Sunday 2 September 2007

Boot Sale, Witsend, etc.

Since the mama was unfamiliar with the term 'boot sale', it seemed an important mission of cultural awareness to visit one this weekend in the interest of an educational and informative article. (This was my very FIRST! For some reason, Eamonn usually says, 'Oops! We just missed the entrance...' as we zoom by with me craning my neck wildly to see what sort of crap I am missing in my life.)

As Clem and Richard enjoy pootling, too, we met them at the auction house in Aylsham before going to the boot sale (The Late One -- which starts at 11am). It was all very exciting for me and Spoodle (Richard and Clem's dog) and most people in my acquaintance know that I like few things as much as digging through musty piles of old books, water-damaged furniture, broken spinning wheels and piles of remnant wool (the sad broken toys, still-packaged action figures, plates with painted cottages and screaming spawn running amok everywhere does detract from the atmosphere, but can be mostly overlooked.).
V. similar to Canton, TX in the good old days before they built those posh pavilions, these events are generally held in the middle of a field or a parking lot. People just pull up in their cars, open the boot (aka, trunk) and empty rubbish they want people to give them money to take away. This photo shows at the bottom left, the sewing box that E actually found, pointed out and walked on at high speed (as you can see), and which matches my decor quite nicely. (Right half has been polished to show how prettily the wood has come out with a little help)

From the car boot sale, we headed towards the North Norfolk Cats Lifeline Trust Open Day, which also had charitable sale. Stopped for some tea at Pretty Corner on the way, where our arrival lowered the average age by about 30 years. (Still need to get the Bear pictures up and chronologised as the number of places that Bear has visited is growing and will increase quite dramatically beginning next week.)
The Open Day was down a one lane track through the woods next to the sea outside of Sheringham (you could smell the sea air). On this drive, we went past this passel of signs. It shall be left to the reader to decide where he or she wants to go :)

From here, we went to a village fete (Kelling, I think). This is kind of like a jumble of things to raise money and for old people to go and have tea and biscuits and buy raffle tickets. (British people LOVE raffles, I find.) It was very tiny (and next to the funeral home), full of elderly men wearing white hats, and also had tents selling things.

Richard and Clem are like me in our love of 'such a deal!' and exposure apparently has affected Eamonn's general sanity as he (in this photo) has just purchased a box of classical LP records for the bargain price of £10 (Richard is about to purchase a 10-record set of bird song). E does not have a turntable as of yet. However, the collection is quite impressive and so we shall anticipate evenings of lovely record music. The 'sht-sht' sound behind record music is kind of comforting, I think.

Finally, went on to Holt (where Richard and Clem have a house) and to a fete at the local department store. Bear can be seen on the running board of the Model T. Woodfords Ales hosted the beer tent, but the hog roast closed its window just as we headed towards some carnivorous entertainment.

Holt is a really lovely little town and is apparently a desirable post code :) Hee hee. The whole concept of post code snobbery is taken to a new and amusing level in this country (although it does exist in the US, too. I suppose it is just so Hyacinth and that is what makes me laugh.).

*******
Today, finally got my picture of hay. There are round bale fields, and then there are a variety of rectangular bales; some of the rectangles are massive. From the rectangle bales, they make ginormous constructions that look like aircraft hangers on the edges of fields. Quite impressive.

Took a very circuitous country drive through all sorts of back roads through The Broads and ended up the the Reedham Ferry from the South side (we found it from the North side when we were in the moving van and did not cross).

It is really funny to be driving through flat countryside and see sails moving through the middle of a field :)

Made it to beach for a tea and a burger. The dunes are pretty deep between the road and the beach and there is the most interesting vegetation there. My favourites are these tiny blue frilly flowers that kind of look like v. small Fiji Mums. There are grasses, and mosses, and lichens, and dandelions, and these cool thistles with green thistle flowers. And people who leave dog poo need to have their own noses rubbed in it.

*******
Now, it is time to go to bed. Four days of work this week, and then off to the States... (well, after Heritage Open Days this weekend!)

No comments: