pumpkinstrokemarrow

Being on one of my regular clockwise circuits of Horton Lane yesterday, happened across one of the regular car booters at the Hook Road Arena. A little late in the day, but a nice sunny day so had to give it a look. Turned out to be pleasantly crowded and with a higher than usual standard of merchandise - that is to say with more merchandise which was vaguely of interest to me. Arena itself was in good shape despite all the rain we have had recently.

There were, for once, a lot of jigsaws with the ruling price for a 500 piecer being 50p - compared with the Epsom charity shop £2.50. One round fish for FIL, one round flowers and one oblong scenic for me.

One child's book for 50p.

I looked at an interesting piece of rope, maybe an inch in diameter, twenty feet long, with a hook at one end and a shackle at the other. Useful object to have in the back garden for the amusement of passing children of a certain age but also rather heavy for a rather hot day and certainly far too expensive at £15. Did not seem likely, not being much cop at haggling, that I would get the thing down to the £5 I might have paid for it and then phoned BH to come and rescue me with the car. She would not have been pleased, it being Sunday roast day, with pudding. Cherry pudding as it happens, possibly according to the recipe for a cherry batter pudding from Limousin, aka clafoutis.

But then I came across two cheerful young ladies disposing of a heap of clothes plus some bric a brac. Nothing of interest there but they were laid out on a cloth on a folding table, one of the long thin ones, the sort of thing one might use for wallpapering although it looked a bit high grade to have been bought for the purpose. Maybe a barbie table. I was rather struck by the cloth and enquired whether it was for sale. After exchanging significant glances with the sandwich eating lady 2, lady 1 told me that it was. How much was I thinking of paying? Thought hard, peering suspiciously at it and came up with £5. Further exchange of significant glances and my offer was accepted. And yes, they could change a £20 note.

So I am now the proud possessor of a handsome bit of linen or linen like cloth, about 2.2m by 2.5m and printed with a pattern a bit like the sort of thing you might get on a rug from somewhere eastern. Or perhaps on M&S pyjamas. BH not too impressed, but at least she did not have to come to my rescue. One day I will find  use for the cloth. Maybe for a picnic? Maybe as a throw, to borrow a word from a Saturday supplement about stylish living?

This followed by Sunday roast and that followed by fluted macaroni (see July 10th) at tea time. Macaroni boiled with a few chopped stalks of celery. Dried basil, chopped garlic, chopped smoked back and chopped onion all gently fried in a little butter the meanwhile. Strain off the water and stir it all up. Very nice it was too.