The Washerwoman

Saturday 18 July 2009

A quintessential English afternoon

Today was the annual Church Fete. The elements were braved to set up the stands....

The Bric-a-Brac stall, always a favourite. (I came home with the red checked table cloth and the Shorter pottery fish shaped dish).

The rain soon subsided and the customers arrived, there were cream teas on offer and some very popular beer from an Organic brewery called the Avon Brewing Company (their slogan? Proper Beer for Proper People!)

It went down a treat.......

Then there were the ever-popular cake & produce stalls....
A pot of the legendary runner bean chutney & some freshly picked Gooseberries were purchased.
The bottle stall was groaning with a varied selection of prizes. From Daddies sauce to Single malt!
and of course, no village fete could be without a plant stall.....

A pleasant afternoon was had by all despite the English weather. I was in charge of the Nearly New stall ( but forgot to take a photo of it) we had been donated some good quality items & there was nearly a fight over a very pretty yellow floral Vintage dress! Another interesting item was a pair of "Hob nail" leather walking boots. A customer was intrigued by the newspaper stuffed inside them which was dated 1936. A great little slice of English Country History.

Monday 6 July 2009

All Things French.............

"All things French" - a quote taken from Blackadder the Third first shown in 1987. It seems a suitable title to go with this post as we have just returned from a flying visit to France.....

As usual we have returned home with an interesting and eclectic mix of goodies for the home and garden.....
Does anyone know what these wooden toothed items are for?
(we couldn't resist them!)


Love the colour of this 50's kitchen clock...

These are sample pieces from the late 50's or early 50's, great graphics & in lots of colourways. Nice heavy cotton suitable for jolly cushions for the garden?

White roses of a red background, along with a kitsch kitchen curtain with more groovy graphics.

A more sombre selection of sample pieces.. displayed on one of several ladders which we bought.

Huge vibrant floral curtains (in two colourways)... could be used for deckchairs...


and an eclectic selection of decorative metal ware, photo frames, a dolls cupboard, a wonderful picnic basket, wire wine carrier & a French perfume bottle all displayed on rosy fabric!

Not shown (still on the washing line) are large pieces of Navy and black mattress ticking and a selection of heavy cotton unused sheets which can be used for many projects including table covers.. cushions.. window seats...bags etc.
I also bought a selection of 1930's, 40's and 50's clothing, all of which will be coming with me to the next few fairs.
Ardingly is the first date, it takes place on July 21st and 22nd, see the DMG website for full details. There are 2 dates for Honiton in August, the first is the Rag sale in the Mackarness Hall on the 1st of August, followed by the Textiles & Decorative fair in the same place on the 11th of August.