As I kid, I was always lucky on tombolas. It just to drive my brother mad with jealousy. My most memorable prize was a bottle of Mead won when I was 8. My dad promised me I could drink it when I was older, but he secretly donated it to another tombola. I’m convinced I’ll win it again some day.
A book tombola is a very different thing to the usual selection of unwanted Christmas presents (so that’s what happened to them before eBay) as pretty much everyone has a book lying around at home that they would happily swap for the thrill of spinning the barrel and fishing out some scraps of paper. All weekend 4th Estate has been running a book tombola at the delightful, yet slightly damp, Innocent Village Fete and the donations have been extraordinary. The Wag’s Diary and books by Ian McEwan are at odds as probably the most popular books donated. A few old-fashioned hardbacks, including what has to have been the original misery-memoir, Cripple Jess, (sorry Dave P) formed a mountain of well-thumbed books alongside literary classics, science fiction and, god forbid, some Richard & Judy bestsellers. Over the weekend, I guestimate nearly 2000 people bought at least one book along in return for a go on the tombola and pretty much every one of them walked away with a new book to explore. Books make for an excellent currency and are much more fun to talk about than money. So if used in the right way, could the next Dick Francis or used Lonely Planet Guide have more impact on the credit crunch than ever possibly imagined? I’m off to try and buy my lunch with a paperback.
