She and I don’t often get to wander about without the children and we thoroughly enjoyed our morning.  My Other Half,  as always zoomed off looking for Carnival Glass and chatting to the stall holders and left us to drift happily from one junky stall to the next

Yet again I forgot to take my camera and so I can’t show you all the weird and wonderful things.  I fell in love with loads of things, from piles of Victorian meat platters to a whole stall full of highly ornate religious things.  Beautiful crucifixes with ivory figures of Christ and even the wooden handled, velvet pouches for passing around for the collection!

Actually I only bought a handful of tiny Victorian pencils that would have been tied with ribbon to dance cards, and of course my Other Half managed to buy some Carnival Glass, but true to our policy of diversifying slightly he also bought some lovely Victorian glass shades and we came home via the Chip Shop, and had egg and chips and bread and butter and a mug full of tea each.  Very satisfying, in spite of the fact that we have all vowed to lose some weight!

We will start the diet tomorrow?

It is an Arther Swallow Fair, and for the last couple of years it has been outside and very subject to the whims of the weather and time of year.

I have been in the past, but stumbling about in the dark during the winter when it doesn’t get light until around 8-ish and tipping the rain out of things so that I would look at them isn’t my idea of fun and I have got out of the habit of going.

Now, however it is under cover, very much an improvement.  The venue is the old Exhibition Hall at Donnington Race Circuit, next to East Midlands Airport. 

Years ago there used to be an enormous Antique Fair in this Hall on a regular basis.  It is where we, rather nervously first had a stall, and thanks to the lovely people who stood around us there, had a  good grounding in the ways of Antique Fairs and dealers.

Sadly that fair changed hands, dwindled and died, and then the Race Track itself was sold and for a while the Hall and everything else was under threat of demolition.

Now Donnington Race Circuit has been rescued and the Hall no longer under threat is let out again.  I believe that they hold Toy Fairs there and now this one on a Monday every now and then.

The old fairs there used to have hundreds of stalls and were run over 2 days, and when we first started standing the crowds were so thick that there was a constant stream of people going past.They were the good days, good stock and friendly service and you couldn’t really go far wrong.  Not like these austere days, there is less money about and people are more cautious, and more canny.

Any way he has gone to seek treasure, apparently last time he was there, one of the Trader’s had some old bound copies of Punch from the 19th Century and he dithered and didn’t buy them in the end and has regretted it ever since, especially as I sold the one I had the other week and so he is hoping that they are still there.  Most unlikely, but he is an optimist and no doubt there will be other things that catch his eye.

Anyway I rather regret not getting up and going now.  As I sit here looking out of the window, the sun is shining and the birds are singing.  It has turned into a lovely morning and I am going to potter about and sort out a few more books.  Make some space on the off chance that he will return home laden with good things!

We re-thought our strategy and didn’t leave home until 7ish,  and judged it about right I think!  I don’t think that there were as many stalls as last time,  and everything was rather damp, so there wasn’t much in the paper line that tempted me, and I settled for a cup of hot chocolate and saved my money for another day.

My other half bought a couple of nice pieces of Carnival Glass (glass doesn’t mind the rain) and had a nice gossip with his mates, and we were home for 9.30 eating breakfast and thawing out.

We mutually agreed that we didn’t fancy another early morning start and have decided to give Birmingham a miss today hence I am sitting here in my dressing gown drinking maximum strength coffee and talking to you.  How heavenly.