Oor Wullie auction boost for children's hospital
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Laughter was indeed the best medicine at Thainstone as the auction of Oor Wullie statues at Thainstone raised a phenomenal £314,900 for the ARCHIE foundation.
The charity supports the work of Aberdeen and Inverness Children's Hospitals, with the auction one of four taking place this week in Scotland.
The top price of the evening went to the clown inspired statue The Amazing Oor Wullie which sold for £15,500.
Designed by Aberdeen based Ke’ku:n studio which is home to resident artists Mary Butterworth and Jon Reid the figure had been on show at Aberdeen Beach Front.
As they explained: "The clown is a classic symbol of children’s entertainment - so too is Oor Wullie.
"In children’s hospitals, extra resources like clown doctors and clown care can be used to distract sick children from painful times, lighten their experience and improve their health and well-being. "Clowns play out human emotions in a dramatic way, they play jokes, they stumble, they try, they fail.
"By laughing with them and at ourselves we are entertained, surprised - we empathise and are shown humanity.
"Oor Wullie’s character and form lent itself perfectly to this subject."
Closer to home, the five statues which have graced Inverurie saw Oor Kitty Jasper raise £3600, Oor Pete, £5000, Oor Shire Your Shire, £10,000, Berry Nabber £6,500 and Wullie of the Glen £7000.
Other notable sales included Oor Wullie Miller which sold for £9000, Oor Countryside which made £14,000 and Oor Nevis, which was carried to the top of Ben Nevis and which went for £11,000.
While many of the buyers were anonymous through the online bidding, it is expected that the majority of the statues will stay locally.
