Other May and June Car Boot Finds

Apart from the £5 wasted  on the card making stuff, car boot sale finds  have been useful or interesting  and mentioned already but several times I've come home with nothing except knowing I've had a bit of early morning exercise!

There are just a few find photos that got left on the camera............

£1 for two pairs of ladies gardening gloves - Xmas presents for sister and sister in law to add to the hampers.

4 Plastic Sundae glasses were 50p each. 

The grandchildren have had "ice cream sundaes" from ice cream sellers that are just ice cream and a sauce. "That's not  a  sundae" I said, "One day I'll make you a proper ice cream sundae" . So now I can.  ( Except  when all 5 are here at once!)

Pack of razors 50p - I used to have an Electric Lady-Shave but it's recently died - it was only 25 years old! I need a new one.

A new pack of 20 notecards with The Edwardian Lady paintings were £1, from house clearance people again. They will probably be a Christmas present

Almost full pack of sponge scourers 50p.

That's about it.

Back Tomorrow

Library Van Cancelled

 I was hoping to pick up at least 7 books from the mobile library today but Rachel rang yesterday to say the van was off the road and wouldn't be round. She's put my reservations ready to go on the delivery van to Stowmarket Library where I'll pick them up next week.

I'd already run out of library books so had been reading from my shelves anyway - and had already finished this very old (1947) small book that had been on my shelves a while - but where from and why?

I answered the first question by looking at my accounts on Amazon and Abebooks and found I'd bought it from the latter last August. But Why? and How did I know or find out about it? Because it isn't even listed in Josephine Bell's list of publications on Fantastic Fiction.

Josephine Bell was a well known author of crime fiction from the 1930's to the 1970s and BLCC reprinted one of her books in 2020 but that doesn't explain how I knew about this book in 2025... it isn't even one of her crime fiction.

After a bit of googling I came across a mention of it on Scott's Furrowed Middlebrow blog  (much missed since he moved to Portugal) about his favourite books of 2024

This is part of what he said then..............

This is the first of Bell's non-mysteries I've read and I enjoyed it tremendously. Tracing the fictional mid-sized town of Haverington through the war, beginning to end, it offers a fascinating glimpse, á la Winifred Holtby's South Riding, of the practical logistics of wartime—accommodation of refugees, rationing, bombs, and all. Its flaw for me, probably introduced by a publisher who felt the logistics themselves wouldn't sell books, is a melodramatic romance element that's rather drab, but it's nevertheless a fascinating read.

That must be where I found out about it.

I enjoyed it too as the details about village life through the war and the machinations of the women in the WRVS is interesting. The in-fighting and back biting reminded me of the much more well known book 'Nella Last's War, The Diaries of Housewife 49'.

Now to pick another from my shelves to read....................

Thank you everyone for comments yesterday on the Art Exhibition. There were over 400 pieces on show so I only photographed a few.

Another hot one today - hope you are all managing to stay cool enough. I had the front door propped open for a through draught yesterday and couldn't believe the amount of traffic going by - I think everyone who would normally walk to school, shop, doctors etc was driving with air-con on to keep cool! Or maybe I don't notice it when doors and windows are shut.

Debenham Art Exhibition

As usual I went to Debenham Church to have a look around this years art .

Also as usual the sun was shining making a lot of reflection - so the photos are poor. I just took a few photos of those I liked the look of.

I went first thing Saturday and there are many red dots so Friday must have been busy with buyers which is good .

First one below  is  Helen Maxfield who always has Linocuts in all the local art exhibitions. Someone has bought several of her work here.

Colin would have liked this one below of horses ploughing - he preferred pictures with people in them rather than just views. These four  are water colours by Jim Lait except for the fishing boats which is acrylics.

Two watercolours below by Frances Barthorpe.

These two below are lino cuts by Gillian Thornton

Below in soft pastel is a very unusual view of trees called 'Just Look Up' by Teresa Seals.

I didn't realise this was paper collage until I enlarged it here and I've missed the number so not sure who it's by.

Love the colours in 'Autumn Squash' by Stella Burgess in Acrylics

Below.............I liked these miniatures in Watercolour and Gouache by Wendy Gooch. Anyone of them would have added nicely to my 'art wall' but not at £160 each. I looked her up online and she is well known in the world of miniature paintings.

The catalogue says this one below is a 'Reduction Lino Cut' . It's called One Sunday in Summer and is by Patricia Woodward.

Three fun chicken paintings. Watercolours by Claire Weeks

So many talented people!

It was so hot on Saturday morning that it even felt really warm inside the church- I was glad I'd found somewhere in the shade to park and glad to get home again.

Back Tomorrow