Wonderful vintage treasures - perfect gifts for others or yourself!

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A fantastic and very rare-to-find antique copper and brass tin/zinc-lined bucket -  see it on my Etsy shop HERE

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More French vintage & antique treasures (and an English one, too..........).

 

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Small-sized shabby chic French vintage metal planter - see it on my Etsy shop

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More vintage hunting..............

Having enough stock to last through the winter I was going to give Sunday's fair a miss, especially since the heat was punishing, however, the lure of possible bargains got the better of me.  I went with a small budget while constantly reminding (or perhaps reassuring) myself I was going just for the fun - purely for a pleasant day out - but how wrong I was (about having fun with a small budget).  So, I ended up having to literally sprint back to the car, using my smart phone to guide me to the nearest cash-point, where upon I dashed back with euros clutched in hand (well, in my wallet but clutched in hand gives my recollection a sense of urgency...) to indulge in some serious buying.

The focus of the above photo is the very cool retro caravan - what a beauty!  But I guess you're also looking at that splendid oil painting?  I was too............

I wanted the light fitting above - it was absolutely splendid!  There were also some wonderful paintings, so it was a shame the stall holder was no where in sight, their stall left totally unattended - very common in these parts!  

A table full of honest-to-God beautiful antiques.  This fair had the best items I've ever seen so it's a place to avoid if you don't want to be tempted to tuck into the old wallet (or purse).

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Road to no where..............

Well, that's not strictly accurate as it goes to a lot of places, and on this particular occasion it was taking me to a brocante near the city of Angouleme in south west France.......

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Sunday's outing............

Being so hot out I was going to miss visiting any flea markets, after all, I have a ton of jobs to do at home, in the garden, on the car............however, I suppose I'm addicted so couldn't resist a little look.

Even well after lunch the streets were packed.............

Someone opened up their beautiful property to make a few sales......

And being nosy I couldn't resist a quick peek in between the grand entrance turrets to snap a quick photo - I might be wrong but believe they offer bed and breakfast here, too.

Overall a good day, as is everyday, and also picked up some retro, vintage, antique stock for my Etsy store  < click to see.

The vintage reptile...........

I'm a sucker for anything to do with animals, so when my neighbor offered to sell me their life-size wooden alligator/croc, how could I refuse? The only problem is I have no where to put him, so he now resides in the garden shed.

Sky watching.............

Just the other day I was complaining that I hadn't seen anything very cool in the sky for a while when I happened to notice this..... The series of photos below were taken around 9.20 pm last weekend and were taken over a ten minute period.

The above had come from high - very high, no doubt from outside this planet...........

And no, it's not a contrail from an aircraft - above is a photo of an airliner passing in front of it - compare the size of the two contrails, while remembering the airliner one is horizontal while the other is vertical..........

Starting to fade........a large meteor that must have burned itself out?

Grapes outside my window (and plums too)...............

These grapes hang directly outside my study/workshop - I am a lucky man to have such a view.

And above are the plums; so why not use them for a still-life before eating......Oh, and the super stoneware urn is available in my shop HERE

A day in the sun.......

With beautiful weekend weather, albeit a real scorcher, I hit the road on Sunday morning and traveled further afield covering 130 miles to visit three different flea markets where there was also some antique shops, too. Again, pickings were slim, two of the venues being complete wash-outs but what I did manage to find my customers are sure to appreciate. 

At the end of the day and in a very small village in south west France, I took advantage of the outstanding scenery offering some great photo opportunities, and despite having left my 'real' camera at home utilized my phone which took surprisingly nice pictures. 

This gorgeous chateau is open for guided tours for just 6 euros but unfortunately was closed when I visited.  As a side note, closing 'shop' is a common pattern I've noticed in my region of France, bars, restaurants, shops, swimming pools, etc, all regularly closed on days that would prove to be very profitable; but why? Yes, yes - I agree, being laid back is all well and good, but many small businesses seem to close at irregular times, even on work days, which makes me wonder how on earth they survive? After all, it's not as though there are not plenty of great opportunities to close-up and chill out, such as during the long, boring winter months here when you're lucky to see any human beings!

In front of the chateau is an absolutely gorgeous restaurant with seating under umbrellas, and also loungers next to the river with a table each to place your drink and snack.  I might also mention, the river is clear and clean and you can see the fish swimming around. You can  notice a distinct lack of customers - I guess it was too early in the day as their menu board stated they were fully booked. I truly want to visit this place for drink and a meal - I really want to so badly - just not on my bloody own!

To take the photos of the chateau I am standing in front of an ancient stone bridge. If you turn around to view the other side you'll see the above, and please note, yet another beautiful restaurant.  It was so hot I felt like wading into the river but of course, didn't! 

I was standing across the road for so long trying to take a photo without people in the way, that I didn't stop to consider the photo would be rather boring with no human activity. Anyway, for just for a second the coast was clear - so this is a lovely wine shop minus any lovely people.

Okay, until my next post, au revoir.

Today's photo................

Someone is busy at work in my garden.........

Slim pickings..........

My weekend's buying trips produced very slim pickings which makes me realise I'm going to have to venture further afield to find items for my Etsy store. I suppose this is an advantageous situation, as surely now I can get to explore new areas, although it will also mean bigger fuel bills and other expenses. And just think, if I wanted to, I could jump in my Golf and drive to Spain, Italy, Germany or any other part of Europe I wished! That thought has always given me a big kick and is surely something to appreciate, even more so now, as who knows when this will all change.

At the moment I am being very careful with my euros, the fiasco in the UK meaning I'm living in the shadows of ex-pat uncertainty. I could talk about how frustrated I feel, seeing  the instigators of the UK's current situation jumping ship to make my country look even more laughable, but I won't. In fact I have just deleted a 'War and Peace' length mega-paragraph of thoughts on the subject - there are others more well-versed who can do the subject better justice and with decidedly more eloquence. 

Anyway, I digress! I am looking forward to seeing more of France so now seems the perfect time for some extended weekend buying trips!

Star gazing...........

It's fantastic to go outside during a humid summer's night, maybe sit down with a beer or glass of wine (which unusually for someone living in wine country, I don't drink a lot of) and gaze at the twinkling night sky, scanning the stars for ...........UFOs?!  Yes, that's right, unidentified flying objects. 

Since moving from a city lifestyle into the countryside, it's amazing how breathtaking and clear the 'sky-scapes' can actually be, something that you just can't fully appreciate if you live in a large town or city.

Well, UFO-spotting is something I really do once in a while and am convinced one evening a few years back I actually saw one; sadly, or perhaps even happily (depending on their intent), there has been nothing to report since.  

And so to the photos for today's post - after deciding to test out what the zoom capability was like on my Nikon P80 I shot a few snaps of a star.....

As you can see from the photos above, without a tripod the camera shake is substantial and the star ends up looking like quite a credible UFO; maybe this accounts for many explainable photos? Who knows, but I thought it was interesting none the less and it's a fascinating subject to speculate, don't you think?

Out and about.......

Poppies and corn flowers I spotted on today's journey.

Traveled around 70 miles this weekend looking for new items for my shop, yesterday's pickings being better than today's.  Today's events were truly terrible and I wouldn't have wanted most items offered for sale even if someone had tried to give them to me for free - it really was that terrible!  That's just the way it goes in this way of life though.   

Funnily enough I met an interesting chap while perusing a stall at yesterday's flea market who was overjoyed at the sight of a horrendous piece of 'modern art' (I'm very open-minded with art, so believe me when I confirm, it was terrible!); he stated it was truly one of the worst pieces he'd ever seen and was having a laugh with the French stall holder about it - I asked if  he really liked that sort of thing and he told me he'd given up trying to find any nice things for a reasonable price, so now collects the worst pieces of bad taste he can find for his collection. It's fun when I meet interesting new people. I suppose I really should have taken a photo of the art for my blog but I was to shy to been seen looking at it.

So, to close this post I'll reassure myself that today's journey was not a complete loss, as after all, the weather was perfect and I enjoyed the drive in my little VW Golf while singing along with some retro 80's music.

In, out, in, out, shake it all about........and we're out!

Thank goodness something is beautiful today, and in this case it's a flower in my garden. 

Been quite a day with news the UK will be leaving the European Union, and to say I'm shocked is an understatement; I knew it would be a close call but didn't believe such a large number of people would  vote the way they did.  

With so many unknowns ahead of me it's very difficult to make any plans or even feel comfortable as an expat in France.  I will continue as normal though, and even if it means reigning in my spending, you'll still be able to find wonderful vintage treasures on my Etsy shop.

Chilly around the chateau......

an evening last week.  Since I last wrote the weather has turned around for the better and I'm now experiencing temps in the 30s which is a change from the damp, chilly weather a few days back.

Above is a photo I took in my village last week, a rather spooky-looking scene which is pretty cool.

Maison

Guess what? It's still stormy and cool outside..........I went out to take a photo for the blog but it was as dreary as yesterday's weather, so today's photo is a picture of my home on a sunnier day.

Hopefully the weekend's weather will look a little more like the pic above :) 

Polishing copper!

A rather mundane post I know, but here's one of my weekend purchases which as you can see in the photo on the left, was a rather dull-looking copper planter which I wasn't too sure about to begin with, but after spending yesterday afternoon with my polishing cloth, the pic on the right shows the fruits of my labour.

I still have some more polishing to do but this one will be available very soon.

A weekend's vintage haul..............

Well, the last two weekend's anyway............

Okay, so after a few weeks of clutching tightly onto my euros I let loose and the photos below represent a part of my last two weekend's buying for my Etsy shop. I would have shown you more but it's unbelievably hot outside, so carrying all these items into the garden and unpacking and re-packing wasn't too much fun! But mustn't complain, I'm so glad the sun has at last arrived.

When shopping my car always tends to be parked miles away which means dashing back and forth to unload, then getting back pretty damn quick so as not to miss anything I have my eyes on........In the photo above is a modest selection of what can be found if you head off in the early hours, and are prepared to travel to the various fairs and brocantes which are not always close by.  Remember that diesel car I mentioned? Well, I still need one.

I forgot to mention that more often than not the items are filthy having languished in attics, sheds, and God knows where, so as well as extensive travel there is nearly always a lot of work involved once an item has been purchased. That hanging lantern above for example - that was completely rusty so I  purchased some rather pricey paint and embarked (and was sorry once I'd started) on rubbing it down and giving it a repaint, then distressing it again for that authentic rustic appearance.  I still haven't finished the project........ 

Above, if you look carefully you'll see a little bronze candelabra - that's it! Next to the chrome desk lamp - well that was also once a desk lamp but the old wiring was too badly perished so I stripped it down and after some modifications it became become a candle holder, but with the option to still have it rewired.

Had to have those red enamel pans and also those ironstone bowls - beautiful!  On the far right of the photo is a boar casserole dish which I bought for one reason only - the cool wild boer's head on top! It was only afterwards I discovered it was an Apilco piece.

The lantern above is HUGE! It's also an original old one in good condition and took a big portion of my wallet's contents!  It needs a few little repairs so isn't quite ready for sale - if you're interested drop me message HERE.  Next to it you'll see some nice trench art brass shell casings and a few more smaller hanging lanterns - I bought a box of them which all need thoroughly cleaning. 

So there you have it, some nice treasures that are all available to purchase for your home. I always keep an extensive stock, so if there is ever an item you are looking for, please drop me an email - if I don't have it in stock, I'll more than likely be able to find it for you.

The Vintage Citroen...........

When I visit brocantes and flea markets quite often they'll be other attractions besides the regular stalls such as dancing, singing, animal petting stalls, tractor-shows full of beautiful antique machines, or sometimes other vintage vehicles. 

The Citroen van below is one of my favourites. These were manufactured from the late-1940s to the beginning of the 1980s. While not particularly attractive to many, and some might even argue their corrugated bodies are nothing more than unsightly, to my eyes there is something alluring about that short snout and little headlight eyes; in France she's affectionately known as the, 'Nez de Cochon' (Pig Nose), which perhaps explains why I like these vans - I love pigs!  Unfortunate for me then that these vans fetch high prices even when in what I call 'relic' condition; they're a nice alternative to the much-loved vintage VW camper vans and certainly very different.

And below are some lovely Citroen Traction Avants, manufactured from the early 1930s to the 1950s - they don't make them like these any more! Popular in black as you can see, although there was a burgundy one right on the end. 

These cars were very often used by German forces when they occupied France, so it's common to see them in WWII photos, many of which show them in far-flung corners of Europe and enduring all types of terrain and weather conditions. In the photo below the Citroen wears German camouflage but has been recaptured by Allied forces who have quickly adorned the vehicle with a rather crude allied star.

Photo for conversational purposes only - internet photo.

More soon......................