Rumble In The Jumble: A Jumble Sale With A Conscience

 
Art & Culture

It’s probably fair to say that jumble sales aren’t the usual R$N fare, but this is something special. Rumble In The Jumble at Oval Space on Saturday 26th April allows you to get your hands on some top-drawer celebrity swag for proper jumble sale prices, but instead of all the money going into some hipster’s Japanese denim pocket, instead it goes to help the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); a place where horrific sexual violence is still a sad fact of life.

If you watched that video you probably don’t need to be convinced about the validity of this cause. The people behind Rumble In the Jumble, namely Gemma Cairney of Radio 1 and The Music Circle, a group of influential women involved in music and the media, have been working to help their sisters in the Congo since they hooked up with Oxfam 2011. Last year’s event at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club raised over £16,000, proof that Londoners have big hearts… and a real fondness for a bargain.

So what’s on offer this year?  Well, try Annie Lennox’s handwritten lyrics for Sweet Dreams for fans of vintage 80s sounds, the four-track that Suede’s Brett Anderson recorded the seminal b-side He’s Dead for indie fans, or for those who like their sounds more contemporary (and their trainers), how about Disclosure’s Nike Air Max or Tine Tempah’s Nike Air Jordans? Plus there’s Lauren Laverne’s Marc Jacob’s dresses and Anna Calvi’s Gucci heels for the high fashionistas amongst you. 

Jumble-wise, there’s also kit from Rudimental, Arctic Monkeys, Goldfrap, Jessie Ware, Toddla T, Friendly Fires, Erol, Metronomy and… er, Steve Aoki. We’re not gonna lie, it’s a signed cake and he’ll sling it at you while his mate films it. (This might not be true.)

But it’s not just second-hand stuff; there will also be new gear at jumble prices. Think shoes from Clarks, clothes from House Of Holland, Original Penguin, ASOS, ace tees from Ted Draws and music from Warp, Mute, Domino, Ninja Tune, Soul Jazz and more. Meanwhile, fans of festival-going should head to the Oxfam table, where they can buy tickets for a prize drawer featuring VIP tickets to Field Day, Lovebox and the like…

And it wouldn’t be an East London event without pop-ups, so the Smashbox Studio will provide cosmetic advice while the Bumble & Bumble Hair Salon sorts barnets all day long. Plus there are stalls from Mixmag, Company Magazine and The Line Of Best Fit, alongside food on offer from Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa, who will depart from their usual steak-based menu to make a souped-up Irish Stew, especially for the event.

To participate, just turn up with a bag of jumble and pay three quid on the door.  This is how it went down last year:

Manu Ekanayake