Miss Moneypenny outfit from `Die Another Day` up for charity auction
29-Apr-2006 • Collecting
Share the Story
Now a West Norfolk woman with the condition and her family, who have over the years raised between £14,000 and £15,000 to support people with ME, are aiming to make a difference to hundreds more lives with a massive online auction of dozens of clothes and goodies donated by stars from the world of music, sport and film.
EBAY addicts with a "goldeneye" for bargains could find find a "licence to thrill" online as a two Norfolk sisters auction off items from international celebrities, including a Bond-girl suit, to raise cash for people with ME.
The outfit worn by Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond film Die Another Day is among more than 50 items donated by stars for the auction organised by Helen Buckenham, from Dersingham, and her sister Liz Smith, of Mundesley, in aid of charity Action for ME.
Long-time volunteer fundraisers, the charity has been close to their hearts since Mrs Buckenham was diagnosed with ME in 1991, aged 38.
The massive eBay auction, which started this month, is being organised by the pair as part of their Grand Challenge to raise £1,000 for the charity and has been launched to coincide with ME awareness week running from Monday, May 8, to Sunday, May 14.
Other lots in the auction will include T-shirts donated by singer Dido and comedians Johnny Vaughn and Avid Merrion, a suit from the Duchess of York and one from Dermot O'Leary, one of Barbara Windsor's dresses and a silk waistcoat worn by Lord of the Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen.
Boxing gloves signed by heavyweight boxers Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis will also be up for grabs, as will a leather jacket worn by actress Helena Bonham Carter in the film Theory of Flight.
And fans of hit musicals Les Misérables and Gerry Springer the Opera will be able to bid for a piece of musical history with items from the sets being auctioned off.
But the sisters are not the only ones fundraising in their family as their 83-year-old mother Anne Reynolds, of Dersingham, is also aiming to raise £1,000 by auctioning off ties from the late Countdown host Richard Whiteley, Chris Tarrant, Bruce Forsyth and politicians Lord Steel, Lord Owen and the late Ted Heath.
The sisters have already raised around £200 from initial sales, including a T-shirt worn by singer Michael Crawford during his New York rehearsals for Phantom of the Opera.
While impossible to predict how popular items will prove the sisters are hoping one of their biggest money-spinners will be the suit from a recent James Bond film.
Worn on the historic occasion of the modern Miss Moneypenny's first kiss with the daring spy (played by Pierce Brosnan), the suit was donated by actress Samantha Bond who played the role and is also a patron of Action ME.
But Mrs Buckenham said her personal favourite was a cup and saucer donated by the late Dame Thora Hird and used in long-running comedy series Last of the Summer Wine.
ME, or myalgic encephalomyelitis/ encephalopathy, is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome and affects around one in every 250 people in the UK, a quarter of whom may be either house or bedbound.
Although the illness can last for years its severity can fluctuate daily and symptoms vary from person to person but common problems include persistent, extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain, concentration and memory problems, dizziness and poor temperature control.
Mrs Buckenham said the illness had completely turned her life around but said ME sufferers could still enjoy life, albeit a different life than the one they had before the illness.
"The hardest thing about ME is that you look at somebody with it and you can't see what's wrong with them. It's the best thing because it's not disfiguring, but it's the worst thing because no one can see how your muscles are aching and how tired you are.
"You learn to live around it and respect it. I find fundraising such a positive thing to do and hopefully you think that any extra pain you go through now might be the key to funding research which finds the cause of ME."
She said she and her sister felt particularly concerned for young people affected by the illness and said whenever possible they donated most the funds they raised to make life better for youngsters.
For your chance to bid for items log on to www.ebay.com and enter Mrs Smith's member ID 263LIZ on the community section of the site.
To find out more about Action for ME or how you can help visit www.afme.org.uk or ring 0845 123 2380. Anyone with other items to give can also contact Mrs Buckenham on 01485 542880.
Discuss this news here...
