If you want a 2011 Bonfire, donate now

More collecting boxes were handed out and the crowd was estimated to be over 30,000, so we expected record donations. How mean the crowds were, averaging donations of 20p each per person.

Where else could they get an evening’s entertainment for that? It is NOT a free show – it costs the society thousands of pounds to stage the event.

The programmes were £1 each yet shoppers were asking shopkeepers what time the parade or the fireworks started and what was the route – when told it was all in the programme, they declined to buy one, and complained it was not advertised online.

The event costs more and more each year and it is always a close thing if it is staged the following year.

The Littlehampton Bonfire Society committee and its band of helpers work so very hard throughout the year to produce the next year’s event, so to get a reduced collection from record crowds is a very demoralising feeling and leaves people thinking, “Why bother?”

But they do bother because all the money collected on the night is given to our local charities.

If you want to make a donation now, please go to the David O. Jones sports shop in High Street, Littlehampton, where Tyndall, a tireless helper of the society, will be pleased to direct your donations into a collecting bucket.

Please do it, if you want the event to be staged next year.

Barbara Greaves,

Clun Road,

Wick