A view from the rostrum
Our meeting in September started with the usual singing of ' Jerusalem ' followed by some items of business. We welcomed several visitors,who were obviously looking forward to an interesting talk by Richard Winterton. We were reminded of a Blythe Group meeting on Thursday 28th September at Hill Ridware Village Hall. Details of the SFWI carol service held in Lichfield Cathedral were announced. The date for the Bery l Behague Friendship Tea will be on Friday 24th November. Yoxall WI works alongside the Church and the Parish Council to provide food and volunteers, and this is our main community effort.
Richard Winterton was our speaker this month and he gave a fascinating talk on auctioneering. The Winterton family name has been synonymous with auctioneering since 1864. As a young boy, Richard wanted nothing more than to work in the family business. Not interested at all in school he wanted to spend all his time with the livestock and machinery, working in the auction rooms during the school holidays.
From the early beginnings in the Smithfield livestock market in Lichfield, the company has grown and expanded. Today, the company is run by Richard and Helen and they operate two 'state of the art' salerooms which hold General, Specialist and Fine art sales together with bespoke house clearance and probate services.
On the day that Richard visited us he had the cameras at the salerooms, filming an episode of David Dickinson's Real Deal. This is usually a quieter day as the general public don’t tend to visit when the cameras are there - a little camera shy!
The internet now forms a major part of auctioneering. If customers are unable to attend a sale, Wintertons offer live online bidding through the saleroom whereby bids can be placed in real time. Alternatively, a commission bid can be left with the appropriate saleroom. At any one auction there can be over 600 online bidders from many countries, including S.Korea, Lithuania, China and France. S.Korea, in particular are big buyers.
Circumstances which require a house clearance are usually very stressful. The Winterton's house clearance service aims to take the stress out of this and make it as easy for you as possible. For an agreed fee, the company will totally clear a property. Items that cannot be sold will go to recycling, the rest will be sorted and boxed and distributed to the various departments for photographing and valueing.
Richard Winterton auctioneers are widely involved in community projects and actively sponsor a variety of local events, including The Lichfield Festival and the Lichfield Bower.
Richard had given us a fascinating insight into the world of auctioneering. He urged us to visit the salerooms to see at first hand the auctioneering process. Richard is certainly a passionate advocate of this buying and selling process.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 11th October when we will be decorating and trimming the knitted sensory bands, made by the members, for Alzheimer sufferers. We meet in the Parish Hall at 7.30pm and visitors are very welcome. For further details please contact Penny Bailey through the link below.