A pair of Bermudian silver serving spoons dating from around 1800 and a Bermuda cedar chest will be two of the star attractions in this year's Bermuda National Trust Auction which takes place on Saturday.

"These are wonderful donations,'' says Trust director Amanda Outerbridge.

"We have a new slogan this year, encouraging people to `Give One Good Thing' and it seems to be working! We've had a good response so far. The pair of spoons, for instance, are quite rare as they have pointed, rather than rounded handles. They are monogrammed `RGMD' and were made by Samuel Lockwood, an American loyalist who settled here in the 1780s and worked out of his shop in Salt Kettle.'' The auction forms the climax of a concerted week of fund-raising. The annual plant and bake sale which took place on Saturday, has broken all records, making approximately $8,500 (1996 broke the previous record with $7,000 raised).

One of the biggest money-makers over the past 20 years for the Trust, the auction will be held in the Jack King Building in the Botanical Gardens.

Although this is the poultry building, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries feel the aims and objectives of the National Trust are basically in line with theirs and "it was therefore thought quite appropriate that we should have our auction there,'' says the Trust's Director for Development and the co-ordinator for this year's auction, Dace Ground.

"It's a wonderful building and we couldn't have wished for a better location.

It is central, so people can pop in to the two-day sale which takes place tomorrow and Friday, as well as to the auction itself. There is plenty of parking and when the sun is shining, there could hardly be a more appealing place than the Botanical Gardens!'' For many years, the auction was held at St. Mark's Church Hall in Smith's Parish until it was decided, in 1994, to use the hall as a nursery school.

Accordingly, the Trust had arranged to hold the Auction at Number 6 Shed in Hamilton. Unfortunately, an accident in which a cable ship bumped into the Shed, put paid to that idea. The situation, now becoming desperate as the annual event had become a major fund-raiser for the Trust, was saved when "somebody -- can't remember who'' had the brilliant idea that the Jack King Building would provide an ideal solution. As indeed it has ever since.

A team of approximately 30 volunteers has been busy sorting items that are good enough to be auctioned: the remainder go in the jumble sale.

"We really do go from the sublime to the ridiculous,'' says Mrs. Ground.

"There are windsurfer sails, building tiles to the finest antiques. We have been working hard to improve the quality of goods offered.'' Bumper line-up for annual Trust auction From Page 24 Hundreds of items will be offered for sale, including an antique sewing machine and a piano. With Monday morning turning out to be a very wet dropping off day, there were, nevertheless, an impressive array of items already in place by 9.30 a.m.

Standing mirrors, a very old, panoramic photograph of St. George's seen from St. David's (somewhat dilapidated but of interest to collectors), porcelain bowls, carpets, sterling silver pieces, framed antique maps and even a child's three-quarter size violin were already jostling for space.

"We have placed reserve prices on some of the better items,'' explains Mrs.

Ground, "and a very few have been taken on assignment. We did that to keep the tone and standard up, and to try and attract serious buyers.'' Over in the adjacent Slat House, Colin Williams, "boss'' of what is known as the "outside site'', has been busy "testing the electricals'' of various appliances. These range from coffee makers, cash register, typewriters, a printer and stereos. "We don't sell anything that doesn't work,'' he reassures his potential customers. "If they don't work, they are taken to the dump. We also sell bigger plastic toys here and any left-over plants from last Saturday's plant sale.'' Jumble sales seem to have an almost universal allure -- and this one should have enough variety to satisfy even the hardest to please. Five separate areas display bric-a-brac, books, linen, jewellery and refreshments in readiness for the mega sale which commences at 8.30 a.m. tomorrow. Promising "astounding bargains'', Mrs. Ground says that on Friday afternoon, unsold jumble sale goods will go on major discounts, before they start breaking down the sale.

"Everything that should have been sold but didn't, goes into the slat house and on Saturday, will be sold off on a `make me an offer' basis, at totally insane prices. It's like Filene's Basement -- except that we mark things down by the hour!'' At the book stall, Jim Hannam is sorting out volumes for what he calls "the best used book stall in Bermuda''. This year, he has branched out into audio books and CDs. "I've been a member of the Trust for many, many years and I've been in charge of the books for about four year. We have a children's section, paperbacks (50 cents) and hardback books at $1. If they are really good books we have a `special' section and they are sold at $5. I'm sorting them all into cookery, novels, biography, and so on.'' Throughout the two-day sale, raffle tickets will be on sale, the main prize being two round-trip tickets to London, donated by British Airways and three nights at the elegant hotel, The Springs in Oxfordshire (sister establishment of Fourways Inn), and the second prize being a round-trip tickets for two to anywhere in the continental US, courtesy of US Air. A huge array of other prizes, including free weekends and meals at local establishments, beauty treatments, jewellery and gift vouchers may also be won.

"Unlike some raffles, all of our prizes have been given by some very generous donors,'' says Mrs. Ground, "so all the money collected goes to the Trust.

The chance of winning is far greater than with some of the big raffles held here.'' The all-star line-up of auctioneers include Andrea Casling, Leonard Gibbons, Holly Lewis and Benny Rego.

The Auction Preview takes place tomorrow and an advance bidding service is available. The Jumble Sale opens tomorrow at 8.30 a.m. through Friday. The Auction takes place on Saturday, February 22, commencing at 10 a.m., where it is expected that between 300 and 350 lots will be sold. The Raffle will be drawn at 2 p.m. Raffle tickets will also be on sale during the two days of the Jumble Sale. On each day, mini-draws will be held for special prizes. Lunches and day-long drinks and snacks will be served on all three days.

King Edward VII Memorial Hospital has kindly arranged for overflow parking in their Berry Hill North car park.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, AUCTION! Volunteers arrive carrying a cabinet.