Viva Lewes April 2015 Issue #103

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Henty’s 20
John Henty answers the booty call
Whether you are intending to buy or sell
at Lewes Car Boot on a Sunday morning, it
requires an early start and you must be prepared
for whatever the weather may throw at you.
My friends Steve and Jacqueline are regulars and
usually leave their Bexhill home around 6am to
get a decent position for the sale of quality books
and toys. It costs them £10 for the corner pitch
and owner, Roy, told me that his rate has hardly
changed over the years.
When I arrived at 8am, they were already doing
business. Mandy’s snack van was grilling the
bacon and Fox’s Farm free range eggs from Etchingham
were selling fast nearby. In fact, there was
a queue and by 10am, there were no eggs left.
What I enjoy about the place, conveniently close
by Waitrose, are the characters who go there and
the random repartee you can share with them.
For example, I had a lengthy conversation with
Bryan from Ringmer who was a master saddler
working in Lewes before his retirement.
If he reads this article, I urge him
to contact Viva because his
fascinating story deserves a
wider audience. He spoke
enthusiastically of the famous
people he has worked
for and of the horse racing
fraternity in the town. He
bought an illustrated book
on cats.
With our Viva Score (£20)
burning in my pocket, I
acquired the kitsch millennium
gnome (illustrated)
from Geoffrey for
£1, a glass millennium
paperweight for £4 and,
to celebrate the spring
sunshine, a toy spring for
another pound.
One recurring fear I have, though as I browse
the bric-a-brac, is to suddenly come across a
BBC film unit on a Bargain Hunt mission led
by the indefatigable Mr Wonnacott. Tim and
his titfer were again at wind-swept Ardingly
recently, causing the usual mayhem.
Another Bristol-based Antiques Road Trip team
was seen on screen a few weeks ago in the North
Laine area of Brighton. One celebrity guest,
Annie Lennox look-alike, Helen Hall, a relative
newcomer to the programme, purchased a Bakelite
inkstand for £12.
She was then sorely embarrassed when Gorringes
auctioneer, Philip Taylor, struggled desperately
to achieve a single bid for it in Lewes.
Voice-over Wonnacott (who else?) described the
moment as ‘carnage’ but why take the object to
North Street in the first place?
As I’ve observed before, it’s not as though the
fine arts business needs boosting on the box.
In their March review, Gorringes noted
‘a torrent of bids’, 1500 internet
registrations and the jewellery
counter ‘at times under siege
from ladies in need of jewels’.
But not Bakelite inkstands
apparently. John Henty
The next Gorringes Fine
Arts sale in North Street,
29, 30 April, 10am. Monday
auctions in Garden Street, 13,
20, 27. General items 10.30am.
Tuesday markets, Town Hall,
28 ONLY, 9 – 2pm. Ardingly, 21,
22, £5 admission on Wednesday.
Wallis & Wallis, West Street,
arms and militaria, 28, 29 April,
10am.
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