Never again!

I love my new header photo so much I'm going to have it done on canvas.  It will cheer me up in the dark days of winter.

We spent the weekend doing our favourite Fair at the Botanic Gardens. However, setting up on Friday was a hard task as it was so humid in there, but at least we weren't there more than a couple of hours before we could escape.  Saturday was overcast and it was warm but bearable.  However, yesterday was another matter entirely and I had to spend half the day sat outside, trying to breath - already maxed out on all my asthma medication, steroids included.  I have to say, I was scared by the feeling of suffocation - it was like working in a gigantic sauna for 9 hours . . .  I have vowed if we do this Fair next July we will take an outside tented stand - at least there is a flow of air then and it is half the price.  Customers were very thin on the ground and I have barely covered my costs, which is a pity.  I am not impressed by customers who try to bargain an already good price down by claiming I should lower it to what they want to pay because it is "the wife's birthday!"

I sell what is called an eclectic mix in the hope of appealing to the masses.  It failed this weekend!

Anyway, we need to unpack the car now, and then I will spent an hour totally repacking my boxes as I was past caring what went where last night - though it still took an hour and a half to take down the stall, pack it and load it . . .  I couldn't breath easily when we got to bed and my heart felt like it was doing somersaults and so I was still awake, exhausted, at 1.30.  Since I had been awake since 3 a.m. and up since 3.30 a.m. the previous night, I think I shan't be doing much today . . .  Sorry for the moan - feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment.  I shall go and take an Ibuprofen as that was the only thing which seemed to help yesterday - by reducing inflammation I assume.

Out and about at the Botanic Gardens

Above: Paxton's Tower overlooking the beautiful Towey Valley.

Looking towards the far side of the Towey Valley - our river valley leads off this.

I believe this was originally the servant's quarters.  On Fair days, it is full of dealers selling their lovely finds.

Some of the lovely plantings where you can wander at will.

Looking down towards the Vintage Village.  They had a bit of a breeze down here - definitely better to be outside than in!

A sparrow family in residence at the back of the old stable block (now turned into a cafe area.)  The babies will have flown by now.

A lovely hexagon quilt on one of the stands in the vintage village.

This lady turns up regularly at Fairs, and is always immaculately turned out in swish 50s style.  She has the figure for it too.

One of the areas sown with wild flowers.  So pretty.

Apologies for the lack of words this morning but I am running late (having caught up with Poldark before getting started on this post).  I didn't sleep at all well past 2 a.m. last night and I feel a bit groggy as a result.  There were about three spots of rain at 6.30 this morning and some is threatened for this afternoon - it is overcast and cooler, so fingers crossed, though of course it would coincide with a planned beach picnic with our eldest daughter!

. . . 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!)

An unexpected viewing

We have some folk viewing our house tomorrow.  They have been in touch with the agent over the past few weeks but have now sold their property.  I have been going dingbats trying to catch up with housework, tidying, gardening and hiding most of the contents of the Junk Room in the stables . . .  Nearly there, but I couldn't sleep last night (head too busy planning what still needed doing) and woke up VERY early today so have been hard at it since 5.30 a.m. this morning.  I think I have a better chance of a good deep sleep tonight.  Your positive thoughts would be much appreciated. . .

The Header photo, btw, is Paxton's Tower, as viewed from the Botanic Gardens at the weekend.  I will just about stay awake long enough to include a couple of photos of the Gardens, then you will have to be patient until tomorrow when I will post an update.

I was very taken with this enormous flower.  I think it is probably a native of Australia, as many of the plants were in the Dome but I didn't take note of its name . . .

I only know these as everlasting flowers - mum used to grow them, and I have grown some here too.  They are like paper.

Dunno, dunno (above and below) but very pretty.  As you can see, we have such a WONDERFUL setting for our Fair, but boy, did it get hot inside the Dome!

After the Fair . . .

Morning all.  Just a short post this morning as photos are loading painfully slowly (yet AGAIN) and we have to go out.  We're both shattered after a two day Antiques Fair, and an early start for the last 3 days.  Anyway, just a few pictures of the stand.  We had a good Fair, and talked with some lovely folk.  I'll put some photos up of the Botanic Gardens next.  It's a fabulous venue - as good as it gets, believe me!

Both these chairs sold, the lovely Cotswold Arts & Crafts rocking chair and the low back Windsor chair beside it.  So did the little faded Baboushka doll on the child's chair.