Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday - to Fontwell, Bognor and Chichester.
This has been a long day which began with a big disappointment.
We thought we would take Ashley to a couple of the bigger boot sales down near the coast - Fontwell and Chichester.
Fontwell is on "every Sunday" - except for the rare Sundays when there is a horse racing meeting there. Today was one of those days.
All we could do was drive on into Bognor.
We stopped at the small boot sale there and found very little.
We enjoyed a good breakfast in a Bognor cafe that we have visited before. It was warm and friendly and had the Sunday papers to read.
After that we went to Chichester and parked the car, at 10 o'clock, close to where the boot sale would be.
It is a strange sale. Every space was filled with sellers already and not one of them was allowed to begin to set up their stall. That can happen only when the hooter is blown at half past eleven.
So we had time to kill.
We walked through the interesting old streets of Chichester, passing cottages and Georgian grand town houses.
We found the Bishop's Palace garden which we had not found before. There were some wonderful old trees there, surrounded by the Chichester City wall.
At all turns the tall spire of the cathedral was part of our view.
We got back to the boot sale and waited for the hooter, when all hell lets loose, as stall holders frantically try to get their tables filled and customers pour in like locusts.
The first look round leaves me feeling careful.
The second time round I went back to a stall that had attracted me already.
I don't know who they were or even if they were completely honest. I know they didn't always have their facts straight about their wares.
But I bought quite a lot, just because I look forward to having interesting good quality stock on the shelves when I have the bigger space in Pilgrims.
When we got home we realised that the stall holders couldn't add up and I had paid more than I should have done - it was certainly more than I expected and I should have checked.
Never mind I have the good stock and hopefully £100 profit can be made.
We were tired by then. Ashley dozed a little in the car on the way home. He hadn't found very much and had found battling with the hordes quite an unrelaxed affair.
I have written up my purchases.
Ashley has been to church.
We have eaten cold turkey with jacket potatoes.
And watched the results of Strictly come Dancing. It is ridiculous but slightly gratifying that an older man (who doesn't actually dance so very well) with a serious political commentator role on TV should have attracted the interest of the people so much. It is good to see that it is not just the soap opera stars and such like who enthral the voting public.
What I have not done today is deal with photos taken in Chichester.
I'll find time tomorrow, I hope.
Goodnight.
We thought we would take Ashley to a couple of the bigger boot sales down near the coast - Fontwell and Chichester.
Fontwell is on "every Sunday" - except for the rare Sundays when there is a horse racing meeting there. Today was one of those days.
All we could do was drive on into Bognor.
We stopped at the small boot sale there and found very little.
We enjoyed a good breakfast in a Bognor cafe that we have visited before. It was warm and friendly and had the Sunday papers to read.
After that we went to Chichester and parked the car, at 10 o'clock, close to where the boot sale would be.
It is a strange sale. Every space was filled with sellers already and not one of them was allowed to begin to set up their stall. That can happen only when the hooter is blown at half past eleven.
So we had time to kill.
We walked through the interesting old streets of Chichester, passing cottages and Georgian grand town houses.
We found the Bishop's Palace garden which we had not found before. There were some wonderful old trees there, surrounded by the Chichester City wall.
At all turns the tall spire of the cathedral was part of our view.
We got back to the boot sale and waited for the hooter, when all hell lets loose, as stall holders frantically try to get their tables filled and customers pour in like locusts.
The first look round leaves me feeling careful.
The second time round I went back to a stall that had attracted me already.
I don't know who they were or even if they were completely honest. I know they didn't always have their facts straight about their wares.
But I bought quite a lot, just because I look forward to having interesting good quality stock on the shelves when I have the bigger space in Pilgrims.
When we got home we realised that the stall holders couldn't add up and I had paid more than I should have done - it was certainly more than I expected and I should have checked.
Never mind I have the good stock and hopefully £100 profit can be made.
We were tired by then. Ashley dozed a little in the car on the way home. He hadn't found very much and had found battling with the hordes quite an unrelaxed affair.
I have written up my purchases.
Ashley has been to church.
We have eaten cold turkey with jacket potatoes.
And watched the results of Strictly come Dancing. It is ridiculous but slightly gratifying that an older man (who doesn't actually dance so very well) with a serious political commentator role on TV should have attracted the interest of the people so much. It is good to see that it is not just the soap opera stars and such like who enthral the voting public.
What I have not done today is deal with photos taken in Chichester.
I'll find time tomorrow, I hope.
Goodnight.
