The editor's champagne reception, with a tour of News International's printing presses, is open to five winners. At the time of writing, it had attracted only one bid at £1, but the bidding is open for 10 days.
A day in Parliament with commentator Matthew Parris is expected to attract serious bidding -- the same offer last year raised £10,000.
Other auctions on offer include a day at the Badminton Horse Trials with sports journalist Simon Barnes, a day out with a Times photographer, and a £500 Armani makeover with The Times Magazine's style director Tina Gaudoin. To see the auctions, visit .
As its charities, The Times has chosen: Street Child Africa; Rukba, which helps older people on low incomes to maintain their independence; and SMA Trust, which is on the cusp of finding a cure for a spinal disease that cripples children.
Over at , which also introduced the auction idea last year, there are 39 lots to choose from, including number 13, a ramble with a possibly jet-lagged Janet Street-Porter, which went for £1,250 last year. Number 1 is lunch with editor Simon Kelner at The Ivy. Bidding runs until December 23.
The paper's Green Shoots charity appeal is raising money for: WaterAid; Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conversation, which is working in Namibia; and Send a Cow, which provides cattle to East African families.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
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