`Winnie the Pooh' raises £40m

London - Members of London's exclusive Garrick Club have turned down the opportunity to pocket a £40,000 windfall from the sale…

London - Members of London's exclusive Garrick Club have turned down the opportunity to pocket a £40,000 windfall from the sale of the rights to the children's classic Winnie the Pooh.

Instead the profits from the £40 million sale - the rights were left to them by former member and Winnie the Pooh creator, A.A. Milne - will be split between a charitable trust and the upkeep of the club. But windfall payments for members have not been ruled out altogether. More than 400 of the 1,000 or more members of the club attended a 90-minute meeting at the Fortune Theatre, off Drury Lane.