the fundraiser? After a big day of hard word by a dedicated crew, the treasurer will pronounce the official financial result later this evening, but it sure looked good to me.