SIR

I am a new member of Transition Monmouth and at one of our meetings I bought a ticket to an auction held at the Bridges Centre on 8th October.

The auction was partly for promises and partly for goods, and was held in support of the Citizens Advice Bureau. They were looking for much-needed funds during these trying times.

It is good that all funds raised would be matched by the Government. I found this to be an excellent idea, since communities like ours are going to have to do more to stand on their own feet in the difficult times ahead.

The auction itself was a hilarious affair thanks to a brilliant and extremely funny auctioneer, and my wife and I bid for various items.

We were lucky enough to succeed in purchasing a voucher entitling us to the services of a pair of fully qualified electricians for one day (with us only having to pay for any parts used).

For us, this was a brilliant coup, since we needed some wiring for power and light both in the garage and the summer house.

Shortly after the auction we were in touch with Complete Electrical, who contacted us on the telephone to arrange the work.

Over the years we've renovated a number of houses ranging from run-down old farmhouses to large Victorian heaps, so we have some experience of tradesmen and their often less than satisfactory ways.

To our delight Jonathan Seamons and his cohort, Simon, turned up on time on the day they had promised, doing an absolutely brilliant job. Their kindness and community spirit in supporting the Citizens Advice Bureau has had a knock-on effect, resulting in beneficial results for several members of the community.

I'm writing to recommend them to everybody who reads your newspaper and to thank them publicly for their excellent work.

Keith Foster

(Monmouth)