Bookworms in the borough are being invited to bag a bargain at a unique annual charity sale in Gedling and help raise much-needed funds for local charities.

For the past 13 years Bob and Chris Cann have hosted the Masked Charity Booksale at their home in Vernon Avenue, which brings in thousands of pounds for their chosen charities.

Their property will again be crammed full of 15,000 second-hand books from as little as 10p when the sale begins on Friday, April 26.

Last year’s mammoth sale brought in £2176 for local charities and boosted the total amount raised over the past 13 years to nearly £20,000.

It takes Chris, Bob and a team of volunteers over ten weeks to prepare for the sale, and over the years a special insulated  building has been erected to help house the mammoth collection.

Chris said the continuing popularity of the sale proves that books will never be replaced, despite the growth in electronic devices.

She said: “There’s something magical about a book, that you just don’t find on an electronic device.  And that magic is even greater when it’s a second-hand book, because as wellbeing directly connected to the author’s mind, you’re also physically holding something that may be a hundred years old, and you’re connected to all the previous owners and readers.”

As well as books, homemade cakes will be available for donation, and children can play on the ExLibris Express – a train built out of reclaimed wood. They can ring the train’s bell, toot the horn, sell tickets, blow bubbles, shovel “coal”, and more.

Many visitors to the sale also take part in the tradition of wearing a mask while attending the event.

The tradition was started by Josiah Saithwaite, founder of the Federation of Masked Booksellers who are the group who organise the event. Saithwaite believed in doing good by stealth and decided therefore that the identities of all who helped out on his bookstalls should be concealed behind masks.

This year visitors are also invited to bring a tin of vegetarian food, which will be passed on to Netherfield Food Bank after the booksale.

The sale takes place between at 16, Vernon Avenue in Gedling between 10-6 on April 26, 27, 28 and 29.

It will also be open again the public on May 3,4 and 5 between 10-6.

For more information email boraxwoman-exlibris@yahoo.co.uk or visit their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/ExLibrisTheMaskedBooksellers/

A £93,000 cinder pathway in Netherfield has been restored and will be officially opened tomorrow (March 19)

The funding provided by WREN and Gedling Homes has been used to renovate, widen and tidy up the cinder pathway which runs from Manvers Street to Ashwell Street in Netherfield.

WREN is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, conservation and heritage projects from funds donated by waste and resource management company FCC Environment through the Landfill Communities Fund. They have providing a total of £84,117 towards the project. Gedling Homes, now part of the Jigsaw group, has also provided a contribution of £9,074.28 towards the refurbishment of the walkway.

Works on the cinder pathway included the removal of trees, which have been identified as dead or diseased, and tidying of vegetation to improve the lighting and make the area cleaner and safer for pedestrians.

The local heritage of the cinder path will be told along the walkway with interpretation panels. Local historian, Hayden Reed has contributed to the panels, providing information on the history of the area including details about the railway history of the path.

The path will be opened by the Mayor of Gedling, Councillor Barbara Miller and the Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke on Tuesday (March 19) at 2pm.

Cheryl Raynor, WREN’s local grant manager said: “It’s wonderful to see something we have funded fully completed and ready to have a positive impact on the local area. WREN is always happy to consider grant applications for projects that benefit local communities and this is a great example of what can be achieved.”Martin Curtis, Project Manager for Gedling Homes said: “We’re delighted to see the work finished on the cinder path and look forward to seeing it open.”

Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said;“I’m very pleased that the cinder path has been revitalised and I’m sure residents will be very pleased with the results.

“This funding from WREN and Gedling Homes has helped turn this old unsightly corridor into a nice, clean walking path which will bring to life the history of this cinder path. With the ongoing issues we have with budgets, we would not have been able to do this ourselves, so we are very grateful for the funding for this project.”