So it's 8.15am on a bright but cool Sunday morning and I'm in a field helping the team (Richard L and Fi) get ready to do a bit of fundraising towards a brand new survival pod. I've got my tabard on and ready to haggle in a bid to recycle our unwanted stuff. Welcome to the world of car booting!
When asked for fundraising ideas the proposal of selling at a car boot sale came to the fore (thanks Fi). It was felt that it was a viable possibility, though hardly any of us had experience of selling at such an event. So some members took the opportunity to declutter their homes of items they felt they could part with.- you know, those unwanted gifts, holiday souvenirs, some items of personal, sentimental value, or out dated stuff that had since been updated by newer models Our stall included a wide range of items from classy Bristol Blue Glass to hip roller blades and from an antique Samovar (teapot) in need of some TLC to a more modern tea/coffee maker (circa 1980s). With a bit of preparation these had been priced up the day before. Job done, we provisionally hoped that our hoarde of clutter could perhaps raise maybe £60-£70.
By 8.45am we were all set up and ready to sell. A few early deals and we had covered the cost of our pitch soon after 9.00am. A promising start and we continued to have a steady stream of punters looking for that 'value for money' bargain. Many people seemed taken aback that we greeted them with a cheery "Good morning" welcome - the personal approach is certainly the way to engage the interest of those perusing the goods on offer. I think the fact that we approach people in the street as part of our campaigning gave us an advantage over some of the other sellers. We were heartened that towards the end of the morning we had approaches from a couple of other stall holders who were kindly offering us the pick of their leftover items to be sold at a future sale.
Well we certainly exceeded expectations as we raised a grand total of £112 towards a new survival pod. So many thanks to those who donated items and also to Ian, Madeleine and Sue who helped out on the stall.
With this success it is hoped to attend a second car boot sale on Sunday 28th April to see if we can match (if not beat) today's result. (See diary entry for details) So if you need to get rid of any bits and bobs that just seem to be sitting, gathering dust, underneath the stairs, in a garage, attic, kitchen cabinet, then you know what to do with it!
If enough volunteers are present then there is the possibility to do some 'I ♥ Arctic' campaigning! Someone in a polar bear costume would certainly be an additional attraction!
At the time of writing over £28,000 has been raised towards the £80,000 cost of acquiring a new survival pod since previous ones have been impounded by Scandinavian authorities. This is an important piece of equipment used in Greenpeace's direct action to prevent drilling and commercial exploitation of the Arctic. To find out more, design a pod or donate to the cause please click here.
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