Tuesday, March 2, 2010

We Should Be In England

Old habits are hard to break--and it is March and that has meant--at least since 1989--every March-- an antique buying trip to the UK. Just as a Chicago March is roaring in like a lion---my least favourite weather month--Husbola and I would head off to London to start a 2-3 week buying trip.

Planning for the trip would start in the late autumn--we would rent flats from a variety of sources. Whenever possible, we would stay in the Sloane Square area of London. This is a green, leafy and quite chic area of London and we would rent a flat that was usually the size of a ravioli.

For years we rented the top floor--no lift--from Helene. This flat was housed over a nursery school with young children all dressed alike singing songs in the early morning. The three wheeled milk truck delivered itty bitty bottles for their consumption sometime later in the morning.

Then we moved across the street to Sab's place. Sab was a wonderful Iraqi English gentlemen who had a huge townhouse filled with rooms that he rented cheap. And he loved Americans. We could call Sab at the drop of a hat and he would rent us a flat. This was steps away from the tube, any bus to the London environs and post office-food-favourite Indian restaurant--everything.

But nothing stays the same. Sab and his family grew tired of the London hustle bustle--and--smart man--he sold his flat back to Lord Cadogan for 3M (that's pounds!) and moved to Surrey.

Our next landlord was a rental agency called A Place Like Home. They have beautiful flats in the neighborhoods we like--that are well maintained-most comfortable--and of course--more expensive. Staying with them--we were able to try a new one each year--but all within the favourite neighborhood.

The key for us to be able to buy abroad is a comfortable flat--that is convenient to transport and our shipping supplies and our reliable shipping man located further down the King's Road. After a day of slogging on the trains and buses and bringing home the treasure--we wanted to be able to shop for an easy dinner and be in a safe and quiet (for London standards) neighborhood.

So --why not this year? I am not quite sure. The pound versus dollar conversion is very attractive at $1.49 to the pound. Just a few years ago it was $2.12 to the pound. The usual assortment of antiques fairs is going on this spring--Ardingly, Shepton Mallet, Taunton, Bingley Hall in Stafford, East of England Showground at Peterborough, Horticulture Hall--the list goes on and my mouth is watering. But what to buy? That is the million pound question--what to buy. Our last two trips--while enjoyable-did not glean all the items we wanted to buy. Items we would have bought over the years--just aren't selling back here in the states like they used to. Staffordshire pottery, brass, copper and textiles are slower sells than they used to be. And everybody--here and there--are looking for good paintings and quirky decorative things. More squirrels are chasing the same nuts. And the cost of shipping has skyrocketed.

No England for us this spring--but Husbola and I are already giving a little thought to autumn travel--when it is in your blood--it is hard to drop it cold turkey!

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