All kinds of everything

We had been looking forward to last Sunday’s flea market for weeks. Held on some playing fields and surrounding streets in a neighbouring village, with around 600 stalls it is one of the biggest flea markets in the area.

The flea market has a good mix of stalls. There are people selling the contents of their basements, often right outside their own front doors, the usual flea market sellers selling everything and the kitchen sink (sometimes quite literally) and stalls selling vintage and small antiques.

The forecast said it would be cold but mainly dry, so we kept our fingers crossed.

As luck would have it, the minute we got up on Sunday morning we could hear rain drumming against our windows, which tempered our excitement a bit. Fortunately, the rain soon stopped, with the sun putting in the occasional appearance. They were right about the cold, though, as it was still barely in the region of 10 degrees Celsius.

I opted for a skirt and many layers topped by my red winter jacket, which I’d actually just put away. Black opaque tights and a sturdy pair or black boots completed my outfit. At first I regretted not to be wearing a pair of gloves, but one has to draw the line somewhere.












In spite of the weather, the flea market did not disappoint and there were hardly any gaps between the stalls. Lots of punters, too.

I had my camera at the ready, as I wanted to make sure that I didn’t forget to take photographs this time.

These are the things that caught my eye:

Red, white and blue

Instant collections of matchboxes, shaving brushes, coffee grinders, hunting trophies, ...

... strange dolls, glass bottles and lampshades

Veiled hats and gas masks

Elegant tea and coffee sets, a chandelier and songbooks from long-forgotten times

Childhood memories

The cute little tray brings back happy memories for me. It is from a Belgian series of books for girls which first appeared in 1954 and ran until 2010, with a total of 61 titles.

Although the tray is from a much later period, the most recognizable and sought-after titles are from the 1950s and 1960s. They were among my first reading material. As usual in Belgium, the series ran in both Flemish ("Tiny", which is pronounced "Tinny") and French ("Martine").

Here are a few of my childhood books. I was totally in love with the drawings (and Tiny's wardrobe), the lovely end-papers and the chicken-eating bear on the back cover!

After this little diversion, here are our finds of the day:

Two handbags and an unusually shaped olive-green case, which I might use as a handbag as well.

Two lovely scarf clips

.. and two fans, one of them a little brooch, which actually opens and closes!

A traditional, old-fashioned spinning top: pure boyhood nostalgia for Jos.

And finally: a Bakelite soapbox, for our small Bakelite collection.

Before I sign off this picture heavy post, I would like to show you the parcel I received on Wednesday from the lovely Lynn.

She spotted my tapestry covered handbag found at another flea market and sent me a cute little matching purse. It arrived in a little box, complete with a sweet note from Lynn and some beautiful Vogue cards. And some ribbon for Phoebe to play with ...

I am ready for another weekend. What about you? Do you have any exciting plans?