18th October 2004
A world-famous author is helping local charity St Giles Hospice improve the lives of people living with cancer and other serious illness.

A signed letter from prolific and popular writer PG Wodehouse – probably most famous for his Jeeves and Wooster novels – has turned up at the charity’s specialist bookshop in Mere Green, Sutton Coldfield.

St Giles’ volunteer book expert Mike Abrahams explains: “Several PG Wodehouse books were generously donated to the shop and, inside one, we found the letter.

“It is dated and signed by the author and is in response to correspondence sent by someone making a suggested future character development.

“It’s an extremely exciting and unexpected find.”

St Giles has already been offered £80 for the letter by a PG Wodehouse collector, but is opening it up to offers - intending to sell the letter to the highest bidder. Every penny paid will go to continue the specialist care offered by St Giles.

The letter can be examined at the Mere Green bookshop, located at 284a Lichfield Road, and open Monday to Saturday from 9.15am to 4.30pm.

The lucky new letter owner will be the person who submits the highest bid received by 12 noon on Saturday, 6th November.
Further information is available by calling staff and volunteers on 0121 308 0006.

The Mere Green bookshop stocks a wide choice of high-quality, second-hand books including fiction, children’s titles, leisure, literature, travel, the arts, reference, and antiquarian volumes.

In addition, a selection of videos, CDs, DVDs, pictures, clocks, cameras, and a range of new goods including stationery, gifts and greetings cards including Christmas cards is also available.

St Giles Hospice Shops play a vital role in funding the care offered by the hospice, a registered charity based near Lichfield.

The thirteen shops are located in major towns throughout the hospice's patient catchment area, which ranges from Ashby de la Zouch and Atherstone in the east, to Cannock and Walsall in the west – and from Burton and Uttoxeter in the north, to Sutton Coldfield and Coleshill in the south.

In addition, a clothing warehouse for donations and a furniture warehouse offering a wide range of high-quality furniture at value-for-money prices, are based in Shenstone, near Lichfield. A selection of furniture is also available at the Cannock and Wylde Green shops.

Last year the hospice shops raised a total of £607,000 – and every penny is desperately needed by St Giles. The charity spends over £4million caring for local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses, as well as providing support for their families and carers, and relies heavily on the support of local people to enable its valuable work to continue.