Paddington raises more than £1,000 for ‘Haslemere Hares’

Paddington Hare has been happily sitting in our Haslemere office throughout the summer.  He’s one of more than 100 ‘Haslemere Hares’ decorated by local artists and schools and then displayed throughout the town for this year’s hugely successful Community Arts project.

The grand finale to ‘The Hare Parade’ saw the hares being auctioned off with the proceeds going to a variety of charities including The Haslemere Penny Ha’penny Trust  which provides grants for organisations or projects that improve the life of local residents.

Henry Adams sponsored Paddington Hare which was decorated by local artist Michelle Clegg as part of the summer project so Toby Miller, manager of our Haslemere branch, went along to witness the auction.

While Toby and his team were sad to see Paddington Hare move to his new home (thankfully not darkest Peru), they were delighted when Paddington was one of the four hares that sold for more than £1,000.

“It was a really well organised event with lots of support from the Haslemere community and businesses, all vying for the hares. They each had a starting price of £200 so to see Paddington’s bids rise to £1,050 was fantastic,” said Toby. “Of course we always knew he was rather special, with or without any marmalade sandwiches.”

Hugh Bonneville, who played Paddington Bear’s father in the two recent films, kindly signed the Henry Adams’ Paddington which undoubtedly added to his value.

The auction evening, which was sponsored by Aspinal of London and held at The Lythe Hill hotel, was compered by Brian Howard of Marley Flowers in Haslemere. Brian, together with his daughter Melissa King and grandson Harvey, came up with the idea for the Haslemere Hares and successfully organised the entire project.

The auction raised £14,170 through live bidding and a further £7,670 on eBay style bids, all of which will be added to the merchandise, tickets and sponsorship raised.

“Truly in my view this is another incredible community event and all to the credit of its excellent organisation and the Haslemere family,” said Toby. 

“We’re hoping to partner with Melissa Clegg again on next year’s project so we’re looking forward to finding out the theme. But in the meantime, congratulations to everyone who successfully bid for a hare - and good luck Paddington in your new home!”