Tuesday 10 July 2018

. . . and we came home cooked to a turn . . .


As you can see, these are the temperatures we were working in at the weekend - and it got hotter still, as at this point our neighbouring stall-holder put the barometer under the table,for fear the thermometer would explode!  For two pins, after suffering from the heat and humidity on the Saturday, I would have packed and gone home, but when you have invested a good chunk of money to pay for the stand at a 2-day Fair, you are inclined to think you will keep trying.  As it turned out, we took just £60 on the Sunday and so might just as well have thrown in the towel the previous day . . . Who wants to linger in a giant greenhouse when the temperatures are so high?  Every stall selling a fan or two sold them, and people were walking round  visibly perspiring (you should have seen us lot behind the stalls, even with fans going full blast we were wilting.)


The lovely setting was absolutely lost on me this time.  I just wanted to be Somewhere Else!  So did a lot of people and numbers were well down.  It didn't help that the England match was playing on Saturday afternoon and it was empty after 2 p.m.

Sorry, a slightly steamed-up lens photo of part of my stand display.  Studio pottery, including that gorgeous 1969 Royal Copenhagen bowl. That cost £21 back then!! In front of it is a French flail.  


The African masks began to be affected by being in full sun, so we had to keep moving them to the shade, and then beneath the table, and we took them home Saturday night.  The two lamps to the left are small vintage Lucas lamp (quite desirable we have been told), and a lovely French "onion" ship's lamp, used port side on a ship. The two American bar chairs to the right have swivel seats and are so comfy to sit on.  Nobody was even looking at furniture though, and we should have taken it all home Satuarday night . . .


I like the unusual and I love history, especially social and domestic.  The beautiful Bushel measure (imperial, dated 1861) is a recent auction find, and the amazing and possibly unique Viking-style kettle cooking pot is a design not changed from Viking times and still used around 1700, which this one dates from.



This lovely old travelling box would have been in use when Jane Austen was walking the streets of Bath.  The name on it is "Mifs Halliday" - a family from Gloucestershire, who originally came down from Dumfries-shire when Walter Hallyday became Master of the Revels to King Edward IV (in 1461).  The family settled in Rodborough parish, where they obviously still are.  



A blurry close-up of the beautiful portrait of an Arabian horse, dated 1913.  If it doesn't sell, I am happy to keep it!

Right, there are more photos from the weekend which I will put up later.  I am glad to report it is a tad cooler today, and my breathing is starting to settle down again - it was bad in that heat and humidity and I spent as much time as I could on Sunday sat outside with my book, whilst Keith manned the stand (he doesn't mind heat!)

14 comments:

  1. I spent much of Sunday in an "Austen" semi swoon on the sofa. It was so sultry that i expected a storm.

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  2. If it had rained, I would have been out dancing in it, believe me! I think swooning with a good book would have been very restful : )

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  3. I must say that apart from going out for lunch on Sunday I slept most of the day - it was all just too much for me.

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  4. I don't blame you Pat. I just wanted to be in the cool of our house, relaxing. It's a bit cooler here today and I have managed to clear the few weeds from part of the main border and put down 3 sacks of bark chippings.

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  5. I like to watch some movies that have snow in them it helps.
    This heat is what we have durning our summer monsoons.

    cheers, parsnp

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  6. There's an idea Parnsip - White Christmas here I come! I have to say, Wales is normally just a few hot days in summer and the rest cooler and/or rainy! I couldn't live in permanently high temperatures.

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  7. Gosh, that seems to be an insane place to have a stall, even in an average summer! I would have died a thousand times.

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    1. Normally, in a Welsh summer, it is bearable. We have been hot before but NEVER EVER to this degree. I got in the car yesterday and couldn't find my key to put in the ignition to open the windows and it was so airless I panicked and had to throw the door back open. I have never had that reaction before.

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  8. Nor me. Some people have suggested we move to a warmer clime. Ha ha no thanks. Sorry the weekend was not a success.

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    1. I knew it would do me no good, but just had to try to do my best. Thee and me can't do hot climates - no way.

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  9. Beautiful items - especially the trunk, the Arab horse, bushel measure and Viking-style kettle, they all made me stop for another look. I hope the cooler weather has reached your area - it is cool, verging on chilly here, with heavy cloud cover.

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    1. I'm glad you liked some of our things Elaine. The way things are going we are going to have to take offers on some of our (best of course) stuff just to move it on. We have some dealer-friends coming next week to look at a coffer we have, and they may offer on other things too. The market is dire here at present - think we have to go into England to sell. You are certainly having cooler weather than us - it is overcast here today but MUCH cooler, which is good. I may manage a walk this morning.

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  10. Such lovely stuff, but perhaps you need to go further South where the money is. Can't believe the heat there no wonder you had condensation on your camera, are the plants coping under glass I wonder.

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  11. That traveling chest is beautiful, I am surprised someone did not snap it up.

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