Out and about in Paris and London - Part 2

My sadness, the tear in my eye and my trembling lower lip on leaving Paris was somewhat assuaged by first class passage on the Eurostar to London.  More leg room, a table for the free lunch.  Not as exciting as having the compartment on the train from Amboise to Paris - something I wanted to do since reading things like Sherlock Holmes as a child, and watched all of those old films, not to mention Harry Potter in both book and film - but exciting enough to appeal to my shallow side. 

The driver of the black cab to the hotel barely survived the effort of lifting our bags into the cab while pretending they weren't heavy, but cheerfully announced that he expected them to be heavy, since we were women.  Not only strong, but smart, those black cab drivers. I can but hope he wasn't hospitalised after lifting them out again. 

Spring was just starting to come to London, the weather was warmer, the blossoms and the bulbs were starting to appear and there was so much to do and see. So many old things in markets and museums, red buses, black cabs, the stuff of English crime fiction and literature, and the mix of the very old architecture with the very new gave the place a sense of living and breathing and evolving and moving. Paris is romantic history, but London is living it.

I loved the river - as I love all water, the oceans,rivers,interestingly shaped puddles.  I wanted to get to Greenwich, but time got away.  We went on a pub crawl in Wapping, where the pubs were older than Australia. We walked around on the streets which used to be on Monopoly boards when I was a child.  We saw the Prime Minister's car whiz past several times, preceded by motorbike policemen who slid sideways to stop oncoming traffic.  

Everyone had a brother who lives, or had recently lived, in Australia.  Everyone knew that  Australians live surrounded by death - redback spiders, crocodiles, funnelwebs, a host of venomous snakes.  They seemed surprised that we had survived long enough to get out of the country.  Some people thought we were from New Zealand, where life is reputedly slightly less dangerous. 

Although there were less optometrists and hairdressers than in Paris, I was glad to see that the UK has warmly embraced vintage, and there was no shortage of charity shops. They ranged from the traditional to the recycled designer specialists, priced accordingly.  I saw one right behind the Big Palace, from a bus, but couldn't get back there on foot. A vintage tuxedo shirt in a vintage shop on Portobello Road - exactly 4 times the price of  almost the exactly same shirt in the charity shop around the corner.

 

even the dentists have fashion sense

Vintage markets abound and we know how I like those.  So much taxidermy, so many darned import restrictions. It's probably just as well, or I would be surrounded as I type by stuffed pheasants, hedgehogs and a budgie in a cage - I kid you not.  Not to mention hares, rabbits, deer.... Haggling seems to be expected, but it helps if you know the difference between actual vintage and faux old. 

I found lots of little treasures and trinkets at various markets, but left so many behind. Some of the prices were, in the parlance of The Castle, dreamin'.   The UK postal people really haven't kept up with the whole sending mail overseas thing, pricewise.  Compared to other countries, an English postman could fly out and drop off my parcel for the price.  Perhaps they do.  Why does it take less time for a postcard from France to get to Australia than one from England?  Slower planes?  

Before I go again, I will be checking freight options.

Tobruk, taxidermy, and trainers

A sunny few days - warm to the point of bored with it now. Never mind, I'm sure it is just a small hiccup and it will rain again soon, so best to enjoy it while it lasts. I took advantage of the day to bath the dog - he was unamused and remains somewhat sniffy about the whole business.

I spent some time yesterday looking through a pile of Pix magazines from 1941 - 43. I've been meaning to do it for ages and a chance conversation with someone who is looking for items on Tobruk, combined with the need to sit in the cool on the front verandah, proved fruitful.

I decided to scan a few bits which I think I might find a use for in particular, some great images, interesting articles, and some lovely ads. I shall devote some more attention to them soon. I have included a few favourite bits here.

The spin on the war articles, the fashion items, the stories of Hollywood glamour, all made riveting reading.

We went out saling (garage saling, that is) today, although we usually have a rest day on Sunday. This is, of course, because we have usually spent the cash allocation on Saturday. We ended up at a deceased estate sale, slightly out of town, full of rusty bits. I do love a good shed sale.



I felt a bit sorry for the kids hopping out of the car to go in to look for toys.

Although I gathered a number of interesting things, including a (coffee) tin of brass sprinklers - to become the bases of small sculptures - some unidentified bits the best of all was scrap from the big bins marked 'free'. I did point out that all the copper pipe in the free bins could be used by the lady for conversion to cash - they are worth a bit. She dragged them back into the shed, for the benefit of the nice lady selling the stuff.

From the content of the sale, the owner of the shed had been a horse trainer, possibly a farrier. There were lots of things to do with horses hooves, as well as tack. It's so sad to see that sort of equipment, and the skills, dispersing. I know there are still farriers about and that their skills are highly prized, but those skills of working with your hands are so important.

I can see why the handmade movement is growing around the world.

Table legs and charts

The taxidermied emu legs were an absolute steal at $50.

I really, really mean that. The poor seller's wife didn't find them attractive and apparently didn't feel that a small side table with emu legs was a decorating possibility, so he had to sell them. Personally, I thought that they would make a thoughtful addition to my decorating scheme - currently a cross between tip shop and demented hippie.

Alas, insufficient cash reserves....but it may be worthwhile keeping an eye on the tip shop. I got the distinct impression that I may have been their only admirer.



Otherwise, a fantastic made in Australia in the 50's Globite suitcase in mint condition, with perfect pink and cream striped paper lining.

And a huge stack of shipping charts, from as early as the 1930's. I particularly liked the warning on the Karachi chart saying Caution:
submarines operating in this area.



Some will be for working on, they are torn and in too poor a condition for anything else. Some are fragmented but will be frameable.



Which reminded me that I have some lovely old survey maps of rural WA, including the drawings for the water tank at the Quaranup Quarantine Station, signed by Hilton Beasley the Government Architect of the day in 1913.



In the less cerebral corner for the weekend there were some vintage 1970 rollerskates (I know someone going to a fancy dress party as Roller Girl from Boogie Nights), some faux Raybans in the Blues Brothers style ( for my baby girl's sunglasses collection), some manga for my boy, a Terry Pratchett paperback for me, some bits of vintage jewellery for repair and reconstruction, and just enough left over to buy a soft serve icecream to eat on the way home.