Car - tharsis.

Up at 7am and off with Drama in the Community students to Greycourt School for a car boot sale to raise money and promote Ham House's 400th Birthday on the 23rd May.

It was a really rewarding morning, particularly after the rain stopped and it was great to find that most of the people we met had either already heard about the event or wanted to know more. Everybody seemed positive and looking forward to taking part. We leafleted, chatted and made another £70 for the coffers.

The car boot sale itself is such a wonderful community idea and beyond the bargains and haggles are lots of interactions, clarifications and neighbourly conversations. I promised myself early that I wouldn't buy anything, but rather would enjoy the cathartic process of clear out, of getting rid of the stuff you'd long since forgotten you had. The temptation to pick up nick knacks on the cheap, though, was almost overwhelming.

The most gratifying part of the sale comes when you sell something to somebody who's really excited by their purchase. A primary school teacher couldn't believe her luck when she saw a badge making machine on our stall and practically bit our hands off when we let her have it for a fiver. She couldn't wait to let her kids loose on it. It left us all with smiles on our faces.

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