Whippet helped Charlie and me up the stairs and introduced us to the audience.
“These two beautiful ladies are the ones who are responsible for tonight’s fundraiser, without their efforts this thing wouldn’t have even got off the ground” he said “This stunning lady in red is Alex and this beauty to my left is Charlie. Now most of you here will know that Charlie is one of my fellow lifeguards down here at Bondi. She scrubs up pretty well out of those boardies doesn’t she fellas” he held her hand and walked her up to the front of the stage.
The crowd cheered and whistled. Mouse looked so proud.
“Calm down fellas, she’s taken. And this stunner here is Alex” he continued taking my hand and parading me to the front of the stage “Alex is from England and is over here writing a blog on what Bondi life is really like – we’ve tried to keep her away from The Royal. I don’t think Alex or the Brits are ready for that. Ha ha She’s become part of our little family down on the beach. Sorry fellas this one’s taken too”
I could feel my cheeks flush but I looked at Itchy in the front of the crowd with Mouse. He nodded and winked at me. Charlie took a microphone from the stand.
“Thank you for that tremendous introduction Whip, you don’t look so bad yourself tonight. Ladies, he is single so form an orderly queue at the end of the evening” she chuckled. Whippet blushed “We’re here this evening ladies and gents to raise much needed funds for the Sydney Childrens Hospital. We have some amazing gear on offer tonight so dig deep people. So Alex here will start us off with the first item” I took another microphone from the table at the rear of the stage. I was so nervous. I’d never spoken on a microphone before, with all the organising I hadn’t even thought about having to actually speak. I took a deep breath.
“Yes Charlie, Thanks. First up we have a 12 month gym membership at Lifecycle Fitness – which happens to be owned by Whippet over there. Thanks for that Whip. And I’m sure I can persuade him to throw in some free personal boxing lessons with that” I looked at Whippet who was laughing, he nodded and my ad-libbed extras “So who’ll start the bidding off. Ladies. Look at him. I can GUARANTEE he will get you into shape”
Charlie took the next item which was a surf lesson with Jesse, we also had BondiZinc goodies, a signed framed lifeguard shirt, a signed Frothers gallery canvas, Jujitsu lessons with Mouse, a lunch date with Maxi – which proved a really popular item, some FTW clothing from Matt Dee, a Dashwoods handcrafted surfboard from Luke, some Bondi Bather swimwear, Kid Mac concert tickets and merchandise, numerous local businesses had also donated items for auction.
We made it to the interval and headed off the stage to the bar area. Itchy put his arm around my waist and held me tight.
“I’m so proud of you, you’re doing so well” he said “Let me get you a drink” he kissed me on the cheek and ordered me a rum & coke. Mouse and Charlie were chatting away in the corner. I saw her check her phone and look over at me, waving her phone at me. I took that as the signal that Pink had arrived so we walked to the rear exit and snuck Pink into the dressing rooms behind the stage area. Whippet was happily mingling with all the guests. The dressing rooms weren’t quite what Pink was used to but it was functional with a dresser, make-up mirror and chair. There was a leather sofa and we’d put some flowers in a vase on the table at the side. She wasn’t going to use the room, it was just for her to hide in until her concert tickets came up for auction. We made sure she was comfortable and had drinks and everything she needed. We returned to the bar.
“Where did you go?” Itchy asked
“Can’t tell you” I winked “but I promise it will be good”
We returned to the stage and continued the auction. We finally got to the Pink tickets.
“So the final item we have tonight is tickets to see Pink live in concert here in Sydney, which also includes backstage passes to meet her. This is an absolutely amazing item ladies and gents” I paused and looked at Whippet “Now, Whippet I know you’re a massive fan of Pink so are you gonna join in the bidding here?”
He giggled nervously “$100” he said. We knew that even though Whippet was comfortable around celebrities – he’d met quite a few over the years both as a lifeguard on the beach and in his other career as an actor – he had never managed to meet Pink.
The bidding went quite furiously up to about $1,000 then quite a few of the bidders dropped out. Then it hit $1,500 and there was just Whippet and another gentleman. The other guy took the bid up to $2,000 and Whippet was nearly at the point of pulling out.
“Well I think we’ve finally reached his limit guys. I guess that those Pink tickets just aren’t worth any more to him”
At that moment everyone in the room went silent as a voice from behind the stage said
“Oh I reckon he has a few more bucks he can spare” and Pink walked out onto the stage.
Whippets face was such a picture. There were a million camera flashes going off in the room. I was almost blinded by the flashes. I’d never seen Whippet lost for words and he was beetroot red, it was hilarious after all the pranks he’d pulled.
“So what do you say Ryan? Do you have another few bucks for these?” Pink asked flashing the tickets
He managed to regain his composure but still couldn’t get any words out and just nodded. Pink walked over to him and leant on his shoulder.
“I’m just kidding with you” she continued “You can both have the tickets and we’ll just take your last bids” she said
Whippet was stunned.
“Oh my god, Thank you so much for that. That is awesome” Charlie was stunned by Pinks generous offer
We took a short break for all the donations to be counted so we had a final figure. Whippet came over to scold and then hug me & Charlie.
“That was GOLD” Mouse said “Mate, the look on your face. I’ve known you for 20 years and I’ve never seen you that lost for words”
Whippet and Itchy went to the bar to get more drinks. After the 10 minute break we returned to the stage to announce the final amount.
“Ladies & Gentlemen, We just want to say on behalf of Myself, Charlie, Alex, and the Sydney Children’s Hospital thank you all so much for being so generous with your bidding. We couldn’t have done this without your help. Thanks as well to Pink for not only donating such an amazing prize but also for taking time out of her busy schedule to be here tonight. Now we will shortly be announcing the final total raised but before that I have someone who would like to say a few words”
Me & Charlie looked at each other, clueless. We had no idea what he was talking about. Itchy stepped up on to the stage.
