Upcoming events!

If you're the parent of a 4-8 year-old and at a loose end on the 21st March you might want to take them to Worcester Park library where they can enjoy an hour of arts and crafts from 9.30 to 10.30 making a card and a box for Mothers Day, or as they put it:
"Come and make a card for mum and a pretty box to put her present in. For ages 4-8."
All for a nominal fee of £2. Bargain!!

Mothers Day Craft
http://events.surreycomet.co.uk/m6/disp.asp?i=235029

More immediately tomorrow is the 4th Worcester Park Scouts Auction and Alex emailed me to fill me in on what I've been missing:

Here's something that may be of interest to everyone enduring the credit crunch blues. This Saturday, 7th March, the local scout HQ at Balmoral Road is holding the next of its six-monthly 'Grand Auctions'. I first heard about these about 18 months ago and imagined that it would largely consist of unwanted kids' toys and outgrown clothes, changing hands for a couple of quid a throw. But I was wrong!

On the day, I happened to be passing and put my head in. It wasn't what I expected at all - there were all kinds of things on offer, including items that were clearly of some value, so I stuck around. The scout hut was full of bidders and business was brisk. I was really impressed - full credit to the scouts! Since then, every six months, I have entered 8 or 10 unwanted items in each auction (basically things that I would have previously given to a charity shop, without giving a second thought) and have been pleasantly surprised to receive (after the scouts' deductions) around £50 each time for them. Naturally, like 'real' auctions, there are no guarantees, but if two people want the same item, you're on to a winner! It's worth a try.

How it works is this:
10am - 11:30 - Bring items along to the scout hut for sale. It costs 20p to enter each item as a handling charge.
1:30 - 2:30 - Viewing
2:30 - 4:30ish - Auction (I don't recall if there was an admission charge, but if there was, it was a notional one)

For bidders and buyers, there is no surcharge. If an item sells for £6, you pay only £6
For sellers, the scouts retain one-third of the sale price, so if an item sells for £6, you keep £4 and the scouts keep£2.
At the point of entering an item, you can also set a reserve price for an extra fee of £1

There aren't any details on the web but the Scouts web site is here:
4th Worcester Park Scouts
http://www.4wp.org.uk/

As for me, I'll be at Terminal 5 waiting for a flight to Phoenix again.