At the End of the Marshes Road

Up early and off in the van to an auction house at The End of the Marshes Road where there will be linoleum, teas served for under the sum of £1 and other items for sale including some Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul.

Eaton & Deller 6 & 7 Crooked Lane

Once upon a time in Arcadia and most notably upon the day of the week known as Thursday, ladies and gentlemen finding themselves at a loss near London Bridge would make haste to 6 & 7 Crooked Lane where they could ring the bell at the Fishing Tackle Manufacturers Eaton and Deller, who even in the Edwardian era had been 'Established Two Centuries'.

Should you be a lady or a gentleman and find yourself at a loss near London Bridge on the day of the week known as a Thursday do not fret for although the premises of Eaton and Deller have long since closed their doors and indeed the street known as Crooked Lane has vanished from the map you are welcome to make haste to my stall at Spitalfields Antiques Market, where on quiet days it feels like I, too, have been established and indeed stalled out waiting for a customer for over two centuries.  There, I sell Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul or Tackle for Sea and River Fishing as Eaton and Deller once called it.

Sale

Once upon a time in Arcadia, namely from today I am having a short general sale of items that are still lingering on my website.  If you wish to take advantage of this please ignore the prices which are listed on the site and call me on field telephone 07980 274 383 or send word by the electronic mail and you be able to avail yourself of what is known in some quarters as a bargain.  Thank-you.

Kempton

Found this morning at Kempton a photograph and postcard album dating from the year 1931 through to the Post-War Years, chronicling the lives of an Anglo-German family who appear to have fled to Britain from Germany before the outbreak of hostilities.   Enclosed amongst the many pages was a printed postcard of a woman on the back of which is written 'This is a very bad reproduction of a big portrait left somewhere in the ruins of Berlin'.

Legs of Iron

A quiet day for buyers all in Arcadia ahead of the traditional Bank Holiday Monday Feast of the Car Boot Sale and an opportunity to take up the generous offer of some iron trestle legs in exchange for some priceless cardboard boxes and old balls of string from the artist and gentleman known as Rupert Blanchard.  A dealer's most precious resource are his legs, to walk around cavernous auction rooms, markets and car boot sales and to stand tables upon when selling Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul and occasional tat.

Spitalfields

Bought yesterday at Spitalfields from a gentleman passer-by two books of interest, British Fish & Fisheries published by the Religious Tract Society in the year of Arcadia 1849 and a privately bound portion of Salmon and Sea Trout Fishing from Foster's 'Scientific Angler' originally published in the year of Arcadia 1882, and with the addition here of plates from an unspecified edition of the Hardy's Anglers' Guide.

A.W. Gamage, Holborn, London E.C.1

Once upon a time in Arcadia and most notably upon a Thursday, ladies and gentlemen in search of 'Fishing Rods and Tackle of Every Description' would saunter along the pavements of an August day in the direction of A.W. Gamage, the department store which stood on Holborn in the district of London known as E.C.1.

Today, also a Thursday in August, it is recommended that should you be in the mood for a saunter you only go in the direction of Holborn if you are intent upon a light lunch of fish and chips at The Golden Fryer, as Gamages was razed to the ground in the latter years of the last century.  Largely speaking, you may be better served walking briskly to the district of E.1 where in Spitalfields Antiques Market I sell Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul and always carry 'Fishing Rods and Tackle of Every Description'.  Those of you in possession of an original Gamages Account Card will also receive a discount at my stall.

Percy Wadham's Nature Baits

Found yesterday amongst the former property of a gentleman in a garden shed in Metroland a pair of Percy Wadham Nature Baits made from celluloid and dating to the decade known as the thirties.

God Bless Our Dear Dogs

Recent weeks have witnessed the devastating loss of three loyal dogs who are remembered daily by the Terriers of Arcadia every time Elgar is played on the radiogram.

 

Festival of Tin

Beyond the Outskirts of Pandemonium and in other districts of Arcadia the impromptu Festival of Tin carries on.

The Norfolks

Found at a Car Boot Sale for the Soul at this very time last Sunday morning a small collection of The Norfolk Magazine from the year of Arcadia 1950.

Live Pigeons for Liberation

Found on a bookstall at Fakenham Market whilst in the Norfolks a return label for a box of Racing Pigeons of Unknown Identity.

Spitalfields

A day of much story telling at Spitalfields yesterday accompanied by the unveiling of a 1940's Catch 'Em Alive-O at Woolworths Fishing Tackle Catalogue by the captain of the Arcadian Paralympic Catapult Team.  Being the day known as the 16th of the month the market still felt slightly becalmed in the summer doldrums but we sailed on upon a merry swell of tea and a few things were bought and sold.  On returning to London North I found this photograph, which looks like a John Claridge or Don McCullin illustrating a piece on the market which appeared in The Quietus.

C. & R. Brooks Fishing Tackle Manufacturers

Once upon a time in Arcadia in the century before last, and most notably on a Thursday, in the year known as AD 1884 ladies and gentlemen on a holiday excursion in the port of Plymouth in Devonshire would most certainly have called in at Hearder & Son who were 'General Fishing Tackle Makers to H.M. Government and Exploring Expeditions, H.R.H The Prince of Wales, H.R.H The Duke of Edinburgh, and the leading nobility and gentry of the world'.  If they had found the doors to Hearders closed for any reason eager anglers may also have visited the premises of C. & R. Brooks in Stonehouse, who themselves were not shy of a bit of tackle.

Being the month of August, should you be abroad under the guise of a lady or a gentleman or indeed a member of the nobility or gentry of the world in Plymouth or any other British resort and in need of holiday tackle you are implored to find your nearest tackle maker or to catch a railway train forthwith and visit me at my stall in Spitalfields where every Thursday between the hours of 08:00hrs and 15:30hrs I sell Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul.  There you will be welcomed and treated as nobility or gentry regardless of your rank.

This is Arcadia Calling

Back in the general district of London North after a tour of Arcadia Due East North, a week of conviviality spent haunting auction rooms and public house cellars in the company of sea wolves and tin fish.

The Empress and Arcadia are Away

As mentioned yesterday, The Empress and Arcadia are away in the region known as Due East North.  A normal broadcasting and posting service will resume at some point next week although before then there may be intermittent messages appearing here in places and at times of good reception.  In the meantime Elgar is is on the radiogram and you are at liberty to enjoy my archive which dates back to the month of November in the year 2010.