Oswestry Antique Fair

Nice time at Oswestry antique fair today at the rugby club grounds - three big barns full of stuff and tons of stalls outside. Shame about the rain . We got soaked! Had to dive indoors. Didnt get much really - all a bit pricey - not boot sale prices like we are used to. Got a few postcards of Southend, Westcliff etc. Hazel got a lovely safety pin holder from the C0-OP. A pipe clamp thing, a 3-D View-Master viewer and "Stingray" reel (plus two others - Norway and Wales) , and pot mender . Had a cheese toastie for lunch in ramshackle cafe. "Bargain Hunt " team were there too - with Kate Bliss and two Asian guys with big black beards. Should hopefully see us lurking furtively in the background of a few shots when it eventually gets aired.

Mail Art All Boxed Up

Piles of boxed up mail art archive ready for the MMU van to come and pick it up. Glad to see the back of it for a while. Still two thirds of the archive in the coal shed. Hazel pretending to be overwhelmed by the task! They are re-surfacing the road outside so will be fun trying to load the MMU van tomorrow if workmen are still laying the tarmac! #mmucuriousthings

Moss Farm Boot Sale

Nice boot sale at Moss Farm this morning despite the grey skies and misty outlook. I didn't find much , just a couple of excellent DVD's for 20p each - The first Ridley Scott film and Italian realist "masterpiece" by Visconti. Hazel got a lot of plants. We sat in the garden when we got home for a 2nd breakfast and amazed at how many varities of birds (mostly Tits ) were on the bird feeders. Sadly I frightened most of them away with my camera clicks but caught one or two before they flew off.

Blakemere Boot

Lots of bargains this morning at bumper boot sale at Blakemere. Hazel got the most - a recycled tyre bag from India, googly eyes, Nipits tin, postcards, hooks, lamp, bowl,a little Welsh Lady doll (with leek brooch ) etc. I just got two DVD's - a Gorrilaz doc. and George Lucas's first film THx 1138.Lovely and sunny.

Marsden

Interesting two days in Yorkshire. Stopped off as usual in Glossop for a mooch round the charity shops and use the fascilities. Gots a few good DVD's in one shop inc. latest Bladerunner sequel, some foreign films etc. Hazel got a few boxes for postcards etc. Nice lunch in the newly refurbished vege. cafe. - we had cheese and onion/tomato toasties and salad. Very cheap. For all that and ginger beer to share came to £7.60! Then on to Dave's over the scary hilly route that is a real white knuckle ride! Thankfully we managed it with no hiccups. Hazel sorted out Dave's downstairs bedroom so we could stay there instead of the usual B&B. It was full of cat hair so needed a good clean. Had fish and chips from local chippy - much cheaper than Cheshire too. Slept OK considering. All went a bit crazy the next day with Dave having a nose bleed that wouldn't stop which necesitated a trip to the local hospital by ambulance ( two turned up with four men to help D. down the rickety stairs). They kept him there for a couple of hours doing tests etc. and eventually we bought him home. This lasted most of the day. Lucklily Hazel went out earlier to get some food and we had pizza cooked in one of those electric bowl ovens. Dave's nose kept bleeding from time to time but they gave him a special clip/peg thing that helped. He managed to sleep without any more trauma. We were worried about leaving him the next morning but he seemed better in the nose department at least with no more drips. So back again to Glossop and toasted tea bread in the vege. cafe and more charity shop trips. Very hot and sunny after all the rain of previous two days - a welcome relief but of course the roads were packed being a bank holiday weekend. You just can't win! Anyway, so nice to get home again after all that malarky!

Nantwich

Nice morning in Nantwich as the weather had improved. Looked round the market and the toy stall but didn't see anything we desperately needed. Split to go our seperate ways for an hour as Hazel hates waiting for me to sort through DVD's and CD's etc. and she prefers clothes shops which are not to my taste. She found a good table top sale by chance so we went there after we met up at 11. All the best stuff had gone by then of course but still found a few bits including some toy signals from an ex-signalman who told Hazel what the different colours and angles of the signals meant. Always good to get a story with your purchases! I got a postcard of Southend for 50p so I was happy. Then home via the Hospice warehouse to look at some cupboards and frames. Bought two that seemed ok but later discovered they were plastic and not glass! Flower prints sold at Kew Gardens too- the cheapskates!

Boot at Whitegate

Slim pickens at this mornings boot sale at Whitegate. Not many punters due to threat of rain but the sun was shining early on. Hazel got loads of weird stuff including two decoy ducks, a cake prodder, a massive candle for 10p, and some novelty items. I didn't get anything. Then we had a short walk down Whitegate Way as the weather was fine. The station cafe still undergoing refurbishment with scaffolding all around. A bit muddy from all the rain.

Wales - Dolgellau, Barmouth and Ruthin

Nice couple of days in West Wales close to Snowdonia - first to Dolgellau to visit Linda and Ivor who live in a hidden valley surrounded by sheep and chickens etc. We took them a pile of jam jars for their honey. They have several hives in the back garden. Got a jar to take home - yum! Then off to stay in a lovely B&B near Barmouth - a delightful old fashioned seaside resort on Cardigan Bay. Very hot and sunny - got burnt after a long walk over the mile long railway bridge to Fairborne. Got the tiny ferry back for fish n' chips. Then off to Ruthin the next day to look round the antique shops and the Craft Centre before returning home.