The New Brocante Season

Well this years brocante season has truly begun and having found myself a bit low on stock I decided that instead of having a pitch at the first few markets I would try get out and chiner a few objects.

The brocante that really marks the beginning of the season in the Poitou-Charentes area of France is held in the small village of Le Gicq and we spent a lovely sunny morning wandering from stall to stall and chatting to fellow brocanteurs.  Here are some of the interesting trucs I found that day.

Cute Europa Miniature Alarm Clock - Link to Etsy

Vintage embroidery print roller - Link to Etsy

Post War Fashion Magazines - Link to Etsy

Belle Epoque photo frame - Link to Etsy

I was so happy with my little haul that I swiftly booked for a large brocante that is held twice a year in the car park of a Hypermarket not far from us in the historic town of Saintes.  Last year I didn't book and we nearly didn't get a pitch so I was determined that the same wouldn't happen again this year.  So having booked a stretch of 5 metres on the phone I happily rode off on my Miss Marple bike with the dogs in tow to the nearest post box and sent off a cheque for 17,50€ to reserve my place.

A week of glorious sunshine passed (I even got my shorts out much to Spike's amusement) but as the market got closer and closer it became obvious the weather was not going to be kind.  With reports of winds of up to 50kph (that's about 30mph) and continual rain we decided the night before to cut our losses.

The next morning we woke up late to find the sun peeping through our bedroom window (aghhhhhhhh!) There was no rain and not a breeze in sight.  Spike went down to feed the chickens and gingerly reported back that it was very cold outside but that did little to appease me.

Over a sulky breakfast I decided that we should go along anyway and do some more buying for the stall and my Etsy shop.  Spike looked decidedly panicked as visions of me stomping around the market in a huff whilst repeating over and over the phrase "we made the wrong choice" were no doubt flashing through his mind.  

The Brocante in Saintes

We arrived at about 10.30am and as predicted it was indeed chilly.  The wind was beginning to pick up and thoughts of stock being broken and me sitting there with a big red drippy nose left me feeling very relieved that we hadn't been stuck there since 7am that morning (big sigh of relief from Spike too). 

It also seemed that we weren't the only no-shows.  The market was much smaller than last year and having spoken to a few of the stall holders it did seem that they were having a slow day in regards to sales (the lady doth protest too much, methinks!)   Well, one consolation is that I found these lovely trucs, amongst others, so the day wasn't a complete disaster after all.

Beautiful French Vintage Teapot - Link to Etsy

Art Deco Bookends - Link to Etsy

French Vintage Powder Compact - Link to Etsy

A chilly old day for the stall holders - hee hee (no that's mean... sorry!)

I must confess that I find deciding which markets to book a pitch at very hard to second guess and a brocante that is brilliant one year can often be very disappointing on another.  It's just a matter of taking the rough with the smooth so next time I mess up I shall take a moment to meditate on the very wise words below and try to regain a sense of perspective.  The steaming hot cup of coffee would probably do the trick too.

Le Style Anglais

My husband, Spike, came home from work the other day having spoken to a couple of his French colleagues (also chefs) who were completely flummoxed as to why their wives were planning to redecorate parts of their houses in le style Anglais.  

This incomprehensible revelation from their other halves prompted the same sense of disbelief they voiced when Spike ventured to suggest to them the merits of modern British cuisine! Gallic insults aside, I have always endeavoured to keep an eye on upcoming trends so that my stock can reflect them but I wouldn't have guessed a couple of years back that the forerunners of interior design in France would now be embracing Britannique Chic and filling their magazines with fabric and wallpaper from Laura Ashley and Graham and Brown.

The French take on British Chic

Since I have lived in France the French design magazines have generally favoured the elegant simplicity of white Scandinavian (Gustavian) style but my husband's sources on the ground appear to be right and at last British style is actually à la mode .

You cannot argue with article after article extolling the virtues of cosy English cottages oozing with chintzy textiles and wallpapers or at the other end of the spectrum the very masculine British club style complete with dark wood paneling, worn-in Chesterfield sofas and brown leather club chairs.

As far as the chintzy side goes there is a definite emphasis on the colour pink that I'm sure Spike's colleagues will not be at all happy about!  This pretty-pretty look is not really my truc either as I generally prefer a more eclectic and slightly industrial style but all the same I can see its appeal.

A typical article romanticising la vie Anglaise

My vintage Royal Albert tea service

So amongst my usual trucs I will be on the lookout for pretty vintage flowery crockery and anything else that conjures up 'cosy cottage style in the heart of the English countryside' (c'est bizarre n'est-ce pas?) and I just verdantly hope that my French brocante buyers are reading the same magazines as me!

A Funny Looking Van

I was looking forward to flying over to England on Friday with the intention of buying a van to replace the big blue van we sold at the end of the brocante season last year.

Unfortunately, due to a recent run-in with a deer Spike needed to replace his motorbike so that he could get to work and back without leaving me stranded in the heart of the French countryside without transport.  This essential purchase obviously took priority over buying a new van so having reluctantly cancelled my flight we went the short distance to Cognac to buy a bike we had seen advertised online.

Spike's Bike... it's a Suzuki Bandit 600 apparently!

I would by lying if I said I wasn't disappointed at having to cancel my trip especially as I was really looking forward to seeing my family as well and buying lots and lots of lovely trucs.

So being in Cognac that day and as a small consolation for missing out on my much anticipated spending spree we decided to check out a new café brocante called Le Grenier du Val that was located in a village between the towns of Cognac and Saintes.  

I was eager to do some buying for a large brocante market in Saintes that I have booked a pitch at for a weeks time and was also interested in visiting a café/brocante (lunch and antiquing - my two favourite things rolled into one!).  For some unknown reason the concept of a café/brocante is virtually unheard of in this part of France and because we are hoping to replicate the same thing in Cognac some day I was very excited at the prospect of seeing it.

Before we set off we enjoyed a a soothing chocolat chaud outside a lovely French bistrot located in the St. Jacques quarter of Cognac and then left the bike there in the Place du Solonçon for a couple of hours while we took the car off for our recky.

The oh so typically French Place du Solonçon

Me outside Le Bistrot St. Jacques with a much needed rich hot chocolate

We were blessed with a beautiful bright sunny day and arrived at the brocante in next to no time but to my profound disappointment we found it was closed.... no explanation... no apologies for a wasted trip... just not open (even though their opening hours were clearly stated on all their advertising)  Can you tell I'm a bit miffed??? So that was the end of that - no new trucs for next weeks market and even worse no lunch!  

Happily all was not lost (as far as lunch was concerned) as we needed to get back to Cognac to pick up the bike so we decided to have a pizza in an Italian restaurant called La Scala located just across the river in the old quarter of Cognac.  Some cynical person might venture to say that the restaurant was themed a tad too far (make up your own mind!!!) but having scoffed a giant forestière pizza and a yummy tiramisu all the planets fell into perfect alignment and everything was right with the world once more.  The views over the river from the terrace weren't bad either!

The Place du Solonçon from across the river

The old stone bridge crossing the River Charente

The terrace at La Scala and Hennessey Cognac warehouse in the distance

With all the recent events it seems that I will have to wait a while before going over to England to buy a van but in the meantime our old Volvo estate will do the job if I deal in smaller items and sell the few bits of furniture I have online locally.  Such are the trials of a brocanteuse but I can't complain because after the recent scare of Spike's accident I am happy to be able to say that he is still very much in one piece!!!

Looking to the Future!

Last Tuesday marked the 10th anniversary of our move to France and we wanted to do something memorable and fun.  A decade is quite a milestone and although we have on several occasions flirted with the idea of moving back to England we're still here!

There are things I miss about English life - family, friends and good old English pubs to name but a few - but as the years go by whenever I have enjoyed a visit England I'm always happy to be back on the French soil I now consider home.

In my line of work as a brocanteuse I spend much of my time looking back to the past so I thought it would be a good idea to shake things up a bit and look to the future for a change.  There is an attraction not too far from us that does just that - Futuroscope (the clue is in the name!)

The entrance to Futuroscope

Futuroscope is a high-tech amusement park that has many attractions, many of which are 3D experiences. These experiences are often educational as well as fun and although the queues are incredibly long you do learn a lot while you wait.

Les Lapins Crétins (bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!)

One of the only attractions that didn't have an educational slant was Les Lapins Crétins (The Raving Rabbids) which was completely bonkers and light relief after having learnt about the polluted oceans, collisions in the universe and the trials of a 1930s US airmail man who, having crashed over the Andes, undertook a harrowing journey to get home (Disneyland it is not!)

The 3D and in some cases 4D experiences (Arthur was 4D and probably the best attraction!) were amazing and we couldn't stop grinning as we got chucked around on moving armchairs or vibrating platforms and sprayed with water or jets of air (all perfectly synchronised with the story).  

The 'Wings of Courage' (the aforementioned airmail film) was just beautiful.  This 3D movie in the IMAX cinema style transported us back to the 1930s and I felt as though I was in the bar as elegant dancers passed before my eyes.  I particularly loved the period costume, all the vintage trucs and the glamorous interior design.

I must add a little word of warning - it's best to avoid some of the attractions straight after lunch as you do get jiggled about a lot!  For a more gentle experience we went on La Girotour which took us up 45 metres for a panoramic view of the park.  I am a little scared of heights so was a bit anxious but it wasn't too bad once I got used to it and I think it does me good to get the old adrenalin going and face some fears once in a while (within reason!)

View of the Park from La Girotour

One thing we did notice was that although many of the attractions said that they provided headphones in different languages these were not on offer.  For us this wasn't a problem as after ten years we have learnt just about enough of la langue française to understand the majority of what was being said but it would have lessened the experience if we hadn't.  I'm sure that in high season these headphones are made available so it wouldn't be an issue and from what I saw I think we were the only foreign people in the park so I could see why they didn't bother.  

One attraction that I would like to forget was 'The 8th Continent', a game where you had to shoot with a laser gun pollutants of the sea. For the first round I settled myself astride a jet-ski and began to shoot at the screen as monsters made up of rubbish that had been jettisoned into the sea. To be honest I didn't know what I was doing and having scored a sorry 50 points I was singled out as the crappiest shooter in the room and my picture was put on the big screen (of shame!).  I did make up for it on the second round as I realised that my strategy of aiming at things wasn't working and just pulled the trigger as much as I could. Annoyingly Spike was in the top 10! 

All in all it was a really fun day but very tiring and I would recommend a two day pass to get around everything and make the most of it.  I found the queueing difficult and was staggered at the patience of the children and at how well behaved they were (I started playing up towards the end and I'm 44!).  There are premium passes available where you can skip the queues but these obviously come at a cost and the daggers looks that these quietly apologetic families received may have taken the shine off a bit!

The ancient city of Poitiers just 15 minutes by car from Futuroscope 

I would definitely struggle at Futuroscope in the summer with the crowds and the heat but the attractions are so wonderful (especially The Little Prince which in my opinion was completely magical) it's well worth a visit and if you have the time the nearby ancient city of Poitiers is also a must see.