Harry Potter Readathon for Comic Relief

9.29 I'm terrified. There is no-one here but me. Help! Just about to start reading.
9.42 Thank goodness, Rebekah has just turned up. And Ben and Holly - hurrah! And Radio Leicester have just telephoned us asking if we would like an owl to come in.
10.05 What a great start - have three readers here and one child listener which leaves me free to answer the phone. We've already raised over £50.
10.15 Ben and Holly have just read about the zoo and we're really laughing and enjoying Rowling's humour...and now Emily (aged 8) has taken over and is reading like a seasoned trooper.
10.30 Our first hour done!! And Joy has just come in to read. And our first contribution from a customer.
11.00 Akbar came in and read for 10 minutes, raising £5 - terrific! And now Joy is having her first read. Money keeps coming.
11.16 Emily just left having raised a very impressive £14
11.30 Another hour done! We are a good way through HP and the Philosopher's Stone
1.15 Alice, John and Edna have just arrived, Joy left 30 mins ago with Holly and Ben, and the owl is now here! Hedwig is in the house!!
2.00 Now done one-third and having a sneaky peek in the tin, it looks as if we've got around £100 so far. Alice has just gone, having done 20 minute - fab! And Daniella and Charlotte have just turned up. John read for 10 minutes and is so far our oldest reader.
3.30 Just passed the halfway mark and 6-year-old Abbi is now reading. She has beaten our record for the longest continuous stretch (20 minutes) and is still going. And she has raised £62 in sponsorship which is magnificent. So far we have at least £150 - but we need lots more!!
4.30 Well, records are made to be broken. Annabel (aged 9) has just read for 36 minutes in one go. Abbi did 40 in two stretches. And now Poppy (aged 7) who has visual impairment, read specially-enlarged sheets for 16 minutes. Very well done, all three. Magnificent!
5.30 Only four hours to go, and I'm beginning to flag. Time for a pasta meal, I feel! Nearly at the end of the first book. Brigid has just read continuously for one hour!!! I won't be mean and reveal her age. Lottie is now reading the last bit, and Jonathan from Action Homeless has joined us to help us through this final stage. So grateful to everyone who has supported us, particularly to BBC Radio Leicester who got right behind this project.
6.10 Now onto the second book, and we've just enjoyed Jonathan and Lottie read the Dobbie episode. Had my pasta - yum! Has given me a second wind to get through to 9.30.
8.00 Phew, getting tough now. Just me and Sue and coffee. But we are determined to enjoy this last bit, read with expression for all we are worth, and appreciate the humour and the brilliant description in this book.
8.15 Annabel has just come back! Just the job to give us a boost and get us through the last hour and a bit. We are now reading a chapter each and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. It feels like a warm and exclusive club in here: the brightly lit shop with the dark street outside, reading aloud to each other - as if we're in a bygone age.
8.30 A loud cheer has rung through The Parade - only one hour to go! And now Lottie has come back too, so the last bit is going to be SOOOO easy! I think we are now definitely over £200 once sponsorship monies have come in.
9.15 Only 15 minutes to go. Lottie and Annabel are doing 10 minutes each to finish. I've just counted monies so far - £147 taken today, and that's without a lot of sponsorship so we have definitely taken over £200. Will go home tired but happy. Tomorrow will put all the photos of the readers on our gallery page.