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.

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.

Slight conflict of interest this week.....

Us women are generally pretty good at juggling our lives, but this week was a tricky one for the washerwoman.... On Monday I purchased over 120 vintage items of clothing, mainly dating from the 1940's and 1950's. Things that had been stored away for years and in need of dunking in soapy water & a blast of fresh air. Most of this week has been spent trying to prepare these great garments for the Bristol Archive Fair on Wednesday & the wonderful Vintage Fair in Bath on June 14th.

There is always a great sense of the past when you handle such items, and the wonderful old labels conjure up images of a very different way of life. For example Frothy nylon petticoats to be worn under a full skirt by "Harlie"..... a CC41 demure day dress from the 2nd World War...... a 50's "Harella" coat made from Moygashel..... a flamboyant "Hillora" floral creation, a cotton polka dot frock by "Rodney" or a "Trimwear" dressing gown with a CC41 label tucked inside..... the list is endless!

Here is the reason for conflict. I recently started a part time job as a nurse working in a great little rural practice with some very friendly people. There have not been quite enough hours in the day, or days in the week to achieve everything..... but luckily the weekend is almost upon us so the washerwoman can keep on washing... and ironing...and sewing on the odd stray button!

Enjoy the weekend everyboday!

Wonderful Wychwood!

Anyone who follows my blog (with the volume on) will know that I am pretty passionate about music, so it might come as no surprise that I was very keen to visit the wonderful festival that is held every year just outside Cheltenham....The sun shone, the atmosphere was brilliant... these guys (above) are the Shtetl Superstars, they play witty funky Jewish ska! (oh and they have a female vocal lead called Barbara..)

..... the above shows the original "Grumpy old man" aka Attila the Stockbroker in full rant.. very clever observations & witty poems. Loved him!

This is the Wonderful Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara.. a brilliant combination of driving blues guitar and African lyrics.. and an instrument that looked a bit like a cricket bat with one string. Bought the album, its fab!

But had to wait until after dark to enjoy the best, Johnny and the boys, the Dohl Foundation. We saw them play a few weeks ago and knew we had to see them again.
and they certainly didn't disappoint. They were wonderful from the first drum beat to the final number, and had everybody jumping and doing that Bhangra thing which involves a lot of energetic arm waving (have just tried to google it to get the correct name..) and failed!

It was a wonderful day and has certainly wet my appetite for the WOMAD festival which is next month.

In the words of Lou Reed.... what a Perfect Day.....

Saturday 30th May 2009 started early with a calm misty sunrise over the Washerwoman's washing line (and very overgrown flowerbed!).. Luckily you can't see the weeds.

It was time to get up early & drive to the long awaited & much anticipated Vintage & Handmade fair in Chipping Sodbury.......
On arrival it was "all systems go" to unpack and set up for the fair.. Michele's stall was looking soooooooo tempting with fab vintage toys & goodies.....

The Green Shelves were soon groaning with an eclectic selection of textiles, trimmings, buttons & bits'n'bobs....

Niki had a selection of mouth-watering Nostalgic pretties....

Cakes were beautifully displayed in a tempting calorific array....

There were just so many wonderful goodies to tempt you.....

Wouldn't you want to give one of these a home? I shouldn't think that Nicky had many bunnies to carry back to Devon after such a fab fair. From the moment the doors opened at 10 am there was a constant stream of wonderful, enthusiastic and friendly customers. I met some lovely people including Sarah & Jo from Hardaker & Pope, Isabelle from Suzy's Vintage Attic, a pair of sisters who spent lots of time on my stall (and were so lovely & complimentary)..... Elaine (from Kitsch & Curious).. Judith & Viv who raided the slowly decreasing "Tweed Mountain"... Corrine Phillips...Annie (from a Sauncerful of secrets) and a super customer who was into Triang dolls houses (please do email me as you left one of your purchases behind.)

It really was a wonderful and special day, so BIG Thank you to Jayne & Michele for all their hard work..and also thank you to their hubbies & family (Mr Country Cottage you saved my life with that cuppa!!)

Come Dancing....

While I was in France recently I bought a scruffy looking old photograph album... inside we found gems of a forgotten age.....
What attracts me to these photographs are of course the wonderful flamboyant dresses and great hairstyles. I also love the amount of people in one frame, it is to great effect and if you click on these images you should also be able to see more detail.
The one below intrigues me, why is the woman precariously standing at the back leaning against the wiggly pillars?
I am planning to frame these photographs, some I will take to fairs to sell and others I will keep and add to my growing collection of "Lost People". A customer I met  at a fair some time ago taught me this phrase as she had a collection of old photographs that had no history or attachment to her life or family. I realised that over the past 25 years I have also accumulated a collection of "lost people".... there is a 1930's family of four strolling along a promenade in our bathroom.. there are a collection of 1940's people outside a train station in our breakfast room and there is a dreamy young 1970's french woman at the top of the stairs.....

What I love about France.......

Just got home from a wonderful few days in France. The weather was mixed as you can see, but here are some of the things that caught my eye. I love the stunning architecture of the cathedrals.

I love the fact that you can buy delicious sausages from barbecue-stands on every street corner on market day....

Secret gardens behind beautiful rusty old gates, and beautiful domestic architecture.

Very shabby Vide Greniers in the middle of small towns. Unlike the Car boots sales in this country everyone is relaxed and jolly, happy to haggle and they make a day of it. Even the rain doesn't deter the French, they just cover their stands with clear plastic sheeting and stand under their umbrella until it stops.

The lilac was particularly prolific this year, as was the wisteria and blossom.

Sunset over the graveyard, not a blade of grass in sight.. very French!

I love this old painted sign above the cottage where we stayed....

Flower shops bursting with colour were so tempting. I could have filled the back of the car with pots of hydrangea......

Another street market with an amazing cupboard that I would have loved to have brought home, but the car was filling up fast with vintage dresses, old linen smocks, flowery textiles, picture frames & some very pretty enamel teapots & jugs!





... and where else could you buy an ancient Mercedes hearse for £900!!!!! (but I resisted the temptation!!!!)

Five minutes peace........

When the boys were younger (a lot younger!) they had a wonderful book by Jill Murphy called Five minutes peace. A hilarious story about an elephant called Mrs Large who just needed to escape and enjoy a bath.... it has since stayed in my mind and years later I still sometimes feel like Mrs Large, craving for "just five minutes peace"!
Anyway, the above picture shows that after a busy few days at Ardingly Antiques fair I finally got there!
The book seen on the chair arrived from Amazon last week and is proving to be a very enjoyable read and a must for anyone who is potty about Vintage fashion. It is called A Vintage Affair and is by Isabel Wolff, and I am having trouble putting it down!

Had a wonderful 2 day fair at Ardingly & thank you to Lois for putting some splendid photos of my stand on her blog. http://morgaine-le-fays-textiles.blogspot.com/2009/04/wonderful-sunny-day-at-ardingly.html

Calm........

Yesterday I took a break from things (sort of) and drove down to the coast to deliver a few goodies to a lovely lady who has a wonderful shop in Lyme Regis. If you are ever down that way, do make sure you visit a shop in Broad Street called Suzie Cole. It is packed to to the ceiling with scrummy things, spotty china, photo frames, jewellery, vintage knick-knacks and much much more....

Suzie was in the midst of redoing the window, so didn't feel I could start taking piccies, instead I took these peaceful shots along the coast at Charmouth. A real quirky old fashioned seaside.... and beautifully serene at this time of year......

Dolly's Villa and other tiny things.......

Today I had great fun at an auction, and a bit of a "dolls house fix"....... The above is an amazing back opening house with a really unusual Lithographed front. I have no idea who made it, but there are a few clues to assist my investigations, It has the letters "CB" and the date 1892. There is also a charming sign above the front door which reads "Dolly's Villa number 1".....

Next is a little house to keep "Bijou" company (see earlier post!) It dates from early in the 20th century and was made in Germany.

and lastly.. a selection of other goodies which I purchased.... some of which I will have to keep, but the rest I will be taking to The New Forest Dolls house fair in Lyndhurst on April 5th. Early entry 10 am. See website for details.
http://www.wendysworldfairs.co.uk/