I ordered 300 customised raffle tickets which we decided to sell for £5 a ticket because the prizes are so good. I sought permission at work to circulate an email about the gig, raffle tickets etc. Permission granted. Email sent. Orders started to come in and it was all looking great. The tickets arrived and looked fab. Well worth the money spent.
Roll forward a few days........ my phone at work rings. A staff member introduces himself and tells me we can’t sell raffle tickets for £5. In fact, we can’t sell raffle tickets outside the gig without registering as a ‘Society’ with our local Council........ Cue panic. And, I’ll admit, a few tears. How could I not have known? It hadn’t even crossed our minds......
The Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. Goddamn you! I understand the reasons why such legislation exists but it felt horribly disheartening and needlessly complicated when I was first hit with it. Not to mention embarrassing. Further compounded by the fact that the humiliation and frustration of realising I’d made something of a hash, made me shed a few tears.
The voice on the phone was perfectly polite and reasonable and said he’d meet to help me go through it all. He tried to reassure me but I was devastated. I was already tired due to a busy day at work and this seemed like one thump too many. In my distress I reached out to someone in authority and asked her to sit in on the meeting, which she kindly agreed to do.
I came home from work that day exhausted. A situation not helped by inclement weather...... as I’ve mentioned before, I’m prone to ‘thunder headaches’ brought on by thunder and lightning storms that can make it hard for me to think straight. I haven’t had one in ages so to get one when I was already having a fairly crap day was really tough going.
The next day didn’t see much improvement in my physical or mental state..... I’d hardly slept, my head was bouncing and I was stressed to the hilt. Thankfully Friday was my scheduled day off work, as was Monday this week, so I had a 4 day weekend to try and calm things down. And hope for an improvement in the weather.
Over the long weekend hubby and I worked to fix me physically and mentally, as well as fix the potential raffle disaster...... I researched the relevant legislation, I filled in the forms to put in to the Council. After 23 years of marriage, we prepared ourselves to become a Society!! We drafted new raffle tickets and got a price for printing them. We took a few walks in the fresh air and I got early nights and worked on relaxation.
On Sunday my darling son and his girlfriend came to stay for a few nights and that helped further take my mind away from the raffle debacle. Gradually I put things into perspective. I realised it could be easily fixed. Yes, it’s a bit embarrassing, but in reality everyone who’d already paid for tickets was now going to get five entries for every one ticket they’d been willing to pay for. Considering the prizes include two tickets to an Ulster rugby match and two tickets to see Rod Stewart in concert, I’d say that’s a total bargain! I felt confident people would understand and actually probably be happy. I was proved right when I started the unenviable task of telling people what was going on, whilst reassuring them every penny goes to Macmillan and the only really change for them is that they get more chances to win.
For us the outcome is a little different...... we’ve paid for raffle tickets that will have to be destroyed, we’ve paid to register ourselves as a Society and we’ve paid to get more raffle tickets printed (and we obviously need a lot more than previously ordered because they’re now only £1 a go rather than £5, so people are buying more). So it’s cost us a few pounds but do you know what? It doesn’t matter. It’s fixed, the stress is removed, all’s well that ends well. We are unlikely to raise as much this year due to not having another sister to marry off and be wonderful enough to ask for donations in lieu of wedding gifts! But whatever we raise will help local cancer patients and their families, and that’s enough for me.
To quote Charles Dickens, sometimes “the law is an ass...”.
Or, to be less pretentious; to quote The Clash and Judas Priest and every other band that’s ever covered it “I fought the law [kind of] and the law [rightly] won!!”
“Which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it.” Cool Hand Luke (and Guns n Roses Civil War!) I mightn’t like it any more than you do, but the rules (whilst they might be annoying for the honest) are there for a reason.
*walks away whistling like Axl* (if you get it then you get it lol)
Bring on the fundraising!! Xx
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