The Last Three Months, Arundel, Botanical and Tartan Chests of Drawers
Good Morning
from
Arundel Eccentrics.
I haven't been here very much since July. Its been a busy few months for one thing.
The other? My camera, my best friend, my right arm, conked out.
I take so many pictures usually. Of Arundel,of antiques and of what's going on here in Sussex.
Most I put on the blog.
But alas! no camera.
I waited until early September, when it was my birthday, to replace it.
Not only did I buy my new shiny camera with my husband Nass's money as a birthday gift,
but several of my close friends put in some cash as a birthday pressie too.
YAAAY I have some great chums.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
What's been happening for the past three months.
Is it really that long?
The Arundel Festival
The Arundel Festival was SPECTACULAR this year.
And yes, I really am shouting it out.
The team who organised it must have
had countless sleepless nights
over it, as there were just so many events.
If you have never been to Arundel,
put it in your diary for next year.
The town throws the biggest
party ever and it lasts
for ten whole days.
Streets are pedestrianised.
Cafes spill out onto the pavements.
There are concerts and street theatre.
Theatre trails, art galley trails,
open air events.
Events in old jailhouses.
Shakespeare in the grounds of Arundel Castle.
Need I go on?
This year we had the most brilliant festival round at
The Old Brewery Antiques Warehouses.
Jenny Lock the artist was exhibiting her paintings with us
and was on the gallery trail.
I was also on the trail .
Jenny Lock the artist was exhibiting her paintings with us
and was on the gallery trail.
I was also on the trail .
People came round in their droves.
It was great fun.
I DO have a rather funny story to tell,
but my lovely husband who is in fact the star of the tale,
made me promise not to put in on the blog.
In fact I think threats were bandied about. Ha ha
So, in order to tell you the story which IS hilarious,
I will send you to the blog of a local friend.
He DID have the courage to blog it.
Well, probably because he lives part of the time in the
beautiful south of France and knew
he could escape the wrath of the Nass.
Only joking.
If you love Arundel,
you will adore Chris's blog.
He writes daily .
Much more prolific than I.
In my own defence he doesn't have a house
choc a bloc full of bamboo tables,
buckets and chests of drawers
being painted and decorated either. ha ha
 |
| Botanicals on a 19th century chest...our latest design...using 19th century images and decoupage |
Should you be an Arundel Resident
you may even find yourself in one of his yarns. LOL
This time last year
Our Jay's wedding was very much in my thoughts last week.
He lives in California where he is a brilliant menswear designer .
Arrived in the US via ECKO Unltd and NYC where he met Krista.
Stayed because he fell in love with the country and with Krista, but not necessarily in that order.
Fast forward a few years and that meeting culminated in the most stylish wedding I've ever been to.
Jay designed his own tux...down to the old English sixpence he had made into cuff links.
He's got style our boy.
We had travelled to the US and spent a wonderful week with friends in NYC.
Our birthdays were celebrated in true NY style, starting with breakfast at our friends favourite diner.
It was a place they had brunch every Sunday morning and my birthday falling on a Sunday was no exception. All the regulars knew them, so it followed that the entire diner would join in the rendition of Happy Birthday.
With my English reserve I blushed a gentle tinge of rouge, but it didn't last too long.
The locals were warm and friendly and just wanted to help make the day special.
From NYC we caught a bus to Washington where we met up with two dear friends who had travelled from France to be at the wedding. We spent a few days together exploring.
Nass and I hadn't booked a room anywhere so camped down in our friends in the not particularly aptly named "Quality Inn". It was however clean and friendly although it transpired not in a particularly salubrious area.
The locals were warm and friendly and just wanted to help make the day special.
From NYC we caught a bus to Washington where we met up with two dear friends who had travelled from France to be at the wedding. We spent a few days together exploring.
Nass and I hadn't booked a room anywhere so camped down in our friends in the not particularly aptly named "Quality Inn". It was however clean and friendly although it transpired not in a particularly salubrious area.
The taxi drivers said they wouldn't walk there after dark. Maybe they were right.
Maybe they just wanted the business, who knows? LOL
Was it our imagination or does much of Washington close down early at night?
Beautiful place to visit though.
We probably were not there long enough to find any wild night spots ha ha
Jay and Krista, his wife to be, came to collect us and we drove to Virginia.
We then had the best few days ever.
The yanks clearly know how to do weddings and the days leading up to it were especially happy. We acquainted ourselves with all Jays friends from the US and met again his friends from Slindon College schooldays and Northbrook College where he studied for his menswear degree.
We don't have many relatives around these days.
Jays wanted people that were a strong part of his life as he was growing up.
Many were my friends.
Stella is a dear friend from Arundel who remarried a US professor who was here on sabbatical.
Life being as strange as it is she met him almost by chance. A few weeks later life would maybe have taken a different path. They met while working at the American College that was just outside Arundel. The rest, as they say, is history. They fell in love , married in Arundel and my lovely chum abandoned us for life in Kentucky. Actually, thats a bit dramatic, she didn't totally leave us. She kept her pretty cottage here in Arundel to return each summer with her husband and daughter Amy.
Then Jay and I would be off with them doing all the very English things she missed.
Summer Fetes and walks and picnics in Arundel Park.
So,they travelled from Kentucky and her daughter from Boston and we all reconvened in Virginia.
The two friends we met with in Washington were old nursing friends of mine. who live in Annecy, France.
Jay and I had spent many wonderful holidays with them as he was growing up.
To be surrounded by so many old friends made this trip of a lifetime so special for us.
One of the loveliest evenings was the first and was set up by Krista's childhood friend, Dawn.
It was a special place they used to visit as children with their grandparents, right out in the middle of no-where. Dawn and her friends had decorated the one building that stood facing the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The evening was simply and beautifully done and close friends and family came together for the first time. We chatted and ate and laughed while we watched the sun disappear behind mountain peaks.
Over the next couple of days the guys had male bonding sessions while the gals enjoyed wine tasting days and beauty sessions. With just the odd party thrown in, it was a memorable week.
Then the high spot was the wedding day itself.
By then everyone was acquainted. It was the most wonderful day that I will treasure for ever.
If you cry at weddings get out the box if Kleenex.
By the way,
great news.
They are expecting a baby in February.
great news.
They are expecting a baby in February.
Antiques and Interiors in Arundel.
Looking for antiques or interior pieces? Something interesting for your home.
Maybe a cheap and cheerful battered bargain to paint and up cycle with your own individual style.
Or a beautiful investment decorative item that you can put immediately in pride of place.
Your taste in interiors could be traditional or it might be contemporary. Possibly even bordering on the wacky. Alternatively you might just want to browse and see what catches your eye and suits your wallet.
Arundel with its diverse collection of individual shops ,warehouses and car boots, could hold the answer. Lets start with the latter. If you have never driven down to Ford airfield bleary eyed at 7.30 on a Thursday or Saturday morning you've missed a treat. The car boot starts early . Sellers queue and snooze in cars and vans from around 3am. Some come for miles as Ford Car Boot is renowned for being the best in the area. Vendors even travel from France and Holland.
You COULD saunter down later in the morning after a leisurely breakfast. But you would miss the buzz. Trade and private buyers alike, dashing to peer into the backs of unloading vans and cars. The deal often clinched before the item has even seen the light of day. You'll possibly walk back to your car clutching a real gem of a bargain. But if you haven't found that perfect item ,there are local flower and book sellers, bread stalls and coffee stands to help you cope with disappointment.
And there's always next week.
Back in Arundel itself and down Tarrant Street you will find Antiquities, Vintage Maison, Gasnier and Daughters and Nineveh House. A myriad of antique and vintage items of furniture or small collectables.
If its art you are after look no further than the Zimmer Stewart gallery or Arundel Art Room.
While you wander, do look beyond the main streets, for Arundel holds so many hidden gems.
Go inside the arcade in Tarrant Street and check out the Walking Stick Shop with its many antique canes. If you are looking for an antique picture restorer you'll find one in Tarrant Street.
In Arundel High Street , there is the Old Print Shop, Spencer Swaffer Antiques, Scandinavian Collectables, Crown Antiques, Bridge Antique Centre and Arundel Antiques Warehouse..........Phew
Maybe stop at the vintage style cafe, Lula Mae for sustenance.
Or the Tudor Rose and afterwards peruse the area in their basement displaying antique and vintage small items.
Venture over the bridge and down the little alley next to William Hill. Turn left at the end and you will find the only remaining buildings of the 19th century Arundel Swallow Brewery. Relatively untouched, the three large brewery warehouses are now home to decorative antique and interiors showrooms in the quirkiest of settings. French Loft, Harmony Trading, Arundel Eccentrics and Nass Interiors all trade from what is fast becoming a snoopers paradise.
You will need to drive to The Vinery at Poling just outside Arundel. It's one of the areas best kept antique shopping secrets and well worth investigating.The site was for many years a mushroom farm. Now the long tunnels are home to antique dealers and restorers. There is even a shipper should you want to send antiques to far flung destinations.
Most are open in the week and Saturday morning, but be aware the gates are closed Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
There are antique and interiors traders working from all manner of places. Check out the farm shop at Crossbush just up the road from Arundel and you will find as well as their free range organic meat, vintage items stacked up just outside the front door. If its antique mirrors you want, you might want to contact Clealls Antiques at Lyminster who work by appointment from their lovely home.
For details of antiques and interiors venues and their opening times go to ;
Shop Early for Christmas
Next weekend Fri Sat and Sun
we will be holding a
Shop early for Christmas event at the warehouse
and we will have loads of interesting gifts and interiors items.
Come and see us if you are in town.
We will be open 10-4
Old Brewery Antiques Warehouses
2A Fitzalan Road
Arundel
Bn18 9Js
Just behind Arundel Co-op.
Tartan Chests
Watch out for our painted tartan chests
which will be appearing very very soon.
19th century chests of drawers being
painted by a local artist and friend.
We are very excited about them.
keep an eye on the blog and I'll post pictures
as soon as possible.
have a great day
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