Tuesday 28 June 2011

Twitty bits of Tat

There is much consternation in the J and P household.  Mr J and P is threatening to launch a rival blog solely devoted to complaining about the "twitty bits of tat" (try saying that after a few drinks) that he claims are taking over the house.   Classic attention-seeking behaviour, if you ask me.

Let's ignore the poor deluded fool and instead have a look at what I've been buying recently.

Some weeks ago now, I went to what was advertised as a "humble jumble" in Westcliffe on Sea in Essex.  A bit of a way to go (50 mins on the train) but you know what I'm like - dedicated to jumbling and chazzing above and beyond the call of duty.  Plus, did I mention the 8 charity shops in Westcliffe plus 8 more in neighbouring Leigh on Sea?  Huzzah!  What could be more perfect?  Little Miss J and P was very patient with me (for a bit), however, we did have to cut the shopping short as the beach and ice-cream were calling.

The humble jumble had the usually jumbley things.  Tea and cakes were served on vintage crockery and there was a band dressed in vintage garb and playing classics from the 40s and 50s.  Sorry, folks, no pics, I was far too busy scouring the place for bargains. 

A Kate Sheridan bag.  Never heard of that make but had a look at the website and the bags were quite pricey, so was very pleased with this large tote with its grasshoppers design for 20p:




Little Miss J and P is delighted with her Tumtum bag which is now her new school bag.  20p.



At the charity shops I bought this silk tie for Mr J and P.  50p.



It's always great when you see something in a charity shop that you have genuinely always wanted.  I've been after a sun catcher for aaages and look what I found for 75p:


There's a little crack in one of the panes of glass but for 75p - who cares?  Not I that's for sure.

A pack of vintage playing cards.  Loving the roses.  50p.


I very nearly jumped for joy when I spotted this peeping out of a 10p basket outside a charity shop.


Oooh, what can it be.......





OMG, yes, it's a TG Green (Judith Onions backstamped) gold and white Cornishware salt pot.  Eeeek!


Little Miss J and P had to restrain me from doing a happy dance  when I poked about further and discovered its little friend, the pepper pot:


10p each!

What I like about this set (apart from them being 10p each) is that they are gorgeously chunky, measuring 13 cm high - that's a fair few inches I can tell you.

Look, here's the salt pot being clutched by my eager little mitt just so that you can get an idea of the size:


And here they are again next to my Gaydon melamine salt pot:


Oh and did I mention they were 10p each?

On a different note, I recently saw these in my local charity shop:



Not the prettiest of sheep in my opinion, but did you notice the price?

Yes, that's 99 of your good POUNDS for the pair.  Yikes!

I did enquire within and was told that they were late Victorian and had been valued by an auctioneer at between £100 and £120.  So, it just goes to show (Mr J and P, I'm talking to you) that "twitty bits of tat" can be real nuggets of treasure.

One final note, we're camping, yet again, on Saturday.  This time sans children and at a festival.  Yay, we're off to the Hop Farm Festival.  Very excited about Morrissey and rather over-excited about Iggy and the Stooges.  There'll be lots of gratuitous happy dancing I can tell you...





TTFN.

As per, I'm late in playing along with:

Apronthrift Girl

Her Library Adventures

Magpie Monday

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Awash in more ways than one

Despite the voice of doom and gloom (me) reminding Mr J and P and our friends (repeatedly) that the weather forecast for last weekend was "persistent rain" and "strenghtening winds", the mad fools the brave little soldiers that we are went camping.

We went to Barham, south of Canterbury, Kent.  Friday was a complete wash out.  We arrived at about 7 pm and managed to put up the tent in the torrential downpour without too much swearing and bickering.  Bedrooms were fine, the living quarters, however, were just one big puddle, but luckily there was a wooden shelter on the camp site which had tables and chairs and which we comandeered for the whole weekend.  Our friends arrived at 10 pm (it was raining a bit by then but was pitch black) and took an hour and a half to put up a tent which normally takes them about 20 mins).  Needless to say, we were all a little wet and miserable that night (well, I was, for sure).


Not a pretty sight.....

Saturday was showery.  However, when you've survived putting up a tent in bucketing rain and survived a sleepless night with a tantrumming child, heavy showers?  Pah!

Visited Broadstairs on the coast where there were lots of quaintly dressed people:



That was because it was the start of the annual Dickens Festival.  Hoorah!  There was a parade with people dressed up as Dickens' characters:


No, I don't know who any of these characters are meant to be either...


There were even bric- a- brac stalls.  Didn't buy a thing from the stalls but I did buy a little something from a charity shop which I will post about another time (you know how I like to tantalise you with my purchases!).

A fascinating (er hem) fact.  Did you know that the phrase "What the Dickens...." orginates, not from Charles, but from the 16th century when it was a euphemism for "the devil"?  

Anyway, enough of our camping capers and my fascinating facts, take a look at what else I've been awash with (in a good way) thanks to some of you lovely bloggers.

First off, Lisa from Kandipandi's Pad kindly sent me this folksy teatowel which is so lovely that I can't decide whether to use it as a tea towel or fashion it into something else.



Kylie from Lucy Violet Vintage was so horrified when I told her that some clumsy oaf accidentally set fire to my favourite tea towel by placing it too close to a lit gas ring that she sent me, not a tea towel to cheer me up, dear readers, but TWO stunning groovy tablecloths to drool over.

The very sad and sorry state of  my favourite tea towel

Hoorah for Kylie:



Clever Lakota from Faith, Hope and Charity Shopping sent me this fabulous ring that she made all by herself.  Love it.  Lots.


I've won two giveaways recently.  Firstly, from Annie the Felt Fairy, get a load of this bunch of lovely stuff.

Don't you worry, I'll be showing you my stitching efforts in a future post.

Wowser, look at the Spode set of goodies that I won from Sarah at Modern Country Style.  Aren't I the luckiest blogger ever?

Measuring jug

Pudding bowl

Serving dish - only mine will be in red


I haven't yet received these goodies, but I'm so excited that I had to show them off to you all.  Best thing is that they match my red polka dot jug, mugs and door mat.  I've never been so matchy matchy!




Gluttons for punishment that we are, we're off camping this weekend too.  Your very best positive thoughts involving sun, heat and warmth, dear readers, would be very much appreciated...

Thursday 16 June 2011

Born to be Wild

I was delighted to received the imaginatively spelled Kreativ Blogger award from lovely Scarlett from Scarlett loves Elvis.


And then not one but two awards from gorgeous Lakota from Faith, Hope and Charity Shopping:




Thank you guys, love you both!

1.  I work with Florence Welch's mum (Florence as in Florence and the Machine)!

2.  We have a family song!  Yes, when I heard that neighbours of a friend of mine had a "family song"  (namely "American Pie" by Don Mclean), I thought we ought to have one too.  It is "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf.  Not only did we all sing it once, en famile, at a karoke session at a friend's house (yes, Little Miss J and P is a fan!) but also, it's a personal favourite of Mr J and P and myself.  It reminds us both of the time when we were in Thailand, many moons ago, and we hired a moped for a few days.  Unfortunately, Mr J and P couldn't quite master the workings of the moped and we used to ride along the main roads at a heady 20 miles an hour, with our ridiculous peaked helmets (no-one wore helmets in Thailand as far as we could see) singing:                                        

 "Get your motor running,
   Head out on the highway,
   Looking for adventure
   And whatever comes our way".

Here we are in all our helmeted glory:



3.  I went to university with Eddie Izzard, cross-dressing comedian extraordinaire:



OK, I admit it, he wasn't a friend of mine but a friend of a friend but that's good enough for me.  And, no, I don't remember seeing him in any girlie frocks.

4.  A friend and I were once thrown out of a convent where we were staying in Munich, Germany, after a visit to the local brewery!  Oops!

5.  I've had a couple of near-death experiences in my time and one of those was when another friend and myself were nearly run over by a tram in Amsterdam.  Mr J and P says it was a case of a coffee shop too far.  I say we were simply looking the wrong way!

6.  I was once mistaken for Sue Perkins (British comedienne) in my local Sainsburys. 



I happened to be battling with a tantrumming two year old Little Miss J and P at the time which made it all the more embarassing and I thought the woman who was staring at me was going to comment on my dreadful parenting skills.  Hell no!  She was Sue Perkins' number one fan and thought I was she! 

7.  My friends and I like to pretend we are characters from Upstairs Downstairs (the original series).  One friend is Mr Hudson, the butler,  another is Mrs Bridges, the cook, and I'm Ruby, the scullery maid!

As you can see, Ruby rocks...

Now to pass on the awards (always so hard to choose):

Sunshine Award to:

Elizabeth at Making Good Use

Ofelia at My Intended Life

Emma at Sylvie's Garden

One Lovely Blog Award to:

Becky at Hazel and Blue

Justine at EmmaBearForEver

Sarah at Modern Country Style

Kreativ Blogger Award to:

Sarah at The Blueberry Patch

Lisa at Kandipandi's Pad

TTFN.  xx

Wednesday 8 June 2011

It's not all about charity shopping....

Normally, my quest for charity shops knows no bounds.  However, even I was heard to utter the words "It's not all about charity shopping, you know" while holidaying in Cornwall recently.

Yes, dear readers, no charity shopping for us.  Instead we rode the waves (when I say "we", I'm not referring to my good self here), crocheted on the beach (yup, that was me), walked the coastal paths and looked out for the highest point on Bodmin Moor, namely, Brown Willy (much to Little Miss J and P's amusement).

Just a few random pics for your delectation.

I quite like a mooch around a graveyard.  This spooky pic of a Celtic cross was taken at Tintagel Church.  Note the swirling mist.  The weather was not at its best during the first few days there.


This is also at Tingtagel Church.  It's the grave of Domenico Cantanese, a 14 year old cabin boy who died when the Italian ship, Iota, sank at nearby Bossiney in 1893.


Bodmin Moor was full of interesting sites such as stone circles galore:


Not the best photo, I know, but there are 2 sets of stone circles here.

The Cheesewring on Bodmin Moor which is a rocky outcrop of granite slabs formed by weathering:



Little Miss J and P body boarding:


Why do people feel compelled to wear my lovingly crafted coffee pot cosy on their heads?


On Sunday, t'was my birthday and just look at the lovely presents from Little Miss and Mr J and P, starting with this cute little sailing boat which puts me in mind of my vintage nautical towel featured here:

Why this picture is the wrong way round, I know not.

Loving the stripey "driftwood"/"beach hut" thing going on with this photo frame:


A boxed set of Father Ted DVDs.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Father Ted, it's an hilarious comedy about 3 Catholic priests who live on an island off the coast of Ireland.

This is Father Jack, a badly behaved priest who's famed for shouting random words such as "Girls", "Feck", "Arse" and "Drink":


This is Mr J and P who does a scarily good impression of Father Jack as you can see:

Believe me, dear readers, Mr J and P is far better looking in real life!

Anyway, Mr J and P is definitely in my good books at the moment because look what the kind, generous soul got me for my birthday.  Yes, it's the mother of all crocheted granny blankets:


It is made entirely of wool (not your cheap acryllic, if you please) and is ginormous.


Here are some of my favourite squares:







Mr J and P is muttering that this is well and truly granny blanket overkill.  I think he might be right (for once).

I'll love you and leave you.  Byeeeee xxx.


P.S. Check out Sarah's fabulous giveaway over at ModernCountryStyle.  It's a good'un.  So good, in fact, that I was very tempted to keep news of  it all to myself with the hope that I might stand a better chance of winning!