JR’s Anniversary Auction of Experiences
Ever dreamed of sharing a home-cooked dinner with Claudia Roden, chatting with Felicity Kendal over lunch or owning an original piece of striking contemporary art? Help us celebrate our 25th anniversary and get bidding in JR’s fabulous online birthday auction.
The first wave of prizes is listed below, with more coming up across the year. Want to know what we’ve got in store? Don’t miss an issue of JR, as we’ll be releasing five more prizes – including a special Mother’s Day high tea with Maureen Lipman and her daughter Amy Rosenthal – in each of the next four magazines.
Bidding ends: 9pm on Sunday 1 November
The Prizes
Claudia Roden © Stuart Simpson
Home-cooking with Claudia Roden
A bespoke meal for 6-8, catered at your home
We’ve got a unique opportunity for you to enjoy an up close and personal meal in your own home with Middle Eastern Jewish food maven Claudia Roden. The renowned Egyptian cook, anthropologist and author will curate a sumptuous three-course menu, designed to suit the tastes of the winning bidder, which will then be cooked by her friend Mark Jankel, founder of Osher, a new bespoke Kosher catering company. On one Sunday evening in 2027 (date to be agreed with the winner) Claudia will join you and your lucky chosen guests for the meal, and to answer any questions you may have about her life, work, influences and, of course, all her delicious recipes.
Opening bid: £1,000
A day out themed around My Duchess
Watch Joan Collins as Wallis Simpson and enjoy afternoon tea with biographer Anne Sebba
With the upcoming release of a major biopic about Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor (left), we’re offering a day out featuring a screening of the film and afternoon tea with biographer Anne Sebba. Starring Joan Collins as the American socialite, with Isabella Rossellini as French lawyer Suzanne Blum and Miranda Richardson as Diana Mosley, My Duchess is set to be a big hit. Sebba – author of That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson, which revealed the Duchess’s surprising Jewish secret – will accompany the winning bidder and a companion to a matinee at a London cinema, followed by sharing opinions about the movie and the real-life scandal behind it over tea and tasty treats.
Opening bid: £250
Daniel Krikler as Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist © Anthony Leary-White
Rub shoulders with the cast and crew of The Pianist
Behind-the-scenes at the new musical
When Roman Polanski’s Holocaust drama The Pianist came out in 2002, it won almost 50 awards, including three Oscars. Now the story makes its world premiere on the stage at London’s Park Theatre. Based on Wladyslaw Szpilman‘s bestselling memoir of the same name, this production features original compositions by the Polish Jewish pianist and survivor. See the magic live on 25 November, when we’ll provide the winning bidder and a friend tickets to an evening performance, plus a pre-show pizza dinner with the show’s writer/director Thom Southerland and historical consultant Angela Gluck Wood. Afterwards, you’ll go backstage for a meet-and-greet with the cast.
Opening bid: £100
Enjoy a slice of the Good Life with Felicity Kendal
Lunch in London with the star of stage and screen
British actor Felicity Kendal is a renowned face of stage and screen, with an illustrious career that reaches back to the 1960s. Most famously she played Barbara Good in the TV series The Good Life, and she was also Tom Stoppard’s long-running muse, originating roles in many of his plays. A proud Jew (and reader of JR!), Felicity will accompany the winning bidder and a companion, plus JR’s executive director Aviva Dautch, for a leisurely lunch at a central London venue for a private meal and conversation about showbusiness, why she converted to Judaism and the fascinating life she’s lived in the years since.
Opening bid: £350
Impossible Venice by David Breuer-Weil
Own an original piece by David Breuer-Weil
Acquire artwork by the London artist and hear what inspired it
David Breuer-Weil has always had a gift for finding dramatic backdrops for his work and his 2025 series, Impossible Venice, is no different. While working in Venice on his Visitors, Aliens and Outsiders series, he was inspired to take photographs and augment them with acrylic paint, referencing the viewpoint of an outsider to the historic city. We are offering this striking image of Venice (left, Impossible Venice, 2025, 21 by 29.7 cm, acrylic paint on artist’s photograph) – a rare chance to own one of his pieces, which sell for up to £25,000. The buyer will also have the opportunity to meet with David and discuss the ideas behind his art.