Markets in England

 I deal in collectors items in South Africa. When I visited England in June 2007 I was keen to get to as many markets as possible. It would have been a great help if people in Britain could have advised me on the best markets or boot sales to visit. Also sharing stories and experiances

of bargain hunting would be great. I have been in this business for twenty years and could write a book. Would love to hear from other bargain hunters and collectors

Hi Pam and welcome to the best site on the net!

Douglas has about hit the nail on the head, but there are plenty of boot sales (flea markets to those in the USA) where you can still pick up rubbish, sorry antiques, to sell on.

J R R Tolkien was from South Africa so how about this little gem? See http://www.picturesofengland.com/oxford/cslewistours/memorabilia/tolkienmemorabilia.html and its all mine! Probably likely to remain that way for that price, but the idea was to alert people to what I am trying to achieve here in Oxford.....an awareness of C. S. Lewis which barely exists currently!!

Hi Ron,

I was going to reply to your post but was trying to log in on my E-Mail . Forgot my user name. Nevertheless that was in May and I was about to leave for the U.K. Now after five weeks I am back and managed to login. Can you prove that grey stone fire place belonged to this Bloemfontein Guy? Looks pretty simple to me. Jokes but I have seen better ---sorry

Well with a bit more experiance after spending a month in the U.K. last year I was able with the help of internet to get to many markets and boot sales, with Englands wonderful transport system making it so much easier. (Gee can the Brits moan when a train is a few minutes late !!!!) Went to a coin fair and found really nice ones not easy to come by in South Africa.

Hi Pam:  Welcome!  I just had a quiick glance at a few of your shots.  I LOVE this one:

Picture by pam quinton

York is wonderful!  Looking forward to viewing the rest of your stuff.  Enjoy POE!

>>>Can you prove that grey stone fire place belonged to this Bloemfontein Guy?

The simple answer Pam is yes! I have a letter of authenticity from the owner of the house from where it was removed from the Master Bedroom as it was removed, and before they were going to put in on the dumpster during refurbishment. I agree, it's not the most handsome piece, but there will be many in the USA who would like to get their hands on it! It is original J R R Tolkien memorabilia and that makes it special!  

Lyn it rains in Cape Town in winter. I arrived back on 27th June and felt frozen after the humid (most of the time) London weather. Also went down with flu 4 days after arriving back. It is going to rain until Wed. South Africa's nice weather is up north. Summer is no better in this beautiful mother city of Cape Town. Being a  Peninsula the wind blows all summer. (Known as the Cape doctor.) Last summer was the worst I've known 11 days without respite--up to 40km sometimes 50. We have perfect days in March-maybe 4 or 5.If the wind doesn't blow in mid-summer ---we cook, so we can't win.

Which reminds me asking a guy in U.K. which was the best month to visit and he said "Well we have one good month but we never know which one." and that goes for Cape Town too.