Blue Star Raffle prize winners

Congratulations to the winners of the Blue Star raffle! The winners were drawn recently and were as follows:
1st prize, the Blue Star quilt, was won by Lisa from Peggs Lane, Leicestershire (we are still trying to find out Lisa's surname!)
2nd prize, 4 Emma Bridgewater mugs in Starry Night design (ie. lots of blue stars), was won by Martin Fiddler of Wolverhampton and Staffordshire University
3rd prize, a Knot Toys Blue Star Yacht, was won by Ruth Martin of Eccleshall, Staffordshire

We are especially grateful to Susan Oakley who came up with the idea of making a quilt and to everyone who bought or sold draw tickets! Many thanks also to Emma Bridgewater and to Knot Toys for donating prizes. Thank you everyone! The raffle raised £1400 for the CF Trust, which is absolutely brilliant!

Merry Christmas to everyone who reads our blog and to everyone who is following the progress of yacht Blue Star!

Susan and I with the raffle first prize

 Joke:
A yacht skipper from Staffordshire bought a donkey from an old farmer
for £100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The
next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry, but I have some bad
news. The donkey died."
"Well, then, just give me my money back."
"Can't do that. I've spent it already."
"OK, then. Just unload the donkey."
"What are you going to do with him?"
"I'm going to raffle him off."
"You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"
"Oh I think I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."
A month later the farmer met up with the yacht skipper and asked, "What
happened with that dead donkey?"
"I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at £2 each and I
made a profit of £898."
"Didn't anyone complain?"
"Oh yes, but only the person who won. So I gave him back his £2."

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas card for you!

OK, I know its not quite Christmas yet, but it is time to start thinking about it, and time to hand out cards to your friends and family etc. So here is a card for everyone who reads this blog, from and on behalf of GBchallengecrew (who, I hear you ask? You know, GBchallengecrew, the team involved with Blue Star's circumnavigation of GB and for raising funds for the CF Trust!). I hope you like it. I have been trying to find a cost effective (ie. free) way of producing an e-Christmas card, and this is it! There must be a way of animating it perhaps, and getting it to play a Christmas tune too, but I haven't figured that out yet. Do you know how?

Joke:
The Christmas marina berth
Two weary sailors (a man and a woman) who have never met before found themselves assigned to the same sleeping cabin on overnight when their yacht was berthed in a marina during the Christmas period. It was snowing outside, and rather cold inside. After finding out that no other accommodations could be made, they agreed that they were both professional and capable of getting past the man woman thing. They decided to simply go to sleep, the man in the upper berth and the woman in the lower berth. In the middle of the night the man leans over, wakes the woman and says, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm awfully cold and I was wondering if you could possibly reach over and get me another blanket?" The woman leans out and, and with a glint in her eye says, "I have a better idea. Just for tonight let's pretend that we are married." The man , more than a little surprised at the turn of events but very agreeable to the idea winks and says, "OK, that sounds great!" The woman says "Good...get your own blanket"