Car booty

Spring is here and all over the country people are raiding their attics and garages and wondering, 'What can I get rid of at a car boot sale this weekend?'

Not so in my house! When Spring arrives and car boot sales start popping up in fields like mushrooms, I find myself wondering, 'What bargains can I get at a car boot sale this weekend?'

I don't claim to be an expert by any means, and I'm reluctant to tell you what I look for in case you all snap up the same things and then flood Ebay but ...

Certain authors on Ebay command as much for 2nd hand books as they do for new ones. I'm not telling you who they are, do your own research! Others regularly sell for a £1 or more but can be picked up for 20p at a boot sale. Of course, you have to sell a lot of 20p books for £1 to make it worth that trip to the Post Office to send them all off, but even 80p profit can bring a smile to my face.

One of my best buys was a bottle of CK One cologne - a Christmas present for a man who took one whiff of it, decided he didn't like it and put it back in its box. I picked this up for £5 at the car boot sale and sold it for £17 on Ebay. Unfortunately, on the way to the car boot sale I was clicked by a temporary speed camera doing 36 miles an hour in a 30 mile zone (it was 8.30 on a Sunday morning and there was no-one about!) so I ended up with 3 points on a hitherto clean licence and a £60 fine - so the profit from the CK One rapidly turned into a loss! But you can see that it is quite easy to make some money if you know what you're looking for.

Of course, it's not just about making money. For me, it's the the thrill of finding a lonely plate that matches a set I have that's long since gone out of production. It's about unearthing something I normally wouldn't give house-room, but would look great at my beach-hut.

This weekend, Bunny Anne and I went scouting for old towels and blankets to line the cupboard where her cat has hidden her litter of 3 kittens. Ever since Bunny's had the cat (imaginatively - not - named Tinkerbell) I've been telling her to get the cat spayed.

'She won't get pregnant, she's only a baaaaaby,' Bunny has replied on each occasion, sometimes adding, 'I can't take time off work.'

In vain I told her to take Tink to the vet on a Friday morning on her way to work, pick her up on the way home, and then spend the weekend after her in case of complications, but no, Bunny protested that she was her ickle baaaaaby and far too young to get pregnant.

Three weeks ago Tinkerbell produced 3 kittens.

Anyway, at Sunday's car boot we bought a baby's plastic changing mat (to put on the floor of the cupboard to stop up any kitty-wee soaking through to the wooden floor) for 50p, a baby's play mat with a structure over the top with teeny cuddly toys hanging from it, again, 50p. That'll (hopefully) keep the kitties amused when they're a bit older. I then saw a big blue cuddly toy that its owner was thrilled to get rid of for 10p. I only had a 20p piece so let her keep the change - I can be generous when I feel like it. When I got it back to Bunny's I realised why they were so keen to see the back of it. It's about 3 feet long! It's the blue lobster from the Little Mermaid, and it will be a lovely climing frame for the kittens. Best of all, I got to leave it at Bunny's house when I came home!

It's Thursday now, only a few more days until the next car boot. My house is bulging outwards with all the stuff I've accumulated and I don't need any more but the lure of a bargain is strong. At 9am on Sunday morning I shall be there, 20p entrance money clutched in my hand, shopping bag slung over my shoulder, twitching to rummage amongst the piles of junk that other people can no longer stand the sight of. My idea of Heaven - and all for 20p!