Art, fleas and shopping

Went to a flea market yesterday (Sunday), and ended up getting a lot of cheap china, and various other lovely vintage stuff.

Between us, Mr Kitsch and I bought a menagerie of little china animals. I got some lovely old cotton reels (I don't know what I'll do with them, but they were only 20p each, so I couldn't leave them...) We also got some old Brooke Bond card catalogues. If you're as old as me, you'll remember the cards that came in packets of tea. I got the British Costume one in the picture below, because I used to have it as a child, and I could remember every picture. Mr Kitsch got Dinosaurs and Space and all the boys' stuff.

The booklet of felt toys is very charming - I think I might have a go at making some. And on the plate in the middle is a dolly's teaset that was only a pound for the whole lot. Brilliant! I think all the stallholders were having a bad day, as they were all offering to drop their prices, and a lot of the prices had gone down compared to the last time we were there. I suppose it's a symptom of the credit crunch.

On Saturday we went to Spike island, an art gallery and creative facility in Bristol. I'm ashamed to admit this was the first time I'd ever been there, despite it having been open for a number of years. (It's just in a slightly out-of-the-way place.) We went primarily to see the exhibition 'Crossroads' by David Blandy, inspired by the legend of the blues guitarist Robert Johnson. I liked it a lot. I don't always like video installations - but this was more watchable than most.

And from art to commerce... A bit more shopping to look at. I'm hooked on Clinique skin products (I'm a martyr to my sensitive skin, darling!) but I only buy it when I can get a bargain. In John Lewis last week, there was this lovely bonus bag of goodies and 10% off. Bargain!

Oh, and somehow I also managed to buy myself a pair of shiny green shoes. I'm not sure how it happened...