2008 Sale                                                                                                                                                                   

At close of play on Friday 16th May the sale had raised £114,600.

Thanks to all who came, donated, bought and helped. The cheque will be presented to Christian Aid at the 11am service on Sunday 15th June

Full report of the 2008 sale coming soon

Read a full account of the 2007 sale here                                                                                                                                                                      

Much more than a book sale                                     

Since inception in 1974, the sale has raised more than £1.5m for Christian Aid. Christian Aid (UK charity number 1105851) is an agency of churches in the UK and Ireland. It works wherever the need is greatest irrespectiveof religion or race. You can find out more about Christian Aid by following the link on the bottom right of this page.

Alexander McCall Smith, Jamie Byng, Richard Demarco, Ian Rankin, John Bellany and Brian McMaster have been patrons of our Book Sale in recent years. Our patron in 2008 was A.L.Kennedy.

As well as books the sale includes Antiques and Collectables - Catering and Baking - Ephemera - Pictures - Recorded Music - Stamps and Postcards - Toys and Games.

The full range of books comprises Art - Children’s - Cookery - Crafts - Fiction - Gardening - Languages - Law - Literature and Classics - Magazines - Music - Non-fiction - Paperbacks – Reference - Religion - Scottish and Special - Sports and Pastimes.

Antiquarian books at St Andrew’s and St George’s

Our Scottish and Special section handles donated antiquarian books. IThese have included a first edition of James Hutton’s 1788 “Theory of the Earth” and, in 2004, a collection of over forty rare 19th century books on Orkney and Shetland.

Pictures at St Andrew's and St George's

In 2005 The Star and the Whale, donated by our patron John Bellany, raised a four figure sum. In 2006 pictures donated by a number of prominent Scottish artiists raised over £10,000..

How you can help

We can never take success for granted, for it depends entirely on goodwill and generous donations of goods, time and expertise from many quarters. Benefactors and donors send books and goods throughout the year.

Volunteers bring many skills – sorting books, shifting boxes, finding first editions, researching rare volumes, pricing pictures, helping to collect books and goods. And customers return year after year to browse and to buy, even those whose shelves are still groaning with last year’s purchases….

“It is really quite staggering to think that over £1m has been raised, but … in many ways the most significant achievement is the almost tangible sense of generosity of spirit” (a volunteer)

“you really must get a bigger church building” (a customer)