We arrived at the school for 8.45am to find five ‘booters’ waiting! This was a good sign and a great surprise to us both. Mrs Howard, the headmistress of Hay school, kindly opened the gates, then it was time to let each car through. I stood on the gate taking the money whilst Colan directed them to their space. Being the perfect husband he’d (reluctantly) agreed to wear a hi-vis jacket, not a great look, but a must for any busy boot affair.

I tried to have a quick chat with each booter, many were local so it was lovely to see their support. In fact, some thanked me for organising it, to them it was an excuse for that dreaded clear out whilst making some cash in these times of credit crunch.

Pat and Victor Holmes pulled up at the gate, they brought a boot to raise money for the Black Mountains Lions, charity boots gain free entry so they and the two ladies sporting a boot for the Guide Dogs went in free of charge.

My sister Dee also arrived, her 4x4 was full to the brim, with no room for her 2 little ones, Charlotte and William had to follow on with mum and dad, making it an almost complete family affair.

At 9.30am the majority of the sellers had arrived. By now a few buyers were wanting to take a look, I stuck to my guns and asked them to return at 10am so the sellers had time to set up. From experience I know how difficult it is when you're trying to unpack with browsers rummaging through your items! There was one man who was a little put out by this, ''that's not fair, the ‘booters’ themselves will look around the other boots and pick up all the bargains'', at this point I realised this man meant business and was obviously a regular at these kind of events! I replied in a calm manner "I'm really sorry sir, but this is what’s been agreed with the sellers, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait". The man huffed and walked away, he did however wait in his car until 10am!

At 10am and the browsers were free to roam, both Co and I stood by the gates welcoming people, it was great to see so many familiar faces.

Within half an hour people were walking out with bags of goodies and wearing great big smiles! One little girl, I'm guessing who was around 2 years old, had her very own furry shopping bag, she was so proud to show me her purchases: a small teddy police man, a little Smurf figurine, a Horrid Henry hardback and a child’s popup book – her smile made my day.

I took a walk around the stalls, there seemed to be lots of children’s toys and clothes – I must have seen about a dozen or so MB games! There were stalls selling so many other items, one lady came over to show me a mirror she’d just paid £5 for, it was lovely, not a scratch to be seen, very heavy and a unique design – I only wish I'd seen it first! I had my eye on a £5 bike for James, this was an absolute bargain as it was a good make and in very good condition, it was bright orange so James would have loved it – however we never saw it again, but if it wasn’t actually sold, we’ll get it next time! One gentleman had boxes full of DVD's, all a £1 each – many walked away with great films, the word on this spread around town so others turned up to get in on the action. I spoke to the seller after who said he’d had a good day and was thinking of coming back next month!

Throughout the morning people were turning up for just a browse but left heavy handed with lots of bargains. Around mid-day it died down a bit, I assumed people had gone for lunch. But at 12:30 it livened up again, people were trying to grab some last minute bargains before the sellers packed up.

Around 1pm the sellers departed the school grounds, one by one they stopped for a quick chat, one lady made £250 – not bad for a mornings work! Another gentleman had brought his two young boys along, as the toys were theirs, so was the cash – they raised around £60 and were putting it towards their holiday spending money. They commented there was plenty more toys where they came from and although on holiday next month would return for the boot after that!

In total there were around 50 boots – a great result for the first Wye Local car boot sale.

The success of the day is firstly down to; Mrs Howard and Hay school – who kindly gave me permission to use the school grounds and supported me the whole way; Tara, Mrs Howard (again) and their various helpers who did a fantastic job with the refreshments, (refreshments raised enough money to buy a visualiser for the School); all those ‘booters’ for bringing the loot in the boot; the many buyers, especially all those locals for spending their dosh; and last of all; my wonderful husband Colan, only the day before he took part in a triathlon but yet he still got up at the crack of dawn, directed cars, greeted people and supported me all the way.

The next car boot sale will be on Sunday 26th July, 10am - 1pm. Hay St. Mary's Football Club have offered to do the refreshments, we’ll also ask an ice cream van to pop along – especially if it's going to be another scorcher! I’m planning on getting even more buyers and sellers next time, so will be working hard from now until then promoting the next event. Hope to see you all then...

Lisa Marie x