No such luck! The pickings were as slim as a bad day in the Gobi desert and I have to say that the standard of most of the stuff on sale at both boot sales was very poor and verging on grubby. Vintage stuff was scant and old toys [1980's backwards], apart from one specialist dealer stall, virtually non-existent. Where have all the vintage toys gone? Are they now locked away in private collections having been ebayed several times during the last 10 years? Are they gathering dust in old toy shops or are they the sole preserve of Toy Fairs?
I did manage to find one piece of interesting Hong Kong plastic, a small DUKW shown above, but I can't help thinking that the golden years of car booting are well and truly over and Ebay is what we have in their place.
Do you agree?
Where I live, the car boots are generally uninspired, and are diminishing in number. The best bet for interesting stuff is a bric-a-brac fair that accompanies a local auction rooms, and which small-time toy dealers do attend. I wouldn't say there are bargains there, but I do pick up the occasional item of interest.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more Woodsy. I came back to the UK last summer for the first time in four years and was stunned at how all the cool places I remember from my youth have become filled with generic modern crap from Asia. Portobello Road, Petticoat Lane, Camden Market, Carnaby Street (I know I sound old...I am). No vintage record shops, no vintage book shops, no vintage toy shops. I covered 1400 miles in 10 days around the UK and found NOTHING. It's the same here in Canada. All the flea markets are closing down. All the book, toy and record shops have gone. All we have left is Mal-wart and Toys R Us. Sad days.
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