The British film industry is having a barn raising!
Well, actually, more like a roof raising.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts–aka BAFTA–is holding a few dozen eBay auctions to generate money for its “Raise The Roof” fund (which helps pay for some much-needed repairs of BAFTA’s building.) Although most of the items are out of my range, it’s fun to browse the list. At the moment, the most expensive item is an authentic “Wanted: Sirius Black” poster from the set of the latest Harry Potter film. If you have a extra £922 (about $1750) to spare for the young Harry Potter fan in your life, then come next Christmas, you can be the coolest aunt/uncle/mom/dad/grandparent ever. (Unless you end up shattering their innocence when they discover that it doesn’t actually move like it does in the film.)
If, however, your niece is a young single woman, maybe she’d rather cozy up to the sweater Colin Firth wore when he plunged into the lake in Love, Actually.Or perhaps she’d prefer Paul Bettany’s tennis racket from Wimbledon, or the cashmere scarf that Liam Neeson wore to the 1996 Oscars. For anybody keeping score, Firth’s sweater is currently at £225; Neeson’s scarf is £30.85; and Bettany’s tennis racket is £26.75. The final sales price of these items will, at long last, provide a scientific demonstration of the relative sexiness of each of these three men.
Personally, I covet the signed Wallace & Gromit watercolour painted by Nick Park.