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HENTY’S
TWENTY
knock him down with a feather
The news that Viva Lewes editor, Alex, has
promised to hand me a twenty pound note
each month to purchase a collectable object
somewhere in the town has seemingly spread like
wildfire! For example, even in my own road, as I
walked to the shops recently, a young neighbour
at the start of her school holidays asked me if I
would like to buy …a peacock’s feather.
With her brother, enterprising ‘Autumn’ had
a collection of the exotic items swaying in a jar.
“There are nineteen of them” I was informed,
“And they’re twenty pence each”. “Beautiful” I
replied, “I’ll buy one if you’re still here when I
return from Waitrose.” She was and as we shall
discover later, the feather was a bargain.
Not everyone’s quite so keen on my new
journalistic endeavour though. Down at the Pells,
a woman with her dog shouted at me across the
pond “Your stuff’s all very well in Viva Lewes but
it’s not much help for real antique collectors like
me. I’m looking for a nice bit of Chippendale.”
Now I k<strong>now</strong> it was foolish of me but – as I raced
up Brook Street pursued by the woman and what
I assume was a young Rottweiler dog – I have to
admit that asking her whether she meant a tallboy
or a toyboy was a mistake. You live and learn in
this b<strong>us</strong>iness and what I should have replied, of
course, was that a visit to the new St. Peter and
St. James Hospice Store (opposite Laura Ashley)
might have been a more helpful suggestion.
Chippendale? Unlikely, but an impressive selection
of named quality furniture is proving very popular
I’m told, in the light and airy showroom. Friendly
staff too.
Worried by the Pells experience (it wasn’t only the
dog that was barking) and conscio<strong>us</strong> that my brief
appearance on the BBC1 One Show in Aug<strong>us</strong>t
w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M
A N t I Q U E s
might create more unrest, I chose to wear disguise
a couple of days later for my visit to the Emporium
Antiques Centre in Cliffe.
My wife, Sylvia, and I shared a stall there a few
years back so owner Michele Doyle is k<strong>now</strong>n to
<strong>us</strong> and it’s always a pleasure to trawl through her
3-floor treasure trove.
Once she had persuaded me to remove my
disguise – “Men don’t wear the Burkha, John,
and the beard’s a dead giveaway!” we got down to
the serio<strong>us</strong> b<strong>us</strong>iness of finding a collectable item
for the Viva “score”. I always seek help on these
occasions to ensure that the chosen object has a
wider appeal.
Michele pointed me to a cabinet on the ground
floor which had j<strong>us</strong>t been re-stocked. From a
mix of jewellery, silver ware and small ceramics,
we chose two cloissonné cylindrical boxes which
had been attractively hand-painted with enamel
paint in a metal wire design. She told me they
were probably tourist gifts from the 1920s or 30s,
originating in the Orient and were valued at £24
for the pair. I liked them. She accepted my £20.
Happily, The Emporium was doing good b<strong>us</strong>iness
for a Monday afternoon and you k<strong>now</strong> what?
On one of my favourite stalls inside (“Pastimes”)
peacock feathers were selling at a pound each. Still
a bargain!!
John Henty
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