Ma visite en Angleterre

After numerous cancellations I finally made the trip back England and although nursing a bit of a cold I was determined not to let that stop me from making the most of all the opportunities I had to restock my Etsy shop (which was closed while I was away) and to catch up with friends and family.

The long drive back to England in our van, Piggy, was made less arduous by the company of my Mum and Stepfather who had bravely come to stay in our less than restored house in Cognac for a week or so.

My Mum Barbara, Livi and Me (and doggies) in the Park in Cognac
before the epic journey to England

The last leg of the trip was the worst bit because not only was I tired and feeling really ill I found that having been spat out of Newhaven Ferry Port in England I could hardly see the verge of the unlit country roads at all (guess who forget to get some beam benders!) so that was a bit stressy to say the very least!

Anyway, having finally arrived I decided to start my buying bonanza by visiting an auction in Folkestone which is situated about an hour down the road from my base in Hastings.  One tricky thing aspect of this particular sale was that they had two auctions running simultaneously - one for furniture upstairs and one for petits trucs downstairs. Luckily my Mum had agreed to come with me so I had the advantage of an extra pair of eyes to keep on top of the situation.

The auction yielded mixed results as I found that the furniture was very reasonable and bought a few lovely bits for the house which I will no doubt reveal at some later date but at present are safely in storage.  However, the smaller trucs that I had earmarked for my online shop did not go so cheaply and once I had added the sale room commission and the exchange rate back into euros I think I may have made a couple of boo boos!  Only time will tell.

This lovely silver topped biscuit barrel was one
of my better buys and I can't wait to clean it up

I'm also pleased with this retro barometer and thermometer
although I paid more than I would have liked

These two super little inkwells caught my eye and I was glad to get them

The next stage of my plan was to check out the local antique and bric-a-brac stores to see if I could find some bargains but sadly the prices again were high and unlike the antique TV programmes I habitually watch they weren't really budging much on prices.  One rather sarcastic gentlemen crowed "where's the film crew?" when I asked for his best price on a couple of items - and they say the French are rude!

Back at home I have unpacked and assembled my buys in preparation for
cleaning and will assess which ones are destined for my Etsy Shop
and which ones are to be sold at a local flea market in Cognac 

I look forward to sharing with you over the coming weeks a selection of the trucs I have purchased (once I get around to sorting through them) as well as some of the interesting places I visited during my visit to Angleterre.  But in the meantime I have sledgehammer wielding husband to clear up after who is busy knocking openings in our walls to improve the layout of our house and to let in more light so I'll bid you adieu for now and get the broom!

The horrible boxing in at the bottom of the stairs is gone

and so is half our dining room wall.... don't worry it will all be wonderful
when it's done!!!

From 'Trucs' to Treasures

During the summer I visited a brocante in Cognac and bought an elegant French silver plated ladle.  The vendor informed me that it was a louche à sauce (a sauce ladle) and I happily took it home with me along with some other finds and set about cleaning it up.  

I love cleaning and researching the trucs I buy and find it incredibly satisfying when an object begins to show itself in all it's glory. This particular find not only did that but the famous French maker's mark of Gombault soon became clear.  

The clear maker's mark Gombault

Gombault was a renowned silversmith during the Belle Epoque period in France where he earned himself the nickname 'Monsieur Absinthe' because he specialised in making drinking paraphernalia for the rituals associated with the notorious drink, Absinthe. 

Beautifully crafted and in super condition

Art Nouveau (Belle Epoque) advertising poster

Absinthe, coined 'The Green Fairy' was later banned in its original form because it was considered not only to be dangerous to the health because of it's sheer alcoholic strength but also to possess hallucinogenic properties.

This stunning poster on the left belies the darker side of the drink but is undeniably a fabulous example of the creative style of the time conjuring up images of the famous Moulin Rouge and bringing to mind the decadence and bohemian artistry of the era.

Being a bit of a history buff I always like to thoroughly research my trucs and I enjoy passing on as much knowledge as I can to my customers in the hope of transforming an often simple inanimate object into something of a treasure.

Researching my trucs can be not only  frustrating but also very time consuming and in this case I was getting very tired of trawling endlessly on the internet and was just about to pack it in when I got incredibly lucky and stumbled across two very interesting things.

The first find was a copy of a couple of pages from Gombault's catalogue showing the very same ladle which as it turned out was not a sauce ladle at all but (to my slightly absurd overexcited delight... shrill squeal!) a punch ladle (cuiller à punch) along with its accompanying original price list (I wonder if they made punch from Absinthe at the time or would that have been considered to be sacrilegious?!!)

There it is at the top of the page the second from the left

Listed by the number 505 and priced at 7 francs

The other interesting thing I came across was an article by the British newspaper 'The Express' that claimed that experts have uncovered the forgotten secrets of the original absinthe recipe and that they were bringing it back.

Well I don't know about you but if it's true and the original Absinthe is back I will have to give it a try otherwise I will feel I have not satisfactorily completed my research and that would never do!!