shopping

On Saturday afternoon I took my friend Travis to the secret depot vente. Regular readers will know that this is the junk yard/house clearance depot tucked away in the middle of the French countryside, where past purchases include an antique chestnut desk for €15 and a pair of multi-purpose wooden benches (one shown) for €10, which I use as a coffee table in the winter and for displaying plants in the courtyard in the summer.

The point of Saturday's trip was to do some Christmas shopping - to search out beautiful or useful objects for my friends, that would be unique in the truest sense of the word.

As Travis trailed around the Aladdin's cave, his eyes as big as satellite dishes, I found unique and beautiful objects aplenty: two red glass lampshades for €3 a piece, three earthenware pots (these look great grouped together as decorative objects by a pool or in the garden), ten wine glasses for €5 and a distressed wooden trestle table (€10), which will be very useful for potting plants in the courtyard. Oh and an antique wooden stepladder (€10), ideal for use as a towel rail in the bathroom.

As you might have guessed, the problem with all of this (apart from how to get the table, which has a solid wrought iron base, home) is that all of these items I have bought for me! This has always been my problem with Christmas shopping.

Meanwhile, since my house is now full, most of the new purchases will be added to the stash in the garage - most of it waiting to be stripped, painted or treated for wood worm. Pretty soon I'll have enough to open a depot vente of my own.