Tuesday 1 June 2010

Let's go to the Hop ....

Sunday and the day started quietly with an early morning breakfast amongst the dew laden flowers in the garden.. listening to the world waking up .. some of it at least.. as all the neighbouring houses still had tightly closed curtains.. some still hanging on to sleep.
I was getting restless... the adrenalin was beginning to kick in and by 10.a.m we were piling my usual array of 'vintage tat' into the boot of the car and making a short journey to Green Park Station in Bath to take up position at the vintage market .. part of the Bath Festival Fringe events.
Sitting at the traffic lights in town .. my thoughts turned to Jayne and whether she and Clare would find their way to the unfamiliar territory of Sainsbury's car park.. adjacent to Green Park Station. No sooner thought.. than Mr Custard pointed out that the car behind us was in fact.. Jayne's ... so we arrived in convoy! Clare had cleverly nabbed three market stalls together so in unison we set up our array of vintage merchandise and sat back and waited... and waited ....

The Three Amigos

It seemed to be rather a long wait before a slow trickle of people just happened to walk past our stalls en route to their Sunday shop at Sainsburys. Some folk were not so blinkered and turned their attention towards our displays.. some even bold enough to come over and take a closer look..

My collection reflected in the vintage clothes stall's mirror

Some were even bolder still and took a step further and bought a few items !! It did somewhat amuse me that every time I left my stall to take a look at the Lindy Hop dancers that were taking place at the other end of the market, I would return to find a small cluster of people around my table..


The British seem to have such inhibitions at times and my presence behind the stall was enough to scare off a most timid folk...

Clare's beautiful hats attracted a lot of interest

The music and dance was the silver lining to an otherwise long and tiring day .. and the friendly chat with my lovely neighbours Jayne and Clare.. and Jayne's daughter and man friend helped enormously to pass the time.
I think I will put this one down to experience, as it could have been so much better had the event been publicised more effectively as most of my visitors just happened to stumble across it..

Jayne's fine display

However, the music was infectious and I found myself swaying and gyrating to the strains of 40's melodies and standing on tiptoe to try and get more of a glance at the wonderful dancers.. some dressed in their finest vintage clothing... How I wished I had dressed more appropriately and worn something to fit the mood...



I found this couple fascinating.. and they turned out to be the finest dancers.. most agile and light of foot ..twisting and turning, swaying and twirling with such ease and style.. Sadly I did not get a photo of them dancing....

Others were just as graceful and agile and were obviously seasoned pros on the dance floor...
I felt mildly envious of their dancing prowess and made some vague promise to myself to try and learn a few dance steps so I might join in one day...

Just need a little bit of practice first... no.. make that a lot !!











22 comments:

hens teeth said...

Hi Hun.....your stands looked fab and I really enjoyed your take on the day but sorry you did not all have lots of buyers of your beautiful wares*****lots of love from rainy France x

KC'sCourt! said...

Ooooh! looks like you all had a great time. Wish I was there!

Country Cottage Chic said...

I'm so glad that you & Clare were there as well, otherwise time would certainly have dragged as it was so very quiet, but at least we had the chance to shop from each other's stalls!

Jayne

Mrs Stokes said...

It's true, it wasn't very well publicised was it? Still I agree that the dancers were amazing but your stuff is far from tat! It was also nice to meet you.

VintageVicki said...

Looks like a fab event - definately be brave & learn a few dance steps for next time.

BusyLizzie said...

Your stalls looked great, so sorry there were not hoards of customers to appreciate all your efforts. Lizzie x

Clare said...

lovely pics as usual Michele! and yes next time we'll all have to dance and get 'made over!!'

Rebecca said...

Lol, I had the same thing with people looking at the stall, and whenever I wandered back over - poof they were gone! Great pictures, especially of the dancers! Was lovely to meet you and I just love my flapper girl! :-)
Becky x

jane and the happy crow said...

your stand looked great, did I spy a little doggie friend? Typical English, you obviously took them by surprise! Keep on swaying!!! Jane xx

Kitsch and Curious said...

Sorry I wasn't there to add to the throng. It's a few years since I've been to Green Park, but it always struck me as a funny place for events. People walking through to Sainsburys, and neither indoors nor outdoors! Sounds like they need marketing lessons from you and Jayne!

I bet the music was good, though!

Anonymous said...

Wow, your booth looks amazing

Josie-Mary said...

Looking like a really nice day, shame people didn't know about it. I did a local fair on Sunday but it was the first time they had sellers so people hadn't brought any money - they had just come to listen to the free music! I was lucky to make back the money for the table but it was a nice sunny day :)
I'd love to dance but haven't done so for years! x

sarah-jane down the lane said...

Loving those lindy hoppers, really made me smile, great pics Michele.
Aahhh I really wish I could dance/hop or both!
those Sainsbogs shoppers must have been blind!!!

Sarah x

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

Oh...how I wish I could have been there. Looks like a fun, fun day!!

xo
becky

this is my patch said...

Thank goodness the entertainment was laid on! My Mum and I used to find we would sell more if we stood titivating on the customer side of the stall engaging with customers there. Also moving things around on the stall used to help too. x

Andi's English Attic said...

The stands look fab. What a shame more people didn't know about it. It sounds as though you had a good time. xx

A time to dance said...

oh I thought that haze of colour in the first picture may have been you? I think I would need a couple of big lads and a crane to swing me about...your stall looks fab....happy holls...H

the pig lady said...

Your stall looks so lovely, I wish I had known I would have loved to wander through - I do love Lindy Hop, I met Mr Magic dancing but we never quite mastered Lindy, infact not sure we could manage more than a shuffle now!! hugs Debs xx

(I spent some time last week on the east coast, Broadstairs. We went to Margate and I found some super vintage shops - I will write a post in the next few days. But I was very tempted to get my hair done in a 1940's style glamour parlour, I should have taken the plunge!)

Vintage to Victorian said...

Hi Michele

What a shame there weren't too many customers, but you obviously had a jolly time watching and learning some of the lindy hop moves.

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon with Hannah and Florence as Han's best friend Emma was over from Australia. She's a dentist but also teaches lindy hop in Sydney ... not that she gave us a demonstration, sadly!!

Sue x

Anonymous said...

fantastic entertainment for you on such an unproductive day its such a shame that it was not advertised very well

Vintage Fairy Tales Rebecka said...

Love this post!
You always seem to have so much fun!
Love
Becky

Sea Angels said...

Oooh looks like a fabulous day, I hope you had a wonderful time xxx
Really lovely to hear from you.xx
Hugs Lynn xxx