Bamboo Tables, Slimming World & Beautiful Arundel Walks.
Good Morning
from
Arundel Eccentrics
We had a few days off for Christmas
but are now swinging back into action.
Here are some of our latest items of bamboo.
Now.....you may think, its just a tatty
old table lying there in grannies shed
or down at the car boot sale.
You may think its from China, and it's new.
Or maybe, that its old, but also from the orient.
It's a fascinating story and that bamboo table has
been around a lot longer than you have.
Well....unless you happen to be about 150 years old, that is.
The furniture was made circa 1860,
in one of the many of the factories
in places such as London or Birmingham.
Anywhere in England where there was a port.
There were around 250 factories producing the pieces.
Its a great story and there are a few sites
on line where you can check it out.
Gary Sharpe now lives in
Edmonton Canada,
though, for 20 years,
used to be an antique dealer in the UK.
His site is full of interesting, interiors information,
and his knowledge on
English Victorian Bamboo
is extensive.
Worth checking out...ha ha, and no, he's not paying me
So, what do we do?
We source the bamboo that often looks like this.
Many far worse.
And although in the right place one might
be happy enough to have the original in this state ,
it's not what you'd call stylish. N'est pas?
You could just replace the rattan with new.
That works well and is fine if you want it to look authentic
but its not original then anyway.
We prefer to take things that bit further.
These little tables and other bamboo pieces
have been around since about 1860,
and we like to give them the respect they deserve.
We like to dress 'em up a bit.
Clean and sturdy them.
Polish the bamboo.
This brings it immediately back to life.
When we take all the old rattan off we sometimes find the dreaded woodworm.
So we treat that.
Then re-board them, to give a good flat surface for decorating.
Paint and decorate with decoupage using only 19th century images.
Look at the beautiful colour of the bamboo on this table.
You don't often find them with all four flaps intact.
Over the years our bamboo has appeared in Liberty in London
and several national and international magazines.
We don't just work on tables.
We upcycle bamboo bookcases, cabinets, chests of drawers, wardrobes................
We decorated this piece specifically for Homes and Gardens piece on Havana.
This was one in Antiques Trade Gazette as long ago as 1999
This lions and leopards was another we did for House and Garden Magazine
So.....we take them from
to this......
Ready for the next 150 years........
By the way, we don't only deal in bamboo....
Nass and I have a large showroom/warehouse
in Arundel, West Sussex,in England.
We welcome trade buyers at any time
and are open to the public
Fri Sat Sun 10-4
Here are a few of the other items we have at the moment,
If you want to see more our latest pieces...go to
The Hoarde
Because we are so busy working on the bamboo furniture
I'm sorry to say the website gets a little neglected.
Small businesses have to do the lot hey?
Just not enough hours.
So.... most of our recent items can be found on the Hoarde.
Here's our website
www.arundeleccentrics.com
Slimming World
In the summer I decided
"Enough is enough."
I had begun putting on weight a few years back.
Full time nights for 7 years at a residential home for
"Adolescents with Challenging Behaviour"
We were building up the business, so I was painting by day,
working by night.
The job itself was extremely stressful,
as a result I was drinking
a little more Pinot on my nights
off, than my waistline was happy with.
Eating at times..... all over the place.
Dinners at 2am.
Breakfast at 6pm.
The pounds kept creeping on even after I finished the nights.
I would ask Nass
" Does this make me look fat?"
Every time we went out and I was searching for something to wear.
He says now, what could he reply?
Either way he was doomed.LOL
I went to Bordeaux in France in the summer to see friends.
The thought of the swimming pool made me feel quite sick.
Yes, I did look fat and yes it did make me miserable.
We walked every day....it got me back into the routine of walking regularly.
Ha ha we still have fun, after all these years......
When I came home, thank goodness, I found Slimming World had started in Arundel.
That was the most wonderful day.
I came home from that first meeting full of optimism.
Skipped home like a light weight. Ha Ha
There were people who had lost three stone in a matter of months.
The group are supportive.
The leader great.
The food fantastic the regime easy to follow.
I started my walking again that very day.
And although I've had the odd little hiccup,
I've lost nearly 2 stone.
Some of my precious well-loved clothes
I thought were destined for the charity shop.
Sorry charity store, not any more as they now fit me. Yihaaaay
Anyway, here's the pictures of my walks over the
weekend up through the park in Arundel
and right over the top looking
down towards Amberley and South Stoke.
Almost 7 miles each day.
Ha Ha now I actually deserve that glass of pinot!
and here are the Slimming World Links
http://www.slimmingworld.com/
(and no,they aren't paying me a fee. Ha Ha)
Arundel group details.
Do come along...
http://www.arundel.org.uk/details/slimming-world
Look at that amazing light down over Amberley
the skies a little threatening at times....
Sunday dawned bright, sunny, cold.......
Have a great day
