Antiques again?

We arrived at the Ardingly Antique Market by coach around 9:30 am and we followed our calculated plan to start at the back first and work our way to the front - with 1400 stalls and a departure time of 4:30 pm, we knew it was going to be a long day. It really can be so overwhelming that not many purchases were made until after our delightful lunch (on the run!) of a ham, cheese, and pineapple toasty and a warm diet coke....not on anyone's diet but very tasty. Then the real haggling and quibbling began and I started to see a few ladies making trips back to the bus to drop off a load and regroup. Some of the things we looked at, but did not bring home, were these beautiful poster beds, a child's chair, a plate stacker and footstool, and some great birdhouses.










This is a picture of the things I brought home...
Don't you just love this petite French woven cane chair with new cushion and pillow ? It fits perfectly in "the queen's room" (which is Aunt Sandi's room unless the Queen comes to visit!) I won't tell you what I paid but I will tell you the dealer came off his original price by £70!!! Rick is not allowed to sit in it. At his request I found a cricket bat, which was not as easy as it may seem since I was obviously following a dealer who was buying them all, probably to resell at London prices. And my final purchase was this heavy silver bowl - just the right size for icing a few bottles of Prosecco. My friend and antique specialist, Carlton, promised me that I would not polish it because it's been polished so much that the copper lining is showing through and that is what gives it it's character.....SOLD! The dealer only came down £5 but it was the nicest one I saw all day.

















The animals were out in force today. In addition to crates of assorted antlers, I spotted a few interesting "accent" pieces.




Can you spot which one is still breathing?