Anybody who attended Sunday's comping day in Derby will know just what I am talking about.....
If you've never been to a comping day before, you may wonder what exactly goes on at one, so here is my own account of the day. I am hoping to have a guest post about the same day from an organiser's point of view soon.
After a MASSIVE amount of work behind the scenes, including months of pursuing businesses to donate prizes, the doors opened at 9.30 am. Everyone was given a goodie bag as they arrived. The bags were crammed with gifts,samples, toiletries and leaflets from prize sponsors and comping services. Stamped postcards were collected for a postcard draw, where the winners would receive a huge bundle of the cards ready for their own entry, and donations of books, CDs and DVDs to help raise funds for the Breath Easy charity were collected.
After collecting tea and coffee, the compers - about 140 of us - found ourselves seats in the main hall. There was a special table set aside for those who had arrived alone and knew nobody - and by the end of the day, they all had new friends. Others had arrived together or met up with old friends. I sat with my "Elves" - a team of great friends who help me to find the competitions I bring to you in Grape Vine every month.
It was the first time we have all met up together and made the day extra special for us all.
Raffle tickets were on sale, and to tempt us to spend, spend, spend, the fantastic array of prizes was displayed along one side of the room. The tickets were being sold in aid of the Rainbows Children's Hospice and a speaker from the hospice told us about their work, a very moving talk that made us dig even deeper into our pockets.
As well as the massive raffle, there were numerous quizzes to be entered as a group by the whole table, encouraging us to work together and get to know each other. From photos of celebrities to film music, song titles to general knowledge, there was something for everybody. Part of one of them involved naming as many songs as possible with something in the title connected with America, which explains my very first sentence today.....
Lunch was served at the tables, and in the afternoon there was an "Ask the experts" session, with yours truly on the panel. I was, unsurprisingly, answering questions about Facebook and Twitter.
The day finished with the biggest raffle prizes being handed out, followed by the announcement of the total raised for Rainbows - a wonderful £3,800. Well done to all the organisers upraising such a brilliant amount.
As people were leaving, some were having a real struggle to cram all their raffle prizes into their cars! And the superb goody bags and free Christmas puddings made sure nobody left empty handed.
If you have never been to a comping day before,do look out for future days. I am happy to announce them on here and in Grape Vine if the organisers contact me. Comping days are a great way to meet other compers and very often a chance to win some lovely prizes while making a donation to a worthy charity.
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