MARKETS AND CAR-BOOTS Last week Magdalena and I wrote about Warsaw markets between the wars. This set me thinking about the market scene today. Are there fewer of them? Has the car-boot sale taken over? I often go to car-boot sales, especially in summer when the weather is fine. Nowadays they go on all year round - undercover in winter. There is one near me which is set up every Sunday in some old farm buildings. Most car-booters bring the disused or outgrown belongings of their family and friends to sell. Others bring their own produce, plants of all kinds interest me. Car-boot sales are exciting in that you have no idea what you might find. Am I right in thinking that car-boot and garage sales started in the U S A ? How long ago? Recently on the "Antiques Roadshow" a young woman brought in a small metal beaker she had purchased for 20p at a car-boot sale. It was blackened and grimy but she spent some time cleaning it inside and out until it gleamed. She was stunned when experts identified it as a vodka beaker made in Paris by the famous Russian jeweller Faberge. She was even more surprised to hear that it was w2000! Have you or your Granny got any interesting things tucked away at the back of your cupboards?
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