My Usual Visit to the Rural Bygones Sale

 As usual I took a trip out to Clark and Simpson Auction Yard to look at what they had for sale in their third Rural Bygones sale of the year 

There wasn't anything particularly interesting in the big shed but outside were a collection of  horse drawn vehicles that were worth a look.

Plenty of old enamel signs that sell for silly money.

Collections of old milk bottles and stone jars

This once would have been in the servants quarters of a big house for the gentleman and lady of the house to summon their staff to whichever room they were in.

There was a large collection of scales - the ones below were just a few. Why on earth would anyone collect scales! 

This isn't an original delivery cycle belonging to a laundry company, it's much too tidy, must have been a prop for a museum or similar

I think this cycle below was also modern, it was labelled up as a sweep and coal merchant but it looked a bit too tidy and clean

Then outside where there were some interesting trailers etc for sale. This first one for workmen or a shepherd maybe - also not an original

I think the carts below were originals - one was decked up  for a wedding. 

But this was my favourite to look at - I'm not sure that it was really old

A huge collection of old horse drawn and hand operated farm machinery, very hard work for both horse and man on our heavy clay soil in Suffolk

The estimate for the gypsy wagon was £8,000 - £10,000 but I looked online and it didn't sell. They are now having a timed online auction of all the unsold lots from this sale - all 229 of them, including the gypsy caravan, with a reduced estimate.  With 229 unsold lots - a quarter of the total lots - it doesn't sound as if their 3rd Rural Bygones sale of the year was very successful.

 It's online at Clark and Simpsons until the 8th if you fancy a gypsy caravan! although you would need a horse to get it home!

I didn't leave a bid on anything - But it's always interesting to have a look.

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It seems as if  daily page views have gone back to normal since last Wednesday - down to the normal 500 - 900 per day rather than 2,000+. Bit disappointing really - I quite liked seeing 5,000 - even if it was all bots!!

Back Soon

 

The First Of the 2025 Rural Bygones Sales......

 .......................and a load of rubbish!

I looked on line and decided to pop over to the viewing but everything looked much worse in real life.

The sale-yard is in a wide open spot and the wind was blowing across the surrounding fields and it was absolutely Freezing. I thought I'd combine the trip out with a visit to the nearest church - of course it was locked. On the way home the Tyre Pressure warning light came on so I went straight home to charge up the hand-held compressor and pump up the tyres, instead of stopping at another church on the way..............felt like a wasted morning............. Oh well, it got me out of the house!

I took a few photos of the slightly more interesting and less rusty lots from among  loads of junk.

Random bits of Meccano .

At primary school there was Meccano for wet playtimes but only the boys were allowed to play with it!

I had a similar toy china tea set when I was little

Who on earth collected all these flagons? And who will buy them?

And someone collected old cameras - there were another couple of boxes too

The scales are nice but where on earth has that huge bag of custard powder been for umpteen years

A lot of old tins and packaging

And more

There were lots of enamel signs - they always sell well 

When they first started these three times a year special sales (they have regular weekly sales of household stuff, proper antiques and machinery sales too) there were all sorts of interesting things at every sale, but recently nothing very special.

The next sale of 'Rural Bygones Junk will be July.

Back Soon

Sue

Now it's Low Spend September

 I'm now doing a very low spend September as there's plenty in the freezer and in the cupboards and no big expenses due this month.

I treated the family to the sunflower maze visit but after that its tight purse-strings! 

Sadly there are a chunk of expenses that can't be avoided and happen without me even leaving the house  - Council tax, charity, phone and broadband direct debits and electric at the end of the month and if I didn't leave the house I wouldn't need diesel for the car but I do have to drive so can't avoid it. There might be a couple of unavoidable small expenses and there's a birthday later in the month but otherwise I'm hoping for minimum spend.........although I'm getting back to the swimming pool now the children are back at school so that will be £3 a week and exercise group is £1.50 each week.

Some September savings so far...........

Three of the huge sweet pointy peppers on the one remaining pepper plant turned red so they've been chopped and gone into the freezer - there are 3 left . I put loads of green peppers in earlier before they were ruined by the slugs(?) plus the £1's worth of red sweet peppers from the market stall and as soon as the other three are red they'll go in the freezer and there will be enough to last almost to pepper season next year.

I'm planning to use my one and only butternut squash in a vegetable curry to portion up for the freezer and yesterday I got lots of the huge tomatoes skinned and into the freezer in case I want some for chutney later. I've frozen them first individually on a tray then if they are not needed for chutney they'll be usable one or two at a time for cooking instead.

There are a few beetroot left, runner beans are doing well and the sweetcorn cobs are just about  to be ready and there are plenty of leeks too. In the greenhouse the one remaining cucumber plant made a miraculous recovery with the cooler weather before this week and is looking hopeful. Plenty of tomatoes still coming and even one courgette plant has started producing again.

 I saved some fuel yesterday by not going to look at the last of 2023's Domestic and Rural Bygones Sale  at Campsea Ashe Auctions. After looking online and finding this sale was mainly 'leftovers' from an antique dealer and nothing very interesting it wasn't worth the journey although  I liked the description - 

To include from the estate of antiques dealers Richard & Miranda Goodbrey 'A Collection of Chattles from their Home, Workshops & Storerooms'

We don't use that word chattles very often nowadays. In Suffolk (maybe elsewhere too) we have a word for food left on the plate by children - 'chates' which surely must come from the same root.

I'm saving more diesel (and parking fees) today by not going to Ipswich to visit any of the buildings open especially for National Heritage Open Days. Not because I don't want to, as there are several I'd like to see inside, but walking round town in predicted temps of 29℃ doesn't really appeal. There's always next year - God willing!

On Thursday it was good to have a visit from Essex friends who I've not seen for 4 years. Before Colin died we visited them or they came to us several times a year and camped on the campsite in several summers. They are about to become Grandparents for the first time so I was able to pass on some of the baby toys that all my lot have grown out of. 

They kindly brought me some huge onions and a jar of A's proper home made marmalade and went home with some leeks as well as the toys.

So that was week one of Low Spend September.

Did anybody watch the Cycling Tour of Britain passing through my part of Suffolk on TV on Thursday? It was quite interesting to see the roads and  places I know so well from the air.

 I've gone to watch them speeding by twice in past years, when they've had a stage in Suffolk, once in Friston near the smallholding and more recently through Eye just up the road from here  so didn't bother this year. They are always gone by in a flash anyway!

I'm looking forward to World Cup Rugby Union matches on TV for the next few weeks. Is it really 20 years since England won? They have no hope this year!

Back Monday.

Sue

The Domestic and Rural Bygones Sale

 As usual I went over to Campsea Ash Auction Yard to have a look at their second-of-the-year Domestic and Rural Bygones sale of various bits of rusty junk and odd things that people have entered to be sold.

I took the 5 year old granddaughter with me and she wasn't very impressed at looking at a lot of old things! We didn't stay long!

A few photos of the Lots that I found interesting and this first one must be the oddest and slightly creepy Taxidermy fox -  wearing clothes........... Why?

The first folding beach chairs that were made for children? We had  some like this - I was about 5 years old.

Spice drawers - I liked the labels better than the drawers but not enough to leave a bid.

There were a few collections of treen entered in the sale this time

These below were described as the signs from  Country House Servants call bells.

2 Victorian Samplers - too much reflection for a good photo

A painted milk churn - these were all the rage a few years ago.

Not sure what anyone would do with a large collection of pomanders

More lovely tactile treen

Someone must have collected old lawn mowers - perhaps their wife told them they had to go!

Chelsea Pensioners coat or cloak. When they appear in public at the Chelsea Flower Show or other TV things I always think they look very hot to wear

There were some other taxidermy birds which Granddaughter found very curious  and difficult to explain when she asked if they were real or alive and I said - They were once!

Back Tomorrow

Sue

The Rural Bygones Sale

 As usual I was curious to see what was for sale at the Domestic and Rural Bygones Special Sale. The first of 3 they will have at the Auction House in 2023.

Nothing stood out as "Wow - I'd must own that!" but a few things I would have welcomed home - except I didn't need them.

There were lots of old galvanised watering cans and dustbins. 

This was half of a huge amount of what was described as French Wasp Traps -  traps for French Wasps? or Wasp Traps from France?!

Very smart pond yacht

and a large boat in a glass case - a large space would be needed to display this.

3 wooden planters - oddly still containing soil and some old plants

Colin would have liked these grey Ferguson tractors - usually known as  Grey Fergies. We bought one in 1992 with the smallholding - it hadn't been restored like these ones, it was more of a rust bucket but it ran, although couldn't pull anything bigger than a one furrow plough.

An Egg Preserving Pail dating from the days when hens didn't lay in winter. Fresh eggs were kept in Water Glass which is ....I think... a mix of slaked lime and water. Hybrid hens are bred nowadays to lay all year round.

A Telephone box is an odd thing to find for sale! Sold for £1,500

I think this is listed as a pig stretcher! Not to stretch a pig, but to carry a dead pig!

A neat little chest of drawers full of tiny nails and all sorts of other bits and bobs.... sold for £170. 

Anything sells as a 'bygone' - even a heap of old empty tins 

Gorgeous large Sycamore Dairy bowl sold for £60!

Several Lots were 'collection of treen'. Treen  is anything small made from wood (tree)

This was described as a Small 19th Century Childs Cart - must be for a very small pony to pull - perhaps a large dog or even a goat?

Last auction there were some really tatty stuffed owls. This time a very smart taxidermy Fox although I wouldn't want him in the house.

A nice complete picnic hamper

This one below is described as a small goat or dog cart

As usual there were over 800 lots, so this is just a glimpse.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Another Rural Bygones Sale

 The 3rd and final Rural Bygones Auction of 2022 took place a couple of weeks ago and as usual I went to have a look on viewing day just to see what rusty junk  interesting items were for sale this time.

These are 4 out of the 8 old  prints that  were for sale. They used to hang in railway carriages back in the hey day of train travel. One was Norfolk and the others much further away. They were in a much poorer condition than my two Suffolk ones that hang in the hallway here.

A Cannon or two anyone?

Very early washing machine!

And another - slightly posher?

Nice rocking horse.

The tattiest collection of taxidermy ever - think they should have gone in a bin years ago!

A gift for the House Maid in your life?

I would love to have looked through all these old postcards

Seaside saucy postcards that were so popular in the 50s and 60s

An idea for turning old stone hot water bottles into toilet roll stands. 

Very large glass bottle, could have sworn I'd taken a photo of a lovely Victorian glass bell shaped cloche which standing near the bottle, but I hadn't.

The biggest ever collection of old irons  (can't imagine anything more boring than an iron collection!)

This is a child size pine dresser - some lucky chid will have this to play with.

Just a few of the 1,000 lots on offer. If you want to see what they sold for you can search through HERE

Back Soon

Sue