Making wishes come true

The Make-A-Wish auction, held annually at the Dorchester, is without doubt the one I most look forward to, because it's the best run, best organised and most enjoyable auction of the year. The charity grants wishes to children and young people who are fighting the most terrible life-threatening illnesses - cancer, leukaemia, renal failure, cystic fibrosis, brain tumour - I could fill this post just by naming the problems these young children are suffering while we go about our daily lives. For many people who hold charity functions, the auction is an important part of the evening, but for Make-A-Wish it is clearly the main event, and between the main auction and the silent auction, they raised £310,000 - the highest I've managed this year by a long way. As I left the Dorchester around midnight, the organiser told me they'd already sold out for next year's event. Yes, these are hard times, but it doesn't stop this particular group putting their hands in their pockets and being extremely generous.