Eaton & Deller, 6 Crooked Lane, London

Once upon a time in Arcadia, most notably on a Thursday at the very beginning of the last century and as long ago as the one before, ladies and gentlemen in need of fishing tackle and in particular with a desire for Bright Crystal Size 10's to Best Drawn Gut would make their way along windswept January streets to the place known as Crooked Lane which was situated close to London Bridge.  There, at No. 6 they would find the premises of Eaton & Deller a celebrated seller of fishing tackle.

Once upon a time in Arcadia, most notably today, being the last Thursday in January in the year of our Lord and curses 2013 if you are a lady or a gentleman within the bounds of the city the choice of where to buy your fishing tackle is limited as so many shops have closed down.  In some cases, as is the case with Crooked Lane, entire streets have vanished along with their shops.  Following reports in the press there are rumours circulating that Old Spitalfields Market may be sold and that the market here and subsequently my stall selling Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul and the other 75 that make up the Thursday Antiques and Collectables Market may also vanish along with the market space.  It is not known whether these rumours will come to anything and in the meantime I shall continue to trade on Thursdays as I have done for over 8 years at Spitalfields, between the hours of 8am and 3pm in the solemn memory of Eaton and Deller and the many hundreds of shops like them which have long since passed.   Should you be a lady or gentleman in the vicinity of the market on a Thursday, you are invited to show your support for the market space by calling in and marvelling at the wonders that dwell under its vast iron and glass roof.  Thank-you.

Last Knockings

Across Arcadia liveried couriers are hot footing it across paving slabs and down muddy lanes with thank-you notes to all those who attended Andrews of Arcadia meets The Social Uptown - A Takeaway Exhibition of Vintage Angling Ephemera & Occasional Artworks for the Soul.   The exhibition is its final week and will close next Tuesday so if you have yet to see it you are invited to call in at The Social which is situated at No. 5 Little Portland Street in the district of London known as W.1. and where you may also partake of a half of draught Camden Pale Ale.  Should you be interested in buying any of the remaining artworks on display please call me on Field Telephone 07980 274 383.  Thank-you.

Kempton

Bought from a gentleman over a cup of tea at a wet and windswept Kempton this morning an enamel badge for Staines Angling Society struck by H. W. Miller of Birmingham 18.

Not Fit for Human Consumption

Collected with diligence and now stored under lock and key in the cabinet marked 'Old Friends' a number of over the counter baits made in factories and in lean-to kitchens from the years between and immediately post-war.

For All Those Left Behind

Spitalfields

Found in the January shadows at Spitalfields yesterday an unspecified number of phantoms from the last century and the one before.

T.P. Luscombe & Co. No.5 Goodshed Road

Once upon a time in Arcadia and most certainly on a Thursday, ladies and gentlemen abroad on a posting in the far flung district of West Kushroo-bagh in the India's would avail themselves of the services of T.P. Luscombe whose premises stood at No. 5 Goodshed Road.  There, wages which may have otherwise been sent home were instead more wisely spent on essentials such as Fishing-Tackle, Camp-Equipage and Furniture of All Kinds.

Should you be a lady or a gentleman and abroad in the district of London known as E1 be warned for today is Thursday and as such I will be building my homage to Luscombes and all those who served overseas upon the velvet of my stall at Spitalfields Antiques Maket in Commercial Street between the hours of 08:00 and 15:00.  There I sell Fishing-Tackle and Camp Equipage in the form of Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul and on occasion I have even been known to sell Furniture of All Kinds, Timber and Iron Work.   You are encouraged to spend wages with me that you may otherwise send home.  Thank-you.

Singing Songs of Piccadilly

Across the Heath and down the lanes and alleys of Arcadia trumpets sound in honour of all those intrepid souls who came by pavements of ice and roads of metal to last night's Caught by the River Social Club upstairs at The Queen's Head Public House in Denman Street in the heart of Piccadilly.  Photographs taken through the Leica eyes of  Mr. Neil R. Thomson can be seen on his blog Tomoland and more will appear on Caught by the River. 

The Caught by the River Social Club - Uptown Tonight!

Brass Monkey

Bought at Spitalfields on Thursday from a passing gentleman a brass platewind reel sold originally at a Victorian Frost Fair.

Castaways

Spitalfields

Found at an iron cold Spitalfields yesterday, a collection of faces from the last century in the form of a gang of sharpshooters from the district of Arcadia known as Tunbridge Wells Eastern in the company of their mascot.

Old Fashioned Futurism

Once upon a time in Arcadia, not long after ladies and gentlemen witnessed The Decline and Fall of the High Street, I began to stall out at Spitalfields Antiques Market on a Thursday selling Vintage Fishing Tackle for the Soul.  I am now in my ninth year at Spitalfields where it is my solemn duty to stand and serve between the hours of 8am and 3pm and where passers-by and regulars are welcome to drink tea by the gallon and talk shop by the yard.   If you are in the vicinity today or on any other Thursday, I look forward to welcoming you to my small corner of the district of London known as E1.  Thank-you.

Snow!

In kitchens across Arcadia dogs and cats are staring out the window in bewilderment whilst Sandy Nelson's 'Snow', taken from the 1963 Geoffrey Jones film of the same name plays loudly on the radiogram and the kettle is boiled for the tenth time.

'Take One Four Times a Day'

A phial in the form of an aluminium Palmer of Alvechurch Float Case and its contents - an unspecified quantity of old porcupine quill floats which can be found in the medicine cabinet known as 'Old Friends'.

Spitalfields

Once upon a time in Arcadia (last Thursday) I caught Eel-on-the Lung on my return from the Western Approaches.  This has left me with a savage cough and a voice like a pair of broken bellows.  I apologise for my absence to all those who were hoping to visit me for the opening stall of the year at Spitalfields today, I shall be back next week when the apothecary's cabinet has been emptied of tonic.

Impromptu Harcork Outbreak

An enforced quiet week is disturbed, nay brightened, by an impromptu Outbreak of Harcork Floats at the counter of my website known as Just in, Sir.

The Caught by the River Social Club

In a fortnight's time, on the evening of Tuesday 22nd January you are invited to lose yourself for the evening at The Caught by the River Social Club, which is to be held upstairs at The Queen's Head Public House, No. 13 Denman Street in the district of London known as Piccadilly.   As part of the evening I will be reading alongside Will Burns, Luke Jennings, Melissa Harrison and Cheryl Tipp.  Entrance is gained by climbing the stairs and parting with £3.

Further details including the posting of a full handbill featuring Mr. Stephen Parker of The Arcadia 78 Orchestra's memory of Port Eliot can be found here.  An extract from Melissa Harrison's new book 'Clay' from which she will be reading on the night can be found here.

Beyond the Outskirts of Delirium

Found Beyond the Outskirts of Delirium, the door to the Allcocks Factory Float Making Room and from within it three examples of the work that it produced, now residing for sale in 'Old Friends'.

Eel on the Lung

Across Arcadia cats and dogs are going nowhere and the radiogram is turned off as a wracking bout of the strain of influenza known in some districts as Eel on the Lung comes creeping into town.

Shadows and Reflections

For all those who missed it, a glance over the shoulder at 2012, in the form of my traditional Caught by the River end of year piece Shadows and Reflections.

Social Extension

Andrews of Arcadia meets The Social Uptown - 'A Takeaway Exhibition of Vintage Angling Ephemera & Occasional Artworks For the Soul', as seen below through the Leica eyes of my staunch collaborator Mr. Neil R. Thomson has been extended into January.  If you have not yet called into The Social at No. 5 Little Portland Street in the district of London known as W.1.  I recommend that you do so during the afternoon or early evening and ask for a half of Camden Pale Ale as refreshment.  Catalogues telling you about each exhibit are available on request behind the bar and there are reinforcements of the exhibition beermat available on which to put your drink.  Thank-you.