Car Boots at Dawn

Last Wednesday at the crack of dawn, Mrs S & I sharpened our elbows and headed out to the first car boot sale of the season. We like a good rummidge and the first few events of the year are often the best. People who spend the winter sorting out their back room, shed or loft, stockpiling boxes of gubbins, arrive with carloads of accumulated tat, which we love to poke through. The mild weather ensured brisk business, probably around 250 stalls by the heat of the morning, though when we returned to the same venue on Sunday there were over 600.


While Mrs S filled her boots (and our boot) with vintage bits & bobs, I came home with a far more modest, though no less exciting haul - a 1962 EP of Wally Whyton singing children's favourites anyone? Also in my bag of goodies, not for the first time, were several old photos. If I see 'em and they look interesting, I just can't walk by on the other side. Take this one for instance. In the middle of a box of run of the mill family snapshots were these guys. What's going on? Why the hats? The chaps at each end look reluctant participants, but the main group are having a whale of a time - I sense that alcohol might be involved.


While we're at it, here's a considerably older photo showing how much a relaxing day at the beach has changed over the last hundred years.


This morning's car boot, despite the initial thick fog, was equally busy and my haul included a small painting, a few singles, a bag of early 20th century postcards, a John McLaughlin LP...and more photos. Well worth the early start. I'll be sure to report back with anything of interest that I pick up over the summer, though I'll have to go some to top my best ever car boot acquisition from about 20 years ago....but that's another story.

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