TV and book fans ideal auction

Authors and celebrities have shown their support for a Bristol MS charity by donating signed books and memorabilia to be auctioned off to help with fundraising.

 

Bristol and Avon Multiple Sclerosis Centre (BrAMS) will be placing items including a two piece top and signed letter from Eastenders legend Barbara Windsor, onto online auction site, Ebay on 10th November and will stay on line for 10 days.

 

The items have been collected by Grant Thompson, who has MS and attends the BrAMS centre. Grant dedicated the last two years of his life to contacting famous authors and celebrities and has collected a whopping 600 signed items in total.

 

Many items were auctioned last December on the charity section of the Ebay website.

 

Grant said: “I have been so surprised by how many people have sent me signed books and other film and TV memorabilia.

 

“We auctioned off some items last year and it was a great success so we’re hoping to continue that success and raise as much money as we can for BrAMS.”

 

Shaun McCarthy, fundraising manager at BrAMS said: “It is amazing what items Grant has managed to collect and there really is something for everyone. The items are so varied from a signed photo of The Dalai Lama to a framed tie and signed photo from Michael Parkinson.

 

“The items from Barbara Windsor are amazing, she was great when she played Peggy Mitchell in Eastenders and I know a lot of people miss seeing her behind the bar in The Queen Vic!”

 

Other items available to buy include a script from the long running drama series, The Bill, which left our screens in August after running for 26 years and has been signed by many of the cast, a signed Faulty Towers DVD and a Team GB Shirt from the 2008 Olympics signed by Gold and Silver Medal winner, Ben Ainslie CBE.

 

Based at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, BrAMS is a unique ‘Centre of Excellence’, providing help to MS sufferers locally, nationally and internationally. It is a world-leading centre and the only one of its kind in the UK, conducting groundbreaking research and offering pioneering treatment.

 

Money raised by the auction will go towards furthering research in the field including cutting edge stem cell research, funding drug trials and offering much needed treatment to sufferers.