Wednesday 9 May 2012

Treading water

I am still here, and still tired out after a long weekend which involved spending up to 14 hours at a time on my feet at the antiques fair.  It was interesting to see things from the other side of the fence, so to speak, but not an experience I would willingly share with a virtual stranger again.  I am afraid I couldn't be doing with unpacking/repacking anything up to 1000 or more different pieces.   Yeesh!

On the bonus side, I met and had long conversations with some lovely people, which makes up for the family who set out to deliberately defraud . . .  A pox on such folk, but perhaps they are making their own "luck" in the long run.

It would have been nice to have the usual leisurely stroll with my husband on the Saturday, instead of hastily-taken trots around when things got quiet.  The stallholder I was helping seemed to do very well, but a lot of people were homing in on the £5 stall and many of the other traders were saying the same thing.  There were definitely less people selling, in the outside and undercover stands.  Inside the "posher" area, many familiar faces, but one chap I talked to had done three big fairs in a row and not sold a thing, so I don't know what he was selling.  Something expensive like longcase clocks perhaps.



Today it is housework, and some gardening.  It was supposed to be a deluge of Biblical proportions today, but perhaps that has been delayed.  We had half-thought about having a day out at the Fleamarket at Abergavenny, but the weather report and then a changed appointment for a boiler check-up meant we had to spend the morning at home.

My OH is working on another chair from a bargain basement, which needs restoration.  I have a date with a duster, and also my kitchen sink which looks like someone has annointed it with a very oily pizza . . .

I would like to sit down and finish reading the latest Phil Rickman book (found in a Swansea charity shop) - The Lamp of the Wicked.  If you haven't read his novels, I can recommend them heartily. 

I have a hankering to do some crochet too, but would love some really pretty NEW wool to use . . .  Perhaps a stroll around the market in town this afternoon may find a couple of balls to bring home.

Yesterday I treated myself to a new Auricula - Eden Goldfinch.   I would still love some of the  doubles, and green-petalled varieties, but have at the moment, just to focus on what I can buy locally.  As the ones I have potted on come into flower, I need to make sure I get their proper names tagged on them - which will mean running up and down stairs to the computer to check on the colours and names!  Many thanks to angusplants.co.uk whose photograph of Eden Goldfinch I have borrowed from an internet search.



These photos came from previous antiques fairs, as I didn't have a chance to take any photos this time.


6 comments:

  1. Hadn't thought of it in years, but I did a few craft fairs in the 80's with a cousin of Jim's. Sales [lack of] were disheartening as well as the long hours. I have to admit that I enjoy a browse in the sort of venue you describe, but most anything that would take my eye would be out of budget range.
    Potting-on and puttering today sounds like good recovery strategy.

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  2. I hope you've recovered now from such a tiring weekend! I love your pond post :D I have a wildlife pond :D

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  3. I love Phil Rickman's books. I've finally collected all the 'Merrily Watkins' books.
    I would love to travel to that location.

    Hope you are enjoying time at home after a
    busy weekend.

    Always love your photos and stories.

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  4. SAS - I'm fortunate to live about 80 miles from the Welsh Marches (border between England and Wales) where these books are set, and I know a lot of the places he's writing about. I've nearly finished The Lamp of the Wicked, and know exactly where it's set as we viewed a couple of houses there last summer! (They're still on the market as NOTHING is moving . . .)

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  5. That must have been an exhausting weekend, hope you got chance to put your feet up for a while and enjoy your book.

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  6. Those books sound good BB. I hope you are able to put your feet up and relax with a book after your busy weekend.

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