Let bygones be collectibles..!

 So when does a bygone become a collectible or vice versa of course?  This morning we went for a nose  poke at the Tenterden bygones and collectibles auction.  To be fair we went as much for the drive in the country and to pop into Headcorn on the way back as we did for the sale and it is true to say we had not had our reality glasses on when we scanned through the online catalogue.  This of course means when we saw bushell and half bushell baskets in the catalogue we saw beautifully crafted woven baskets bearing some scars from the years of packing them overfull with produce.
This morning we stood in a large sheep field confronted with what looked like a pile of whicker tied together with red bailing string which had once been bushell baskets but now held little chance of keeping 3 apples in place.  Of course this is part of the auction adventure that you just have to be there on the day a bargain is to be had because no one else in the crowd has an interest in your favoured lot, but you need first to find a lot that  would prompt you to part with your hard earned cash.  So we went on to review a number of other  lots, some of which had better prospects for renovation but some had become bygones and travelled further down the timeline of history to broken unloved piles of junk in a field.  Having spent a happy hour or two strolling round the field taking in the historical sights of old wagons, water pumps, a fair number of grease guns, the odd park bench or two among piles of bricks, pots and coal scuttles we then ventured into the indoor ring which was held in a huge shed and had five benches just scattered with the tools, signs, lamps and heaters of the distant past.  It is like spending the morning in the Natural History Museum without making a contribution for your entry and in a week when the cleaner is coming to the end of a year long holiday.  Fascinating articles and some that you have to look up in the catalogue just to have a chance of working out what they are.  When we arrived we did a little people watching, one of our favourite sports and couldn't help wondering the purpose of the other people visiting the auction.  There were those with their distinctive dealer outfits on, some who smelt of their antique shops and barns to which they would drag back their bounty later and start rubbing it with sandpaper to attempt to make it a saleable piece and then others who may have just been along for the ride, or were hiding well the part of their life that meant they had a use for an antique rusty broken chaffing machine.  But as we left the field, empty handed I hasten to add, we could not help but wonder where some of these items had come from, and who dragged them out of a shed in 6 separate pieces and thought I know I'll take this to the auction.  I mean who do you know that has a 1900s manual combine harvesting machine in 3 pieces in their garage?


So fruitless but cheery we departed Tenterden and headed back to Headcorn a favourite little Kent village of ours.  This place is well worth a stop off if you are passing through.  We managed a tea and scone in the village tea rooms and pondered the fortunes of the lovely independent little stores that line the tiny High Street.  One of these shops used to be a home and garden store, which it seems has not done so well of late and as such has rented the shop to a new enterprise, but the owner continues to trade their mainly garden but some home products from the alleyway next to the shop and two sheds at the rear.  What a den of inspiration this place is and not ripping anyone off either.  Do pop in you will find something for your garden for sure. As we left the lady owner said would we please take a forlorn hanging basket with us for free...seems we can't help but be given things these days. On that very note we then got straight back to the Freegle gifts when we got home and continued in our challenge of turning them into useful products for our garden or as gifts for others but more on that in a future blog.