Marcus Lyne wins £1,000

Let me get the especially awkward bit out of the way first.

The winner of this Kings Arms £1,000 Prize Draw is Marcus Lyne – yes, we are related, he is my son. I am, of course, the Secretary writing this. The winner of one of our draws last year was Michael Lyne, my ex-husband! Both have donated £100 of their winnings back to the pub. I do recognise how the surname looks two draws out of five, but I am almost certainly the most active selling tickets and strongly ‘encourage’ (hound?) my family to do so …and they do do so! I make sure of it.

A word, then, on how the draw was conducted, because things didn’t go quite to plan, and the optics deserve a straight answer.

How the draw worked

The Crowdfunder platform generates the entrant data that is loaded onto an online ‘Wheel of Fortune’ function – an automated process that selects the winner at random from all eligible entries. Nobody at the pub picks the name. Whoever “runs” the draw just presses a button.

This particular draw was advertised to take place at our Bubbles 2026 event last Saturday, but alas, Bubbles had to be cancelled as we did not sell enough tickets, and the pub itself was very quiet that evening.

I organised this draw, as I have done for all except the first; and I pressed the button on the New Year draw, but no other. As it happens, I was away in London this weekend, so Committee member, Robin Staunton ran the draw, witnessed by another, and has the print out with the winner’s name.

A word from the winner

Marcus, contacted in London with the news, reacted:

“[Bleep] amazing! Oh, but mum, are you sure? Slightly mortified on your behalf, but [bleep] brilliant! Really need it. I know, Iknow, I should donate some back. But wow! Next time I’m down in Strete, I guess I have to buy a few drinks.“

The numbers

This draw raised £2,240 from 49 pledges across 47 entrants:

– 6 Stood the House at £100

– 26 Pulled a Pint at £50 for three tickets

– The remainder bought Cheeky Ones at £20

After transaction fees, VAT and the £1,000 prize, the pub keeps £1,163.66 – with Marcus’s £100 donation lifting that to £1,263.66.

The vast majority of tickets sold in the final few days – phew!

Where the money goes

Every ticket buys the pub a piece of itself. Proceeds are tied to our Ambience Project hopefully lifting the rooms from winter-bleak to year-round welcoming; and to making good some recent equipment failures. More on the specifics later.

Thank you to everyone who participated, and who encouraged participation!

Lisa, Secretary, SCPL