Charitable Fundraising

Today I had lunch with my father at a restaurant in Thame (called The Thatch http://www.thethatchthame.co.uk/). As we looked over the menu I noticed a footnote relating to a "charitable donation". I assumed it related to an item on the menu, in the way that Pizza Express donates a small amount to the Venice fund for every Venezia pizza sold. When our bill came there was a charitable donation of 50p itemized. The explanation was that the MD of the restaurant was going to climb Kilimanjaro and the "profits" from money raised would go to two charities. Profits? In other words after the patrons of the restaurant have financed this man's jaunt up Kilimanjaro (most people call this a vacation) anything left over will be donated. How big of him. I know this is not new (after all the motorbike ride across Africa that the Princes William and Harry went on not so long ago was exactly the same kind of escapade) it is nevertheless the most outrageous scam. Did we object? No of course not, we didn't want to make a scene (actually my father would have loved to). But that is exactly what the manager was relying on. No, I just came home and wrote a blog post. Oh and I might go online and write a scathing review of the restaurant too.