Sunday 30 October 2011

Crinoline Lady Teapot

Great charity shop find this week - a lovely pink teapot.


But ... there's more!  On the other side ...


A beautiful crinoline lady tending her garden.


The teapot was in a sorry state when I found it - really dirty and I almost didn't take it, but I am so glad I did.  A good soak and gentle scrub and it came out fine - not even a single chip.


Made by Sadler.


I just had to put it with my crinoline lady tablecloth.

Love, Liz

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has found this week at Flea Market Finds.

Saturday 29 October 2011

On The River

I decided to take my camera out with me on my walk yesterday, although I didn't really think I'd find anything to photograph.  I was only out for an hour, but the river was  quite busy.  So, apart from the usual ferries and tugs, what did I see?


Huge container ship.



Little boats.

Navy ships.


 And of course, lots of gulls!



Just a normal day on the Clyde.

Love, Liz

Thursday 27 October 2011

Bloomers!

Would you ever give anyone a pair of bloomers as a gift?
Well, my wee Granny did - just before I got married!
Here's the attached card.


And here are the bloomers -


Not what you thought, eh?


Aren't these great - just two dishcloths sewn together with a bit of ribbon added!  Love the verse on the other side of the card.   I haven't seen anything like this for a while.


Think they would be a super addition to a craft stall.  Wonder how much something simple like this would cost in a certain upmarket, vintage-style shop (you know the one I mean!)?

Love, Liz

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Piping In the Rain

Pipe bands and kilts - what could be more Scottish!

Pipers from Royal Burgh of Renfrew Pipe Band.
Love the bright red of the Royal Stewart tartan.
Pipers, kilts and rain - the normal Scottish combination.


Check out which tartan you should wear by going to the Scottish Register of Tartans and entering your name.  You might be surprised at some of the names on there.  Go on, give it a go!
(All you have to do is look for the quick search box in the top right-hand corner of Register page and enter your name.)

Love, Liz

I'm linking to Rednesday.

Monday 24 October 2011

Collins Magazine for Boys and Girls

I have a couple of copies of Collins Magazine For Boys and Girls from 1948 and 1949.  They are great magazines, obviously designed for children who like reading and are curious about the world around them.  But I think that the best thing about these magazines is the cover illustrations by John Verney.

Remember to click on pics for more detail.

Just look at the detail in this cover from 1949.


I love this because I think it contains just about every Scottish cliché you could ever come up with - see if you can spot (among other things) haggis, Scott Monument, grouse, thistle, piper, Edinburgh Castle, sporran, bottles (of whisky I assume) ... the list goes on.


How wonderful are these!


The second cover is from 1948 and is of a farmyard.


Again, the amount of detail is absolutely amazing!


This is my favourite ..... ouch!


John Verney seems to have had quite an interesting life.  You can read about him here - the Independent newspaper's obituary.


I'll tell you more about this fantastic magazine in a later post.

Love, Liz

Sunday 23 October 2011

A Few Days Away

I've just come back from a few days away - guess where?


Brilliant city!


Wonderful people!


Had a fantastic time!


Yup - its Liverpool!


I promise to catch up with all your blogs very soon.

Love, Liz

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Times Gone By!

Do you ever go online to look for something and then end up - hours later - not having found what you were looking for - but finding something much more interesting?  Well, that happened to me today.


I found this old family photograph, it shows my great-grandmother, my grandfather and his brothers.  I have no idea where the photograph was taken, but I noticed the sign for "Turner's Cameras" behind them and decided to have a wee look and see if I could find out perhaps where the photo was taken.  Needless to say, I didn't!  But I was absolutely captivated by what I did find.

First of all my search took me to the Northern Region Film and Television Archive - an absolute treasure trove of little films from the past.  My favourites were -

"Your Tea Madam" - a film about Ringtons Tea Ltd from 1932.  It followed the tea as it arrived at the docks, through all its processes until it reached the housewife or the consumer, as we would say today.


"Turners Camera Shop" from 1947 - fantastic clips of Newcastle street scenes from that time as well as interiors of the shop.  Not the same one as in my photograpy, unfortunately.

"Old Folks Excursion" - 1923 film showing old folks from the west end of Newcastle on an outing to Little Benton.  The lovely old ladies are resplendent in their bonnets and best coats.  The gents are all wearing hats too! As well as the essential cuppa, they took part in races, tug of war, dancing and even skipping ropes!  Fantastic!


Some of the NRFTA's films have not been digitised yet, but there's enough to keep you going here!  There's a sweet little road safety film for primary children - check it out.


Another great time waster, I mean research tool is the BBC's "Nation on Film" archive which has lots of little films on various subjects - the shopping films are great!

Hope you enjoy looking at some of these.  I was enthralled!  Warning - don't lose track of time!

Love, Liz

Monday 17 October 2011

Step Gable Shadows

Its a grey, dreich day in Greenock.  Its been raining since early this morning and I've already got my lights on and just put the central heating on - and its not yet three in the afternoon!
To cheer myself up I thought I'd post some pictures taken less than two weeks ago.


It was a beautiful day, the sun cast unusual shadows on this step-gabled house.


Hope the weather isn't too bad wherever you are.

Love, Liz

Sunday 16 October 2011

Shamrock Cottage

Once again I had a lucky linen find this week!


I saw this little table cloth in the charity shop - it was really grubby and I thought to myself - Liz, do you really need more shamrocks?  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I already have a couple of shamrock table cloths.  But then, in one of its corners I spied something unusual - a lovely little Irish cottage!


Isn't it sweet?


Quite unusual, so, I had to have it!  A good overnight soak and it turned out fine.


Along with it came this shamrock tea cosy - I could hardly believe my luck!


So come and have tea!  We'll use the quaint cottage sugar and milk set.


And to tie in with the lovely lilac hills, we'll use the "Greenwood Tree" tea set.

Now - Ceylon or Earl Gray?

Love, Liz

I'm linking up with Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.  Looking forward to seeing what you've found this week.

Saturday 15 October 2011

Postage Paid in Pies?

As you probably know by now, I'm always on the lookout for interesting books in charity shops.  I found this little gem earlier in the week.  It is from 1945 and is the Stanley Gibbons' Postage Stamp Catalogue.


There are some interesting little snippets about the restrictions and shortages during the war years.


There are some lovely illustrations of stamps from all corners of the former Empire and elsewhere.


Best of all, there were still some actual stamps attached to the inside of the book - just a few, but a great bonus!




Interesting stamps from pre-independence Indian states - didn't know that there was a currency called "pies"!


Lovely Queen Victoria Australian stamp.


Some really subtle differences in markings - can you spot them?


Zanzibar - I absolutely love that word - so evocative and mysterious!


I am so pleased with this little find - especially considering that it only cost me 50p!

Love, Liz