RAFFLE REMINDER

I remember as a kid we had an annual fete to raise money for the school/nuns, whatever.

I used to ride around on my bike selling raffle tickets. I knew most of the people in my neighbourhood and also knew how much time would be spent in each house as some of the oldies would love a chat and would love to get the goods on the people around them. Mostly this involved about 10 questions, which I would invariably answer and I guess I didn't always let the truth interfere with a good story. So, I was mostly welcome and would nearly always close a sale. Sometimes I would have to get their milk or paper or post a letter before the ticket was purchased but that was a part of the deal understood by both parties.

Even though I enjoyed doing this, we were told that doing good deeds would get a soul out of pergatory, which was a place where souls, who were not quite bad enough for hell and not quite good enough for heaven, were kept until their time was spent or someone got them out through a good deed.

Indulgences were a regular incentive for us as we were encouraged to do these good deeds so that these suffering souls would be able to get out of this darkness and go to heaven. I hoped when I went there that there would still be lots of children around to get me out, as I now knew for certain that I wasn't going straight to heaven..

Anyway, one year the prize was a trailer load full of Christmas goodies donated by various stores in town. I had sold many tickets and hoped that one of my customers would win it and maybe give me something. I remember looking at this trailer for the few weeks before the fete and thinking how wonderful it will be for some family to win it.

Well the fete was nearly over and one of my friends told me that my mother had won the trailer. I was so excited and got on my bike and rode home as fast as I could. Throwing my bike on the lawn I raced around the yard looking for the trailer and was disappointed that it had not been delivered yet. I waited on the footpath so I could see it arriving but after what seemed like an hour, I went inside to ask Mum when it was coming. She said "it's not coming here : I donated it to the nuns".

I think I have hated the nuns ever since that day.