Car booting...

I visited a couple of huge car boot sales over the Bank Holiday, armed with a shopping list of stuff I need for the Old Sunday School. I found a good work table. The legs unscrewed, otherwise it wouldn’t have fitted in the van. I found a few other bits and pieces, but what struck me was just how much of the stuff on display was surplus to the requirements of any sane person. Who has gone out and bought a foot spa at full retail price? Who thought that a fondue set would add a touch of glamour and sophistication to their lives? And a peppermill which lights up? WTF?

I saw Polaroid cameras for which the film is no longer made, and charging cables for now-obsolete phones. I saw Princess Diana memorabilia. I saw, boxed and ready to sell, a scarf with pockets, which has to be one of the worst ideas anyone has ever had (and actually brought to market). I saw a wooden kitchen table, whose four corners looked like they’d been nibbled by a horse. I saw a book called The English Lowlands. Has anyone ever decided to go and visit a place called the English Lowlands? I saw a virtual reality headset amongst the tat; how quickly last year’s tech becomes this year’s junk. A woman running a bookstall which seemed to feature mostly women writers, had the books neatly organised by authors’ names… except one category which was entitled ‘Disturbed Lives’.

Thumbs-up from a narrowboat captain at the Goole Marina...