Someone has more money than sense!

I'm astonished to read of the amount paid for the last bag of candies from a Woolworths store in England. The Woolworths chain has just gone into bankruptcy.

The 'last' bag of Woolworths pic 'n' mix was sold for more than £14,500 on eBay today.

The souvenir from the collapsed retail chain had received 115 bids ahead of today's sale deadline.

The 800g pic 'n' mix bag contains fizzy cola bottles, rhubarb & custards, strawberry bon bons, Turkish delight, white mice, pineapple cubes, and many other favourite sweets.




Ed Adams, a Woolies store manager, snapped up the collector's item just before his shop closed for the last time.

He auctioned the sweets to raise funds for Retail Trust, a charity for retail industry workers.

Mr Adams, who managed the Petts Wood branch in Kent, said: 'I am really proud and excited to see such an enormous sum has been raised for the last bag of pic 'n' mix.

'Retail Trust is a fantastic organisation that has helped so many people like me. Being made redundant in the current climate was hard to take and knowing that there is help out there gives you comfort in these pressing times.'

An eBay spokesman said they were working with the charity to 'finalise payment' from the winning bidder.

Nigel Rothband, Retail Trust chief executive, said: 'It's taken us by surprise. It's very exciting and much more than we were expecting.'

The bag has been officially certified by Woolworths' administrators, Deloitte, as the last one.

A spokesman said: 'The administrators of Woolworths PLC have consented to the sale of this item for the benefit of Retail Trust.

'They are pleased to be supporting this worthwhile cause and hope the proceeds will make a difference to those workers helped by the charity.'

Charity or not, the mind boggles. To pay US $21,000 for a half-pound bag of mixed candies??? That's not smart or charitable - that's just plain obscene!

Oh, well. I hope the buyer enjoys every mouthful. At about $500 per candy, he'd better!

Peter