Members of Portsmouth Property Association spell out generosity to charity
COUNTDOWN: Ian Lee, chairman of Portsmouth Property Association (PPA), and guest speaker Susie Dent MBE, resident wordsmith for Channel 4’s popular game show Countdown and comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats.
More than £8,000 has been raised for city charity Spark Community Space at the 103rd Annual Charity Dinner held by the PPA at the Village Hotel, Cosham.
Founded in 1920, PPA brings together estate agents, surveyors, lawyers, brokers, architects and other professional advisers, covering residential, commercial and retail, into a collective voice to drive the economic prosperity of the Portsmouth region.
More than £8,000 has been raised for a city charity at the 103rd Annual Charity Dinner held by Portsmouth Property Association.
The beneficiary is Spark Community Space, which tackles loneliness and operates out of a welcoming, safe community space in Fratton.
Two hundred property professionals attended the sell-out black-tie event, held at the Village Hotel, Cosham, and sponsored by HW Conveyancing Searches.
Guest speaker Susie Dent MBE, resident wordsmith for Channel 4’s popular game show Countdown and comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats, was sponsored by residential property agency Chinneck Shaw.
Welcome drinks sponsor was Holloway Iliffe & Mitchell and charity table sponsor was residential chartered surveyors Destin Chandler Hawkins.
Ian Lee, the PPA’s chairman and managing director of Destin Chandler Hawkins, said after the event: “PPA members once again spelt out their generosity by digging deep and raising more than £8,000 on the night for Spark Community Space, my chosen charity.
“Spark is making an amazing difference to the lives of isolated people, providing that all-important sense of belonging which we have here at the PPA – and have enjoyed since the PPA’s formation 105 years ago.”
Ian, who has been involved with the PPA for 30 years, paid tribute to the “incredibly high professional standards for which the PPA both stands and represents”.
He was first introduced to the membership organisation, and mentored, by the late Neil Shaw [Senior], the father of Neil Shaw [Junior] who owns and runs Chinneck Shaw.
“For many people in Portsmouth, the PPA’s Annual Charity Dinner has become a permanent fixture in the work calendar – an opportunity to meet up with contacts, clients and old friends and, to a certain extent, reminisce,” Ian said.
Donations came in thick and fast during the grand charity auction, conducted by Clive Emson MBE, the founder of regional land and property auctioneers Clive Emson Auctioneers, and a raffle.
In addition, as is customary, a donation was presented from PPA funds to the Lord Mayor’s Charity Appeal for £500.
Beneficiaries are Abby’s Heroes, a child cancer charity, and Pompey in the Community, which harnesses the motivational power of Portsmouth FC to help the vulnerable and disadvantaged.
Susie – known as ‘Dictionary Corner’ on TV and a self-confessed word geek – regaled the audience with the meanings of many words – some centuries-old from England and some recently formed in different languages.
She said her favourite find over the last decade was the word, from the 18th Century, “trumperyness” – “something that is extremely showy but utterly worthless”.
And this from the 17th Century – “nodcrafty”, a derisory comment reserved for people who have the habit of nodding their head as if they understand everything the other person is saying!
Susie’s explanation of a thoroughly modern word in Japanese, kuchisabishii, also raised smiles because of its familiarity in many a house.
She said: “Kuchisabishii is going to the fridge over and over again in the hope of finding something new. The reason why I love it that the literal translation is ‘lonely mouth’.”
Southampton Property Association, established in 1948, was represented by chairperson Rupi Basi and Bournemouth Property Association, formed in 2008, by chairperson Dario Di-Felice.
In the charity auction of 13 lots, the highest bid revved up to £800 – the lot was donated by Williams Racing, with a tour of the home of one of the world’s most successful Formula One teams, Williams, at Oxfordshire’s ‘Horsepower Valley’.
A Cessna flying lesson from Goodwood, West Sussex, soared to £650, with the experience donated by Churchers Solicitors.
Susie Dent’s signed book, Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment for Every Day of the Year, ended at £200.
Founded in 1920, PPA brings together estate agents, surveyors, lawyers, brokers, architects and other professional advisers, covering residential, commercial and retail, into a collective voice to drive the economic prosperity of the Portsmouth region.
Article by: Ron Wain, Managing Director, Deep South Media. PPA give our thanks to Deep South Media for their continued support.