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Ardingly Antiques Fair and its many interesting characters, Synchronicity & a charity dance for a friend

Good Morning
from
Arundel Eccentrics

Ardingly Antiques Fair

I spent the day at Ardingly yesterday.
It was  beautiful weather.

The sun shone. Everyone smiled. I decided to enjoy it, and stay all day.
Not just buy then dash home to pick up the paintbrush. 

The car parks were filled to bursting.
There were more people stalling out than normal.

I bought and wandered around with my old trolley overflowing.
Nass hates coming with me when I drag the rusty object behind me.
Says it's like an old ladies trolley. Ha Ha.

I caught up with friends who are stall holders.
Ran into people I hadn't seen for ages.




It's not all 100 years old.














If you are looking for pieces for your home it's a brilliant place to buy.
You will find many of the prices good
Sometimes though, if you are looking for items for a business, shop or whatever.
They are not always quite so, lets say, agreeable. LOL


Business is tough though hey?
Whatever line you are in.

Some of the stallholders have travelled a distance.
They have the cost of the stand, travel, fuel and ferries, staying, etc.
One man from Holland said it cost him £2000 to be there, all told.

That was after I tried to negotiate a better price.
He wasn't exactly ranting, but I shut up and paid the asking price. LOL






You see some interesting characters, both buyers and sellers.




As well as film crews working on antique programmes
 you sometimes
see fashion photo shoots.







Connections, Co-incidences and Synchronicity 


Don't you love those odd moments in life?
Those uncanny times when you find you know someone, who knows someone.
Or you're half way up an isolated mountain in the back of beyond, 
and you run into your best friend's mother.

A few years ago Nass and I went to Turkey.
We were meeting someone in Istanbul.
It's too long a story as to why, but one worth telling some day.
Suffice it to say it was an important meeting.
His mother, whom he hadn't seen for over 20 years.

We got a cheap package to Bodrum and stayed in the
most beautiful place called Gumusluk for a few days.
It's a bit more built up these days, but was like heaven then.

We  weren't due to go to Istanbul for another two days, when
Nass woke one morning and quietly said

" She's here"
" How do you know?"
" I just do"

We phoned Nass's family.
Yes, as soon as his mother knew he would be in Turkey she was off.
We contacted the travel rep in Istanbul.
They would try and collect her off the bus.
But they couldn't guarantee it.

We travelled on an overnight coach to Istanbul. 
As we pulled into Topkapi bus station the size of it took my breathe away.
If the travel rep hadn't found her and she was here in this massive bus station
we would never find her ourselves. 

We decided to go to the hotel.
" Did a woman come in with her son last night?"
"No"
We went down to the cellar restaurant  for coffee and to regroup.
When we returned to the hotel foyer an hour later, the shift had changed.
The receptionist had been on duty the night before.
We repeated the question.
"Yes, Yes, late last night."

Turns out the rep had located the bus stop from her destination.
At mid night.
It was just two streets away from the hotel.
The receptionist  phoned the room and we heard his mothers voice.

She was sobbing with joy.
What a re-union.

The next morning, we met at breakfast.
As we were settling ourselves down at the table, I whispered to Nass
"That's Andy Waite's brother over there."
" Brennie, you think you see people you know all over the place.
" No, really its him. Look, there's his wife"

My next door neighbour at that time was the wonderful Arundel artist Andy Waite.

Yep, there in the middle of Istanbul, 
in the basement of the quirkiest hotel.......


The other night I had a FB message from a friend who lives in Massachusetts.
Lets call he Mimi.
I've known her all her life.
She was a babe in arms at my first wedding.
Her mother is one of my oldest and dearest buddies.

They had lived in Arundel for many years when her  mum started work at 
the New England College that was on the Ford Road.

It had previously been a girls school and now very smart private apartments.

Anyway, there she met the most delightful US college professor,
who was just about to return to the States.
(Don't tell him I said he was delightful)

A few days either way and she would have missed him.

The rest as they say, is history.
Like something out of a Hollywood film
They fell in love and married.
Went to the US to live, but still have their cottage in the town. 
They return to Arundel whenever they can. 
It draws you, you see.
Never quite escape it's spell.

Mimi went into one of her favourite local stores in Massachusetts the other day.
Got chatting to the woman who owns it.
Turns out, some while back this lady  had been in to a store and seen my work.
She was interested so found the blog.

Loves antiques and the look of Arundel.

It's not like I have a million readers.
Out of the whole of the US, Mimi ran into one of our regulars. LOL

Today


The sun is shining.
Spring is arriving.
I had a wander around the garden early this morning.





old rusty chandeliers hanging from the apple tree.




Next doors boat poised for action later today.
It's the Easter holidays and they all go out as a family.
The kids love it of course.







This is our view at the front of the house.
A few years ago, they were trying to build the doctors surgery in the far left corner.

The neighbours all got together to fight the plans.
It wasn't the surgery everyone had issue with,
it was all the housing they were going to squeeze on the land afterwards.

We won.
As you can see.
What a beautiful view .

Dance


Nass is raising money for a local friend with MS and who needs a new wheelchair.
It's on July 19th and tickets will be on sale soon.
£15 to include a light supper.

We have booked the Arundel Football Club
and the wonderful three piece band Vintage.

We first heard them at both Coolham and Ashington






I'm just so relieved he is not going to attempt anything madder than that.
When he was first diagnosed with MS...he signed up for the Brighton Marathon.
Raised money for the local childrens hospice
The Chestnut Tree.
Marathon
Last year he took it in his head to do the London to Brighton Bike Ride.
Crikey he didn't even have a bike until two weeks before the event.
Hadn't ridden a bike much before.
Raised loads of money for The Brain Tumour Charity.
http://arundelgal.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/marrakesh-london-to-brighton-bike-and.html


Bamboo


 Much as Id love to sit here all day.
I must press on with the bamboo pieces that are staring at me.


Have a wonderful day










  
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