I had a break from all but a bit of social media and from the internet in general over the weekend. We had no plans as such and just enjoyed the sunshine, although of course it was far too hot to walk the dogs other than very early in the mornings and very late at night.
What we did manage was a first outing to car boot sale on Sunday morning.
We got up nice and early so we could have a quiet coffee, feed and walk the dogs in the cool along the riverbank and then leave the Van so it was safe for them to be alone in it for the morning. Luckily although it was warm there was a lot of cloud cover so the sun wasn't beating down on the Van as it had been the day before. But we closed the curtains on the 'morning sun' side of the Van just to be on the safe side and opened all the windows, the large ones on the security setting and the small top ones fully open. Happy that we had left them safe, and with Radio Two for their entertainment we set off by 9am ... which is not early if you are looking for re-sale items or exceptional bargains but was early enough for us to browse.
As you can see from the top photo (my car boot garden gnome version of Alan) and this one, I managed to snap up a few good bargains, even more bargainous as Alan paid for the cushion and donated £10 towards my table.
We had two pit stops. Once for a black coffee for me, and a bacon roll and a milky coffee for Alan and the second time, a couple of hours later, for two more coffees and a cheeseburger for Alan ... and I might have succumbed to a portion of curry sauce and chips as my early morning Weetabix seemed to have been soooo many hours earlier 😁
When we got home the dogs were pleased to see us and happily, the Van was deliciously cool, and while Alan cracked open two cans of cider I took a couple of quick photos of my goodies.
The cushion had just caught my eye, it's design and colours will fit in well with the Van for now and will be good in my new place.
The curtains which I had spotted one of on a charity stall and was just about to buy it, when luckily the lady remembered there was another still with it's original cardboard header on in another basket under the table, were also meant for my new place but may well be pressed into service here at the Van if we are going to be living here for a while between homes. They were £3 the pair.
A lucky find was a brand new pastry brush for 50p. I don't have one here at the Van, I've just been using my fingers, but a recipe I want to try out for the Ration Challenge needs the dough to be brushed with oil between folding and refolding, so I had just added a pastry brush to my shopping list ready for my next trip to a supermarket. Result!!
The Bohemian Rhapsody DVD was one we both wanted after originally seeing the movie at the cinema when it first came out. But as it was still at nine or ten pounds in most supermarkets we were waiting for the price to drop ... it did at the car boot sale to £1. The other DVD is actually series six of ' House', the only series missing from my collection ... and was a real bargain at just 20p.
But the star purchase of the day was this beautiful old oak side table.
There are a few tiny scratches on the top, but something that a good layer of wax polish will cover up easily, apart from that it is in beautiful condition. I had spotted it earlier from a distance on the field, and after our second pitstop headed over to where I thought it was, only to find myself a few lanes away ... this is a large car boot sale. I got to the stall just as the pair of elderly ladies were packing up and the table was sitting in the back of their estate car. I politely asked if I could have a look at it and asked how much they wanted, she said "It's £20.". I was just looking at it and running my hand over it's gorgeous pedestal leg and she said "But you can have it for £15 ... it's going to a good home isn't it?". I had my purse out so quickly, handed over mine and Alans cash and thanked her profusely.
It really is going to a good home ... my new home 💓
I didn't realise how solid and heavy it was until I got back to the Van ... as Alan had carried it from it previous owners car back to his ... and I turned it over to read the little label I had spotted on the bottom of the leg.
It looks like my little table pedestal table is from a really good maker. The oval metal label says Archer and Smith which is a company founded fifty years ago. I Googled them to see if I could find anything about my table, but it seems they've moved on to bigger and much posher things in the last few years, including pieces for royal palaces and luxury yachts. But I am hazarding a guess that this was a bespoke early piece as they have nothing of a similar size in their back catalogue and their style has most definintely moved on.
Anyway it is going to be perfect in amongst the other things that will be coming with me to my new home, which could be coming sooner rather than later, as last Fridays viewing went very well with Alan showing the prospective buyers around and giving them all the information they needed.
We have our fingers firmly crossed, and if we haven't heard anything by the end of today we will be phoning our agent for some feedback.
Sue xx
