Village Vending and Vintage vehicles

Life isn't all about boats down here in Zeeland, although you'd be forgiven for believing that's mostly what I think about, which is proabably true.

Anyway, I'm pleased to say that there are subjects which will distract me from them on occasions and one of these is our annual village festival. The Dyke Party, as I will call it, starts on Friday evening and goes  on until Sunday afternoon. During this time, we have a garage sale, a vintage car tour, an art fair and live music performed by local bands specialising in covers of popular rock music. And, of course, there's a beer tent and food provided by our local Spar.

It's very jolly and always well attended. Those participating in the Garage Sale set tables up outside their houses and display all the second-hand goods they hope to dispose of for a few euros. We pay €5 to be on the official garage sale route so that interested shoppers can get a map showing all the participating houses. Ours was the last one in the village, but that didn't stop us from having a steady stream of interested purchasers. It's always good for clearing out the cupboards, but some items are definitely more popular than others. Vinyl LPs, for instance, are hot sellers. We managed to sell almost all of ours. It was pretty hard to see them go but we realised we haven't played records in years. In fact, we don't even have a turntable. So, like everything we don't use anymore, it seemed pointless to keep them even though many of the older albums were part of our history. 

Cameras, however, don't sell at all.  Between Koos and I, we have quite a collection of old but excellent digital cameras that we'd love to find homes for, but no one showed any interest in them. I even have two lovely little analogue Olympus Trip 35mm cameras that you'd think someone might want for a collection, but not one person gave them even a passing glance. There's no accounting, is there?

Also on the vending front, but of a higher and newer quality was the art fair. I was a proud mum when I saw daughter #1's display of paintings she had put together. As a themed set inspired by her trips to the Isle of Skye in Scotland, they were captivating and she not only sold four of them but also generated tremendous interest with her evident passion for Scotland and its scenery

Across the aisle from Jo's table was one displaying equally beautiful ceramic work. It was crafted by a lovely lady in the village who I first met when I went to the optician for some new glasses a couple of years ago. I didn't know then that she was such a talented potter, or that she had her own kiln at home. If you look to the left of the photo below, you might see bowl at the back of the table that looks like an upturned mushroom with a green glaze. I loved it so much I bought it and am so pleased I could support someone local as well as have a piece of ceramic art that I  can cherish.

As you can see from the photo below, though, the work on display was extensive and most of it was high quality. Our village has an unusually high proportion of artists among its residents, and many of them were represented at the fair, although there were others from elsewhere too.

My other favourite attraction was the vintage car collection, which is always impressive. However, I have to admit I got stuck gazing at these two beauties and the 2CV below them. Karmann Ghias and VW Beetles are my absolute favourite cars and these two were really stunningly restored.

As for this little Citroën duckling, its colours are something else and probably not original, but isn't it lovely? Thanks to Koos for the photo, which is lovely too.

I didn't go to the live music, given my general aversion to crowds. I'd already had my fill of mingling for one day, but we could hear the band from some distance away and they were giving a pretty convincing rendition of some good classic rock and roll.

By Sunday night, our village streets had resumed their usual quiet where the noisiest occupants were the jackdaws, pigeons and blackbirds. The annual festival is great but I'll take the peace any day, as well as the opportunity to sit by the Kreek (creek) and watch the ducks like daughter Jo here below.

 Enjoy the rest of your week allemaal and I'll hopefully be back with more boaty progress next time – that's if the rain decides to give us a break!