And then I went out…

Well, having stated in my post yesterday that I seldom go out, I decided to go out today. 🙂

There was a fairly large Antiques fair at Lingfield Racecourse today, so I decided to go. It doesn’t actually take me *that* long to apply basic makeup, once I overcome the apathy, so I got myself together and headed out the door.

Google Navigation said to expect a delay of around 13 mins on the M3, but by the time I joined the M3 it was much worse and pretty much at a standstill. By the time I got near J4 it was becoming pretty plain that it was only going to get worse, so I aborted and came off the motorway and headed back up the A30 to go to a small fair at Hartley Wintney run by Dyson Fairs instead.

I found a lovely 925 silver ring there for £5 which fitted my little finger perfectly and I just had to buy.

I decided that I wasn’t ready to go home yet, and that Hungerford was only 45 mins away, so decided to head on over to there.

It was an uneventful drive, and I arrived at Hungerford on schedule and parked up at the on-street parking near the canal bridge.

I took a nice picture of the canal and boats, and then walked up the High Street.

First port of call was The Hungerford Arcade.

I saw some absolutely gorgeous ceramic butterflies on flowers. They had no age to them (they’re marked “© FP 85” so could be as old as 1985), and were made in Taiwan. They were very delicate and beautifully decorated. I did a double take on the price, and had to rub my eyes, because they were £2.50 each!

A little research, along with that Post-It Note, suggests that they are indeed Franklin Mint and could be worth around 5x-10x that.

I set aside four of them at the front desk, and continued browsing, finding two books in the Sin City series by Frank Miller at a reasonable price and in excellent condition, which I also set aside.

There was an absolutely stunning Chinese apothecary chest, and I talked to the vendor about it. He’d only just bought it, and thought it was possibly the best thing he had ever bought and said that if he had the space for it he’d keep it for himself. I agreed – it was amazing. However, at £1,950 (before discount – he said the price was negotiable), it was too rich for my purse.

I then grabbed some lunch in the Rafter’s Cafe.

After paying for my items, I decided to walk back to the car to drop off my purchases, and then move the car up closer since it turns out that the Pay & Display parking is free on a Sunday.

Next visit was Below Stairs and I was able to say hello to Stewart Hofgartner (he’s been on telly you know), and I also visited The Emporium

Inside The Emporium was an absolutely stunning Art Nouveau mirror by WMF, circa 1900. Sadly, at £2,750, it was just a little bit out of my price range. LOL

Likewise a gorgeous Art Nouveau decanter also by WMF at £750

I needed the loo, so popped back into The Hungerford Arcade, and after that decided to buy another of those butterflies. To be honest, I should have bought all of them given how cheap they were. But I didn’t want to be greedy.

My feet were pretty sore by now, so I decided to hit the road.

On the way back, I called into Eversley Barn Antiques, since it was literally on the way home, and had a nice natter with the owner Hilary (she’s been on telly too!) who is one of the most lovely ladies I know, and looks amazing for her age. If I can look as good as her when I am her age, then I will be over the moon.

Then it was home, and the relief of taking off my shoes and the disorientation of suddenly finding myself shorter. I still can’t get over that odd feeling!

When I got home I took a photo of the butterflies that I had chosen.

It was a nice day, and really underlines the fact that if I can just overcome my apathy about going out, then it is worth doing!