The 1st Northwood Scouts welcomed the amazing response to their Annual Grand Jumble Sale, which marked the event’s 100th anniversary.
Residents began queuing outside the Northwood Scouting Centre at 7.30am on Saturday, May 31, more than six hours before the sale started. The queue continued to build throughout the morning, and by 2pm it was over a quarter of a mile long.
The organisers opened the doors at 2pm, and customers rushed through to their favourite stalls. Counting customers stopped at 2.25pm, by which time 1,102 adults had come in, plus many children.
Speaking to Northwood & Ruislip News, Tim Shipman, leader of the Scout group, said: “The sale was a huge success. Suffice to say the takings are more than enough to run the group for the next year, which costs around £7,000.
“It also allows us to put money aside for a replacement minibus in two or three years’ time and look into installing solar panels to lower our electricity bill.”
In 1925, the first recorded jumble sale raised £22, seven shillings, and one penny. This is equivalent to £1,736.42 today, a feat Tim described as “not bad for an average jumble sale!”.
Bargains were available in every department, including bicycles, computers, garden accessories, clothing, and an “amazing” hardware stall. When the last customer left the field at 5.30pm, the group began finding new homes for the remaining items.
Books, CDs, DVDs, pictures, bikes, china and glass went to local charity shops; clothes, belts, hats and handbags were sold by weight to a dealer; and any metal items were sold to a scrap metal dealer.
Several Scout units even took away selections of items to sell at boot sales, supporting a summer camp in Kandersteg, Switzerland.
Tim added: “We want to thank all of our 200-plus helpers and, of course, our customers for coming along and spending their money.”
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