'Christmas & A Tombola Story'

Ho! Ho! Ho! It will be December tomorrow!

I still haven't managed to sort out all of my Christmas presents or cards yet so I am behind schedule but as long as I can get everything done by the ends of the first week in Dec I will consider it a job well done...

I had a lovely day yesterday at The Holy Redeemer Christmas Fayre in Hollington! Another of the annual Christmas Fayre's I try at go to each year, the parishioners of The Holy Redeemer make a good effort and the Church hall is always stuffed full of bargains, Christmas gifts, cakes, jewelry and toiletries and bric-a-brac. They have a Father Christmas in attendance for the little ones in his grotto and usually have a LARGE 'win a bottle' Tombola at the rear of the hall.

Now, I have a personal problem with Tombola's! Why? Well, it seems to be generally accepted that it is o.k. not to put all of the winning numbers in at the beginning but to 'feed a few in' throughout the event in order to ensure that all of the top prizes are not won too soon. It amazes me that society seems to think that such a practice is fine! Not only is it unfair on those who pay their money in good faith in the hope of winning whatever it is that has taken their fancy, it is morally wrong and quite likely fraud in the eyes of the law.

I found out about this practice first hand some years ago. I went to a similar event and saw a large bottle of whisky I wanted for a present for someone. As it was late in the day as far as the event was concerned I decided to keep on buying tickets until I won it. There were not that many in the box when I paid my first £1 and so I thought my luck was sure to be in! After spending £15 I had STILL not won the item but the woman behind the stall was beginning to look very uneasy and looked a bit scared. As soon as I gave up and went and sat down I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the woman behind the stall slip a folded piece of paper into the box. Within seconds, another stall holder bought a ticket and then cried out 'Hurrah! as she had won the bottle of Whisky. I think both of them must have felt guilty about it all though as this lady then came over and offered to let me have the bottle if I handed back one of the prizes I had won. I did so and thanked her for her kindness but I think we both knew why she had done so...

I won't reveal here exactly where this incident occurred because I do not want to tarnish anyones reputation for something that since talking to others about my experience have found most people see no harm in. As a non-religious person myself, I often wonder how those who claim to have faith in God can do things like that and not feel bad about it? I don't need to ask the almighty his view on such a thing because I am 100% sure he would agree with me (on this at least!). Isn't the world a strange place?

Anyway, since then I have resisted the temptation to go in for Tombola's with FANTASTIC looking top prizes to be won. I hate the fact that I can't enjoy the thrill of 'taking the chance' but any gambler will tell you that there is little point in betting on a fixed race unless you know who is going to win!

Just to be totally clear on one point I should state here that in no way am I suggesting that The Holy Redeemer Christmas Fair mentioned above was the venue where this bad experience happened to me - it was NOT. Furthermore, I in no way suggest that they have ever undertaken such a practice - I have simply used my attendance at their fair yesterday as a way of bringing up the subject of something I feel strongly about, is wrong and I am repulsed by...