2010:365:247 Ahhhhhhhhhh ......

It has been a long couple of days!  And my feet ache!  Three foot baths over the evening have done something to make it feel less that I'm walking on tacks ... I think!

It was of course the Car Boot Sale around which life has revolved.

For our first attempt we had a reasonable turn out.

The weather remained dry if a tad cool until almost the end.  I'm not sure how the traders fared although there was a small but steady stream of shoppers.

The Mothers' Union had space inside the hall and we set out on Friday evening.

Helpers included daughters and nieces of parishioners as well as many of our own folk.

 From time to time particular items caught your eye and it was hard to resist buying lots of stuff that I don't need.  I did resist this plate but succumbed to other, perhaps less useful, purchases!

Emma, the new Youth Worker, met some of the teens who were selling off their cuddly toys to help fund a trip to the US with their school choir later this year.  I managed to find two turtles among the piles and they'll now be part of my collection. 

They had fun being part of something like this and we enjoyed the youthful element they brought to the proceedings. 

With tea and coffee available there was time for folk to catch up on chat and enjoy a sit down in the hall while watching what was going on.  

Was it worth the effort and the sore feet?

Yes.  To date the total is £754 sterling from car fees, teas, gifts and selling goods.  I imagine that will grow just a little more.  So a bit THANK YOU to every single person who helped in any way.  Every little action and all the big ones resulted in a huge amount of money that will be used for various Mothers' Union projects both in UK and overseas.

The organisation supports all kinds of work from literacy to clean water, from sustainable farming to parenting classes ... they have a useful web site if you want more information. 

http://www.themothersunion.org/

The name of MU has remained even though the organisation now includes many singles and men as members.

The entrance hall was lined with books, CDs and a huge pile of old vinyl records.  I think we must have sold a considerable amount because it seemed that putting stuff away was a much shorter job than carrying it out last night.  Books and records are very heavy and we really appreciated all the men who came along and gave so much muscle power. 

Tea and biscuits (or in my case, coffee) revived us throughout the day!  A good friend donated some High Vis jackets and I know that mine will be very useful for evening and early morning dog walking. As I was on car park duty for the early part of the sale it was a useful garment - and I just kept it on for the rest of the event.  It meant that, if anyone were looking for me, I was a fairly visible target!

May the love of the Lord Jesus draw us to himself;

may the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service;

may the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our souls:

and may the blessing of God Almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

be with us and remain with us evermore.

Amen.