Spitalfields

A lively day on the stall yesterday with many staunch and welcome visitors amongst whom was Mr. Anders Kjaergaard bearing a flask of Norwegian Brew and a fine copy of Salmon and Trout Rivers by Jock Scott published in the year of Arcadia 1937 by the London & North Eastern Railway who also kindly supplied the weather.

W.H. Holmes, Ketley Bank, Oakengates, Salop

Once upon a time in Arcadia in the year of 1912, W. H. Holmes, a man not governed by the days of the week, threw open the doors of his fishing tackle requisites shop in Ketley Bank, Oakengates in the old county of Salop.  There, he surprised the local populace by selling them Vintage Fishing Tackle from the America's, namely imported items for the soul from H.H. Michaelson of 914 Broadway, Brooklyn in the City of New York.  So popular was Holmes that he had an ink stamp made and distributed Michaelson's catalogues as his own.

Once upon a time in Arcadia in the year of 2012 it is not known what happened to W.H. Holmes nor to H.H. Michaelson, but should you wish to visit the interiors of their shops you may do so through the magic laid out on the velvet of my stall every Thursday at Spitalfields Antiques Market, Commercial Street in the district of London known as E1, where, between the hours of 8am and 3,  I sell Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul.

Andrews of Arcadia meets The Social Uptown

Yesterday the van slept and the only wheels that turned were those of the typewriter and the train as beermat proofs were delivered from Martin Clark and Anneliese Appleby and I worked on the catalogue entries for Andrews of Arcadia meets The Social Uptown which opens on Saturday to coincide with the Social's Christmas Market.

The Social Christmas Market

For all those lost in the district of London known as W1 and elsewhere your attention is drawn to a harbour being erected each Saturday in December upstairs in the bar of The Social, the well-loved watering hole for the soul, at number 5 Little Portland Street.  The Social Christmas Market  will consist of a number of  stalls which each week will present an alternative to that which is pedalled in the High Street nearby.  This coming Saturday, the 1st December, market regulars  Caught by the River will open their shop,  I will be selling Vintage Fishing Printed Matter for the Soul and The Empress of Arcadia will let fly with a Flock of Sequinned Birds and other delights from her archive.  Our ranks will be swelled by two of our staunch collaborators Laura Coxeter  and her selection of Handmade Organic Raw Chocolates in Cardboard Boxes alongside Martin Clark & Anneliese Appleby of Tilley Printing who will be bringing the magic of their letterpress printed work to London for the day.

There will be hot food at the bar by Felix and Pi, cocktails for dancers and winter ale on tap & by the bottle for the thirsty.  The doors will open at 12pm and will remain so until 6pm.

Trawlerman Style

A rough journey back from the other side of Effluvium Magna and for trawlerman seeking a catch everywhere, as illustrated by C.F. Tunnicliffe in his collaboration with F. Fraser Darling 'The Seasons & the Fisherman' published in the year of Arcadia 1941 when more than just rain fell from the skies.

Effluvium Magna

Up early and off in the van to an auction on the Other Side of Effluvium Magna.

Spitalfields

Bought yesterday at the stall from a gentleman passer-by a tin of ghosts known in the trade as Vintage Fishing Floats for the Soul.

R.G. Edwards & Son, 11 Rangoon Street E.C.3

Once upon a time in Arcadia, most notably on a Thursday in Rangoon Street in the district of London known as East Central 3, R.G. Edwards & Son would open their doors to passing ladies and gentlemen and offer them new reels and rods at prices which they declared were 'sensational'.  At the same time their resident representatives with vans would set off on their mission which was defined as, 'London and Home Counties Covered as Hitherto'.

If you are a lady or a gentleman abroad in the district of East Central 3 you are at liberty to feel sad and baleful for R.G. Edwards & Son no longer open their doors and their vans no longer circumnavigate London town.  However, do not be sad for too long as on Thursdays only my own van takes me to my stall at Spitalfields Antiques Market where I unload boxes of Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul at 8am and sell them off to the velvet until 3pm at prices which on occasion have been known to be sensational.

Andrews of Arcadia meets The Social Uptown

Yesterday I found myself walking back down Camden Passage past the footprint of my old stall in the direction of the premises of the picture framer Bronwen Whitaker to make a delivery of items to be mounted for 'Andrews of Arcadia meets The Social Uptown - A Takeaway Exhibition of Vintage Angling Ephemera and Occasional Artworks For the Soul' -which will open in the bar of The Social at the address 5 Little Portland Street at the beginning of next month.  Amongst the exhibits for sale will include a rare poster by the Swedish artist Anders Osterlin, produced for Abu by the design agency Arbman in the decade known as the sixties.

The National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair - Sunday May 19th 2013

Across Arcadia chipped mugs of sweet tea laced with Victory Gin are raised in honour and thanks to each and every loyal and staunch stallholder and visitor, and indeed those who came from as far away as the cities of Munich and Cologne, all of whom trod the metalled roads to Redditch in the harsh frost of a November morning to make yesterday's National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair a riot of absolute joy.  As the last of the signs was taken down in the growing dusk and the River Arrow was crossed once more for luck all eyes fell upon the flyer for the next Fair which will take place in the same venue on Sunday May 19th 2013.  For enquiries regarding stalls or otherwise please call field telephone number 07980 274 383.  Thank-you.

The National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair - Today

Follow the Signs

Issued from the quartermaster's stores a number of hand-stencilled signs some painted in Harcork Day-Glo Orange which are designed to direct drivers finding themselves lost briefly to the entrance for tomorrow's National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair.  Please ask your navigator to keep their eyes peeled for them when you get within half a mile of the venue.  Thank-you.

South Coast-by-Spitalfields

A most convivial day on the stall at Spitalfields yesterday with several carrier bags of Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul purchased from gentlemen passers-by and a riot of regulars sailing upon an ocean of slosh.  At lunchtime, which as all regulars known falls at approximately 11:30hrs, a visit from Mr. Mathew Clayton with a delivery by hand of his edition of the Caught by the River Fanzine 4 'An Antidote to Indifference - South Coast Special'.  The work of a writer-cum-dealer is words as well as boxes of gear and in a year when my typewriter has been silent save for an episode of 'Bible John' in the Old Town Evening Star, a piece for next year's Lost in London book and my regular column in Classic Angling it was an honour to be asked to write about a week of life in Arcadia for a publication that includes (to name but a few) Mr. David Bramwell and his 'Ghost Villages', memories of The Ditchling Players, Mr. Paul Farrington's account of the 'Archive of Brighton Swimming Club' and an ode to 'Off Licence Life' by Mr. Robin Turner.  You may read all this and more by purchasing a copy of 'Antidote 4' which is on sale now from the vendors of truth and beauty: street corner urchins, public bar dwellers, shops of taste including online via Caught by the River, and finally from myself for £3 in coin - either from the depths of a 1946 J. R. Brooks Bag or indeed off the velvet at the stall.  I will also have copies with me this weekend at The National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair.

Writers on the Radio

Once upon a time in Arcadia, namely at 11:30hrs today, Thursday 15th November in the year of Arcadia 2012 you will be able to listen to my good collaborators, the new vanguard of angling writers:-Mr. Luke Jennings, Mr Charles Rangeley-Wilson, Mr. Dexter Petley and Miss Polly Putnam on the BBC Radio 4 programme 'Words on Water' of which you can digest more here.

The programme, presented by Mr. Mike Greenwood, may even include an excerpt or two recorded on my stall at the market some weeks ago.  To hear the sounds of the stall live you are reminded that I broadcast weekly over a cup of tea between the hours of 08:00 and 15:00 on Thursdays only in Spitalfields Antiques Market, Commercial Street London - District E1 where I sell Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul.  From 08:00hrs by going to Caught by the River you will also be able to read the latest 'Letter From Arcadia' from Mr. Dexter Petley.

Found in Salop

Found in Salop and for sale tomorrow on the stall and thereafter several cardboard boxes of old angling ephemera.