Auction to support animals.

Tomorrow is one of the highlights of the year for Animal Rights people - The CHRISTMAS WITHOUT CRUELTY FAYRE at Kensington Town Hall, just a few yards from Kensington High Street Tube. 10am-5pm. It will be packed with stalls, so a great place to pick up ethical seasonal presents. There will also be interesting fringe events.

One of the highlights will be the annual auction that I have conducted for several years. I haven't yet seen the auction list, but there are always unusual and tempting ideas. Top lot last year was Tony Benn's pipe. The previous year it was Miss England's bikini.

I will also be running the Green Party stall, so come along and have a word.

BOND CAR FOR AUCTION

On December 1, Bonhams in London will auction off the famous white 1976 Lotus Esprit driven by Roger Moore as James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me (one of two made).

Next to the classic Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger, the Lotus, which was amphibious in the movie, stands out as the iconic Bond vehicle.

Estimated at about $160,000 to $190,000, it does not unfortunately come equipped with the gadgetry deployed by Moore in the film during his eventful ride with the beautiful Barbara Bach, including a cement sprayer, sea-to-air missiles, front-mounted torpedoes, ink-cloud dispenser and mine launcher. However it does afford the purchaser a chance to join the Ian Fleming Foundation.

Battlestar Galactica to be auctioned off.

Battlestar Galactica is coming to an end with its final ever 10 episodes starting in January, when to coincide with it, props, set pieces and costumes are being auctioned off.

Among the items to be auctioned off:

A life-size Viper. A Cylon raider. Admiral Adama’s duty blue uniform. Apollo’s Viper flight suit. Caprica Six’s red dress. Consoles from the CIC. The Arrow of Apollo. Admiral Adama’s painting of the first Cylon war. Colonel Saul Tigh’s eye patch and liquor bottle. President Laura Roslin’s desk. Original production sketches. Set plans and drawings.

Preview Day – Friday, January 16, 2009 – Pasadena Convention Center (Doors open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m) (Panel schedule to be announced at another date).

Live Auction Day – Saturday, January 17, 2009 (Doors open at 8:00 a.m. Auction begins at 9:00 a.m.).

Live Auction Day – Sunday, January 18, 2009 (Doors open at 9:00 a.m. Auction begins at 10:00 a.m.).

Online Auction of 200 Items – Tuesday, January 20 (Auction goes live at 9:00 a.m. (ET) and will conclude Friday, January 23, starting at 9:00 p.m. (ET).

First of Several Weekly Online Auctions – Beginning on Friday, January 23, weekly online auctions on eBay begin at 9:00 p.m. (ET).

All info is available at www.battlestarprops.com.

Winnie the Pooh honey sketch fetches sweet price

An original sketch by illustrator E. H. Shepard from The House at Pooh Corner has fetched $57,000 at auction in London, well over the pre-sale estimate.

Tiggers Don’t Like Honey shows Pooh dipping his paw in a honey pot, Tigger with a spoon of honey in his mouth and Piglet looking on.

Auctioneer Bonhams of London said the successful telephone bidder was from Germany and he bought the picture for his wife, a long-time Pooh fan.

The sketch, done for the 1928 edition of A. A. Milne’s classic, is by one of Britain’s most famous illustrators.

Shepard also was the artist for Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, and a sketch called Now pitch in, old fellow, depicting Rat and Mole lounging with a picnic on a riverbank, sold for $13,670.

A signed first edition of The Tailor of Gloucester, about a kind tailor who is helped by little mice, sold for more than $7,000.