Paul Fosh Monmouthshire Supper Club


I Love was


T was rather tongue in cheek but the idea that a loved one could buy a property for their intended as a love token at our auction on Valentine’s Day


seemed to take hold and love really was in the air on that chilly evening. There was lots (please excuse the pun) of


interest in a number of properties available including the idyllic stretch of the Sirhowy River in Rock, near Blackwood, we’d promoted as the perfect love token purchase, a ‘love nest’ apartment in Swansea and the former clubhouse of Llanhilleth RFC. I’ve got to admit that I’ve rarely seen the auction


room quite so full. There was literally no standing room, people spilling into the corridor, with many staying for the entire evening for the chance to win Valentine Champagne and chocolates at the end. There’s nothing quite like the


atmosphere in an auction room when it is filled to the rafters and bursting with expectation. The catalogue for the February 14 sale was one of the largest we have had for a few years and as it was the first of the year expectations were high and I have to say judging from chatting to people afterwards they weren’t disappointed. Well that’s to say those who secured the property they had set their heart on weren’t disappointed.


To say some of the lots were quirky


was, in all honesty, an understatement. One guy bought a strip of land, and


Paul Fosh and Martine Jenkins


when I say strip I mean thin sliver, of former railway embankment land on which to keep his bees… yes. The land, at Patchway, Bristol, is probably just 10 to 15ft wide and perhaps a quarter of a mile long. He, I understand, has a bit of collection of these strips on which he leaves his bee hives. And for this latest plot he paid the princely sum of £100 – yes you read that right, £100 – the ingenuity and imagination of buyers at Paul Fosh Auctions never fails to amaze. Sadly the stretch of river near Blackwood wasn’t


bought as a Valentine’s present, much as we would have liked it to have – I can see the headlines now ‘Man buys river of love’ – but it did go to an angling club. Now, I’ve no idea if there are any fish in that stretch but the lads will most certainly have a wonderful piece of river on which to set their stools and umbrellas and while away many an afternoon reminiscing about the one that got away and all for


in the air... I


just £750. The former Llanhilleth RFC clubhouse created a


fair bit of interest and eventually sold for £45,000 while the potential ‘love nest’ apartment in Swansea went for £19,500. The towering former Carmel Chapel in Beaufort,


Ebbw Vale, is now in the hands of new owners after they parted with £12,000 and the statuesque former private home converted to an office block at Newport’s commercial district Gold Tops is now destined to become residential once more and turned into flats after being sold for more than the guide price of £150,000. One of the most eagerly contested properties in the entire evening, and there was keen interest throughout the sale, was for a former school building and land at Penycae,


Swansea. Listed with a guide price of £110,000, the property with modern school buildings and idyllic woodland and lawns eventually went for more than twice the price at £233,000.


In all we sold in excess of 80


per cent of the 79 properties on offer on the night so we were well pleased with the results of the first auction of 2013. We saw familiar faces in the


packed room as well as many new ones eager to get into the improving market before prices really take off. There was a real buzz about the sale and with such a variety


of properties on offer from the aforementioned strip of land in Bristol to former chapels, the river, garages and shops, there really was something for everyone at the auction. To end it off on a ‘lovely’ note, those who


stayed, and that was most of the room, handed in their details which all went into a grand Paul Fosh hat that I keep for these occasions for the Valentine’s Day draw. The winner was a local lady, Martine Jenkins, who was thrilled with her prize and loved her evening which on a St Valentine’s Day auction is really all that you can ask. Paul Fosh Auctions sales are held at The Park Inn Hotel, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff on a Thursday and start at 5pm. For results and the dates of upcoming auctions visit: www.paulfoshauctions.com


85


’ve been contemplating starting a supper club for quite some time and now I’ve gone and done


it. The Paul Fosh Monmouthshire Supper Club will have its inaugural outing on Saturday, March 9, at The Black Bear, Bettws Newydd, near Usk.


Initially the club will consist of


half a dozen couples and we’ll see how it develops from there over the coming months, the make up is of friends and family and the remit is to enjoy fine food and friendship – with definitely no business talk! It occurred to me some time


ago that there are just so many great places to eat, from gastro pubs to fine dining Michelin starred restaurants (we have two in the county) in this wonderful area. Many of these I haven’t visited and others I haven’t been to for a very long time. The aim of the supper club


– we’ve yet to decide on the name and logo – is to put that matter straight. And so on the first Saturday of each month our group will set forth and enjoy the delights that Monmouthshire pubs and restaurants have to offer. We’ve chosen our starting point


of the Black Bear as we’ve received such good reports of its excellence and plan to choose subsequent dining venues in a similar way. I’ll be reporting back to MCL of our findings and hope to get pictures from the night and generally have an extremely good time along the way. Bon apetit and au revoir!


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