My Imaginary Second Family (or Random Photos)

When you buy as much second-hand tat as I do, you tend to accumulate some interesting bits and bobs along the way.

I now have a pile of other people's family photos (in an envelope marked as such, to avoid confusion in case my descendants ever want to do some family history).

They make me feel kind of happy-sad - happy to have a glimpse into the past, but sad that they have strayed from their "proper" family.  Out of respect to the black and white and sepia strangers of my imaginary second family, I am unable to throw away these found photos.

I thought you might like to have a look at some of my favourites

"Too fast - Wanna get off" - thank goodness Alton Towers had yet to be invented

Remember the days before digital?  You could use a whole reel of film trying to get everyone smiling at once.
No such wasteage here!
I absolutely love the lines of that playground horse.  Wonder if it was made by "Wicksteed of Kettering"?

I am lusting after the curtains in this Skegness pub

I bet the kids were outside with a bottle of pop and a bag of crisps.  Still, at least the parents would have known where they were - unlike the Camerons.

 

Triang Toy Shop - top pressie!

Charity Shopping in Derby

I often visit Derby for a thrifting away-day, and today I decided to take a few photos, which seem to have become a bit of a charity-shoppers' guide to Derby.

I concentrated mainly on the bric-a-brac sections as they are the first place I look and they make the most interesting photos. 

Click on map to enlarge

PDSA

1 - PDSA, Albert Street

Small vintage section (pictured left). 

Large-ish bric-a-brac shelf, mid/high price range.

2- Scope, Albert Street
Right next door to PDSA, mostly modern stuff, mid-range prices.
Nothing worth photographing today.

3 - Cancer Research, Albert Street

There are two Cancer Research shops in the city centre, and this is by far the best.

Large bric-a-brac section (pictured right and below), prices range from very reasonable to quite high.

I have bought some lovely stuff here in previous visits, including the Melitta Stockholm coffee set.

I've also been lucky here with household linens.

Cancer Research

Lighthouse

4 - Lighthouse Charity Shop,

Albert Street

Large bric-a-brac section, some good stuff, excellent prices.

Some large furniture, mostly Argos-style, with occasional outbreaks of mid-century.

BHF

5 - British Heart Foundation, Corn Market

Fairly standard BHF shop, small bric-a-brac section, mostly modern stuff, prices not too bad.

Loads of books, mid/high priced clothes, shoes and handbags.

Probably time for a coffee break by now - Caffe Nero (marked "A" on map) is opposite BHF.

Padley

6 - Padley Shop, Sadler Gate

Small shop with a selection of clothes, books and bric-a-brac.

Normally very reasonable on prices, I have no idea what they were thinking when they priced this carafe set at £25.

My favourite buy from here was the Hornsea salt and pepper pots in this post.

Mad Hares

Mad Hares - Sadler Gate

Not a charity shop, but Sadler Gate has a variety of lovely individual home/gift shops and this one (marked "B" on the map) is worth a mention.

It's only been open for a few weeks, but it's well-stocked with some very reasonably-priced small gifts and some gorgeous expensive, luxury stuff, too.

There is a cafe space at the rear of the shop, which will be up and running soon - 

it's beautifully arranged, with nice music and friendly staff, and promises to be a good coffee-stop.

A little further down Sadler Gate, to the left, is the gorgeous but sadly neglected Strand Arcade.

Cut through here to The Strand, and at the other end is this gem -

Ink & Thread

Ink & Thread - The Strand

Again, not a charity shop, but impossible to leave out.

Beautiful things, displayed perfectly and lovely friendly staff.

Have a look at their website .

Ink & Thread

Across the road from Ink & Thread is Derby Library, Museum and Art Gallery, which is well worth a visit.

To the left of the library is a little cut-through which will take you to The Wardwick

Cats Protection League

7 - Cats Protection League, The Wardwick

Mid-range prices, medium-sized bric-a-brac section, predictably lots of cat-related stuff.

Oxfam

8 - Oxfam, St Peters Street

Fairly typical Oxfam shop, prices on the high side, disappointingly even for damaged goods.

Small bric-a-brac section, lots of books and clothes.

If it wasn't coffee time earlier, it most definitely is now.

For a decent, non-chain coffee, pop into the shopping centre to the left and you'll find Caruso Coffee Shop, marked "D" on the map.

Shelter

9 - Shelter, St Peters Street

Generally reasonable prices, with occasionally incomprehensively high ones.

Medium-sized bric-a-brac section, lots of clothes including new (high-priced) M&S seconds.

Shelter

 10 - Cancer Research, Babington Lane

The second Cancer Research shop, mostly modern stuff, but reasonably priced and worth a look. 

Barnardos

Barnardos

11- Barnardos, Babington Lane

Large shop - mostly clothes, but has a small vintage section and a small modern bric-a-brac section.

Reasonably-priced stuff.

12 - Save The Children

Medium-sized shop, decent prices, fairly grotty bric-a-brac section but worth a look.  Nothing worth photographing today.

Derby City Mission

Derby City Mission

13 - Derby City Mission Shop, The Spot, Osmaston Road

A nice, traditional (slightly scruffy) charity shop, fairly small, very good prices. 

Would you believe I did a 13-charity-shop circuit, and only spent 99p!

(On that vintage rose tablecloth just above, which will be featuring in a blog giveaway very soon).

I'm joining in with

and

but

I'm too late for the

but if you haven't already, do go over and have a look

House porn

I was looking forward to the new Channel 4 series "The House the 50s built" last night, and it was interesting viewing.

The first episode concentrated on the kitchen (not my favourite room), so now that's out of the way I am eagerly anticipating some lovely furniture porn in the living and dining rooms in future episodes.

One thing that slightly freaked me out was learning that formica and melamine contain formaldehyde - I'm hoping that any toxic evilness has leaked out of my vintage stuff years ago.

Here are some vintage Formica tables from my private table-porn collection. 

Guaranteed non-toxic for safe internet viewing.

The joy of imperfection

I've mentioned this in passing before, but this Hornsea vase reminded me of the strange happiness found in the not-quite-perfect thrift find. 

The glaze is slightly "crazed", meaning it should not be used to hold water but is fine just sitting there being pretty.  Most importantly, it frees me from the need to check prices on ebay and feel that I should sell it on.

I can keep it and enjoy it myself!

I have found that items in thrift shops fall into one of three categories :

- Good enough to sell, even if I really want to keep it

- A bit manky - mine, all mine!

- Lovely item, but way too damaged to buy, I recently had to leave behind a badly crazed Stavangerflint casserole and serving dish, and another Hornsea vase.

Thrifted Recently

I'm back.

No excuses, let's just say I'm a bad blogger and I will try harder in future.

So - here's a little bit of what I've thrifted lately

One of the bargains of the year so far is this 30-piece set of Old Hall Alveston cutlery by Robert Welch. 

This is a true classic, winning a Design Centre Award in 1965. Coincidentally it is featured in the current (July) edition of Elle Decoration. 

I found this set bagged up in a charity shop for £2. On the same shelf was a set of Ikea cutlery for £3.

This little bird is a bit of a mystery, and I would welcome any suggestions as to the manufacturer.

It does have a maker's stamp on the bottom, but my camera is not very good at close-ups.

I'm also unsure what the holes are for, if anything.

 Any ideas? 

Another Bernard Buffet-style item, this time a small metal tray. £1 from the usually over-priced "Vintage" section of a local charity shop. 

This is the first Whitefriars I have ever found in a charity shop. 

It has a couple of tiny chips around the inner rim, but due to the way the light glows through the glass you have to look really closely to notice them. 

It doesn't match anything in my house so I'm not sure what to do with it, but I couldn't leave it in the shop for £2.

 Linking to