I had a lovely time at the gorgeous Study and Lounge at the Living Room on Deansgate at yesterday’s Charity Auction and Tweetup.

The numbers weren’t what I’d expected, perhaps the less than a month notice was too short for some.  Still, there was a decent turnout on a night when a big digital agency were celebrating their 10th birthday at another venue.

Hope it went well Code! I’m pretty sure it did, liked the sound of those breakdancers.

Just before the start, La Tasca, the Spanish restaurant right next to the Living Room donated a meal for two to the Charity Auction!  Thank you so much La Tasca.

According to Sugarvine.com:

The Deansgate La Tasca is a careful blend of everything that is good about Spain. Many of the staff are Spanish, giving the restaurant an authentic feel, the warm decor and top quality cuisine create a truly unique atmosphere.

Read on for details of who walked away with the meal donated by La Tasca.

Sarah Keyston at Philanthrobuzz, the blog for UniversalGiving.org also posted a lovely blog post about 7 Wonders in 7 Days, covering the core facts of the mission in a very readable half page.   I should take tips from her; my blog posts seem to sprawl across pages!

In addition, Josh (@technicalfault on Twitter) wrote a great blog post about the Charity Auction and Tweetup including links to the live stream page for the event.   Thanks again for all your sterling work live streaming the event, Josh.  Many thanks also to videographer Bob Hopley.  Bob is @bobski303 on Twitter.

Special thanks to Maria Gabriella Ruban of Little Star and David Eaton who set up and managed the Twitter backchannel both on a plasma screen and on the venue’s overhead projector.  Thanks so much.

Finally, the Living Room staff were fantastic, both on the night and in the run up to the event.  My heartfelt thanks to Emily, Hayley, Abby and David for all your support in making the Charity Auction and Tweetup a success.

We raised £242 at the end of the night which is fantastic!   It’s a great start.

Peter Gregson’s performances were sublime and I’m looking forward to watching the digitised footage.  The live stream looked great.  I don’t think it is live now however so you’ll have to make do with the first half of a video of Peter’s last song from his last set which I filmed with my Flip Mino HD camera.  Next half up later today.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AadqCKW6pUc 345 264 ]

The best way I can describe Peter’s music is that it is “lovely, ethereal and otherworldly”.  I noted the words ‘calming and inviting’ when I was making notes yesterday.

He does some interesting things with samples and live cello that need to be experienced to be believed.  He ‘played’ along to a very dashing Macbook Air using an electronic cello.  The overall effect was rather like the Living Room: deliciously upmarket yet cool.

I recall he started with Corpus Christi Carol by Benjamin Britten as featured on Jeff Buckley’s album ‘Grace’.

He also performed two songs from his new album, out next month.

Peter got really involved in the Charity Auction, walking away with the hamper donated by Starbucks and the top prize, the signed copy of children’s novel ‘A Hat Full of Sky’ donated by the author Sir Terry Pratchett OBE.

Peter’s dad actually donated towards the signed copy of A Hat Full of Sky, paying an additional £15 meaning it went for £50, for which I am very grateful.

I know it’s for your brother who is a big Terry Pratchett fan but look after that copy, Peter; it’s a very special piece of Terry Pratchett memorabilia!

Colin Smythe, Sir Terry’s agent and publisher told me it is a publisher’s edition that was signed a few years ago by Sir Terry.  It’s got a very different cover to the copy sold in the shops.  It’s got a story all of its own.

Here come a full breakdown of the charity auction results, as posted on Twitter in the wee hours of this morning:

Lot no. 1 – Starbucks Hamper – went to Peter Gregson (@petergregson on Twitter) for £20 #90909

Lot no. 2 – 1st Voucher for 3 Course Meal for Two at Tampopo Restaurant – went to David Bird (@groovegenerator on Twitter) for £25 #9090

Lot no. 3 – Night for 2 at Cloud 23, Hilton Manchester with complimentary bottle of champagne – went to Nigel Barlow (@nigelbarlow on Twitter) for £35 #90909

Lot no. 4 – Meal for Two at La Tasca Restaurant, Deansgate – went to James Chapman (@_Chappers_ on Twitter) for £15 but he paid £20! #90909

Lot no. 5 – 2nd Voucher for 3 Course Meal for Two at Tampopo Restaurant – went to lady not on Twitter for £26 #90909

Lot no. 6 – Signed copy of Hat Full of Sky by Sir Terry Pratchett – to Peter Gregson  (£35) + his dad for £50 #90909

Thanks to everyone who took part in the bidding, including my friend Sarah Speed who won Lot no. 5.  I hope you enjoyed it.

David Bird said he would be giving me the Tampopo voucher he successfully bid for which is really nice of him.  Thank you David.

It was also great to see the live tweets from the event on Twitter, even before doors opened at 6pm.  People were using the Twitter hashtag #90909 to tag their tweets which made it easy to see things as they were said.

Thanks again to compere Richard Howell-Jones who did an excellent job.

I’ve thanked pretty much everyone involved on Twitter.  You were all excellent.  Thanks again:

Thanks again to the entire tech team, you were all amazing! Big thanks to David E & Maria of Little Star for Twitter backchannel #90909

@_Chappers_ Your DJing was sublime. Never seen so many boxes of vinyl around one set of shoulders! Thanks again. #90909

@technicalfault and @bobski303 Big thank you for livestreaming the entire event not just @petergregson ’s performances

Oops, nearly forgot. @freedoma popped by after auction had ended and donated £20. Thank you, Caleb! #90909

A huge thank you to @petergregson who took to the bidding like a duck to water ) Thanks also to your Dad for the £15 donation. #90909

Your playing was really really enjoyable @petergregson Captured your last song on my Flip Mino. Will post onto YouTube. Thanks again. #90909

Thanks to everyone who bid for one of the items especially those that won: @nigelbarlow @groovegenerator @_Chappers_ @petergregson #90909

Also lovely to catch up with @manchesterisace and @misscay who both came down. Thanks ladies! #90909

I filmed a short video interview with Manchester journalist Christina McDermott just after the Charity Auction.  She shares why she would go to Peru.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awsEUVDIFXY 345 264 ]

I also interviewed Nigel Barlow about why he is following the 7 Wonders in 7 Days campaign.  Watch that here:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7-VYszV7Ow 345 264 ]

Like I said yesterday, there should be another 7 Wonders in 7 Days event in about a month.  I’m talking to a City centre restaurant who are interested in sponsoring an event.  Will keep you posted.

Also, I hope to be able to share more on the costings for the trip when I’ve spoken with Thomas Cook again.  It’s looking like the trip budget of £7000 may be a lot more than actually needed!  Will definitely keep you posted.

Update: Just spoken to Kathryn Gregory, World Travel expert at Thomas Cook Manchester and she says the trip budget should be £4670 which is welcome news!  The total air miles will be 35189.  This is great as I can now get on with arranging for that to be carbon offset.

Breaking news: I will be speaking to Becky Want on BBC Radio Manchester about 7 Wonders in 7 Days at 2pm on Tuesday 30th June.  Please tune in!

If you were at the Living Room yesterday and have any comments about the event, shout out in the comments below.

Your feedback, queries and questions welcome as always.