Auctions in England Cause Sleepless Nights

Our recent trip to the UK had one of our favorite auction locales on the agenda.

Sorry.  We won't tell you where.  Maybe some of you dealers have been there.  And certainly after this post you will want to go there. 

We found this fabulous place many years ago.  You can get there by train from London and their auctions are weekly.  Now--enough of the hints.  Antiquing in England used to be quite the thing--especially when our airplane tickets were $300 in the off season--and we could stay in a flat for 65 pounds a night.  Not so anymore.

It was a beautiful spring day--and we arrived in plenty of time for previewing. 

Everything looked like we remembered--including the catering wagon out front serving up "bacon rolls" first thing in the morning.  We actually have never had one--but think of a sort of piece of canadian bacon slapped between a hamburger roll called a bap.  That with a cuppa "white" tea and most of the other dealers were ready to bid.

We were looking for 'smalls" this trip--and this auction house is very good for them.  We registered--we are still in their computer.  You do not get a card or a paddle.  If you are successful at bidding--you just shout out your last name and the auctioneer jots it down on his sheet in pen.

Then I saw THEM.

Two matching leather armchairs.  Solid.  Clean.  HEAVY.  Nailheads.  Aged patina.  PERFECT.  The cushions could be recovered in a quirky fabric--we had seen that look so often at the decorative antiques fair in London the day before.  These qualified for the Dear Husbola quote "bid on them till you get them."  That directive is reserved for something we want for our house--and when you know that you do not see an item ever or often.  We also reserve the buying directive for items that are destined to keep us awake at night thinking about them if we do not buy them.

And there we are--4000 miles from home.  Not shipping a container back to the USA.  Not able to buy the chairs.

Yes--we bought several things at the auction we are happy with.

But not the chairs.

Darn jet lag--I am still not sleeping through the night.  I still wake up at odd times--my body is still on London time.  No--wait-- I am still dreaming about THOSE CHAIRS!!