MONEY FOR NOTHING

SquareOne Features

by Karen Combe

"Here's £2.00, go and see how much you can make from it". said the ed, "and write me a story, I need it in five minutes!" Is it just me or has everyone around here started to wear Prada, a red soul patch and grown horns?

"I'll show him," I thought as my entrepreneurial competitive edge kicked in. By the time I've finished I could be the only person ever, to have all the members of Dragon's Den begging to join my company.

That was last week. This week I am the sad owner of The Proclaimer's 'This is the Story' LP from 1987. It cost £2.00 from Cancer Research but being a bit of a Scottish anthem fan I thought it could be worth millions. My mind went into fast forward; me an international vintage record dealer sunning myself in St Tropez. But when I checked the LP out on eBay, you guessed it, it was worth a measly £1.98 and it would cost £2.00 to post to any prospective customer.

All was not lost. I remembered a suitcase of singles from the 1980's in the attic belonging to my err, grandmother and just maybe it contained some fantastic rare 45's worth a fortune. What was required now was some extensive research on You Tube and eBay. So six cups of coffee and a pack of 20 Jaffa cakes later I discover, Adam and the Ants' Dog Eat Dog', is worth almost nothing. Hazel O'Connor's 'Will You' according to You Tube commentators is still a great love song but is worth a mere £1.50 and 'Bank Robber' by the Clash from the 1980 Rock Galore UK tour is, say You Tube afficianados still awesomely cool and so is worth a rocking £3.99. But my grandmother just won't part with it. She is still mad about Joe Strummer!

During the course of my research I made the mistake of listening to Care's 'Flaming Sword'. It's a little known fact that once you've heard it it you'll never be able to get "Whoooooooooollllll buy my flaming sword, cold as cold, that old friend of mine," out your head - but not in a good way. No wonder it's only worth £1.20.

But the surprise Cash in the Attic find was a single by Scottish 80's band Leisure Process' 'A Way You'll Never Be' from 1982. Eureka! People on You Tube are begging for a copy. "Has anybody got 'A Way You'll Never Be,'" they cried. "Yes yes me," I said, back on the beach in St. Tropez. So why is this particular single in such demand? According to one YT commentator Leisure Process are the definitive sound of the early 80's. Then I notice something a bit spooky; the single's cover shows a picture of the Twin Towers. It definitely has to be sold, it could bring bad luck.

Sure enough the rarity is worth £7.98 on eBay which represents over 1000% return on gran's original investment of 75p back in 1982. There's only one small problem, strictly speaking | didn't buy the record with the ed's cash. However it will cost me £2.00 to an eBay buyer and as I sweet talked gran into giving it to me for nothing, I've used the acceptable 'Sugar' practice of blagging to generate cash, so I think I'm in the clear. Who knows, by this time next week I could have made so much money from only £2.00 I could be sipping a 'Wimpy' coffee on Portobello beach!

ROWLING IN IT

SquareOne News

by Karen Combe

A signed JK Rowling book fetched over £1000 after being auctioned off at Napier University in aid of a clinic based in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Napier’s Dyslexia Co-ordinator Monica Gibbon and Student Counsellor Frances McColm, along with students and colleagues, organised a fundraising event at the Merchiston Campus to buy medical supplies for the Clinica Esperanza (Clinic of Hope). A total of £2000 was collected through the auction, raffle and bric a brac sale.

Room B40 normally reserved for conferences was transformed into a fair with stalls offering home baking, complementary therapies, handcrafts and a raffle. Organiser Monica Gibbon said, “It’s gone very well this afternoon, I’m really pleased. It just shows how one moment of goodness from people can make a big difference to the lives of others.”

Former Napier student, cardio-thoracic nurse Morag McMahon will take medical equipment to the clinic where she will be working as a volunteer. This follows Napier tourism student Cinta Bravo, who has been working at the clinic for the last six weeks and helped instigate the fundraising.

The clinic was established independently in 2005 by founder Dr Nkomy with assistance from Dr Wright and other family members to provide affordable, quality healthcare for the local people in Malabo. The clinic based in the late founder’s family home relies on fees paid by patients who can afford to pay and from funds raised overseas. Run with limited facilities and supplies, the clinic according to the fundraisers is desperately in need of more resources.

Wendy Palmer a nurse and Masters of Information Systems student volunteered to help the clinic by setting up a web site. “I wanted to help them by offering a sustainable solution to the fundraising and as a resource for the clinic. The web site will hopefully be up and running by this weekend. “

For further information: www.clinic-of-hope.com

PICK UP A PICASSO

SquareOne Entertainment

by Atholl Simpson














Ever thought you would be able to buy a Picasso for under 900 pounds, or a work by Dali for under 7000 pounds? A recent auction at Christie's in London was offering art enthusiasts just that.

The Impressionist and Modern Art auction - which took place last week at Christie's South Kensington branch - offered a selection of ceramics and sculptures by the influential artists.

“Dali and Picasso are two of the biggest names when you think of 20th century artists” Deborah Park, Christie's Head of Department at the branch, told SquareOne. “They are instantly recognisable. People can see the piece and know it's by them.”

A Picasso ashtray was sold for 850 pounds while a sculpture representing Dali's Melting Clock auctioned off at 6500 pounds. Other pieces included ceramic plates - one of them representing Picasso's Don Quijote - and bronze sculptures made in the artists respective workshops.

Park said the works of art were made in editions of up to 450, which explains their low auction price. It was a chance for these artists to make their work more accessible to the public, especially for Picasso.

“He wanted to make his work more affordable to the masses,” said Park. “Back then people would pay for them with the money they had in their pockets, sometimes as little as 30 francs (3 pounds)!”

Park said Picasso moved to the South of France in the mid 1940's, where he continued making ceramics in a workshop in the small town of Madoura until his death in 1973. Dali would create a master cast of his sculptures and instruct how many were to be reproduced.

She said that the works of art were very popular among the buyers and are considered collectables: “It would be a good investment, one for the future. The sale price seems to be increasing."

The auction also included works by Jean Cocteau, Marcel Dyf and Marc Chagall. The most expensive piece sold was a painting by George Rouault, "La Sainte Face", which went for 60,500 pounds.

The next edition of this auction is in December, so you better start saving your pennies . . .

Photo AJ Fischler