I just got the cheque from local auctioneers Abbotts of Campsea Ashe - £247.74. I'm not complaining as I knew that putting some of the stuff that was cluttering the garage into a general sale was taking a risk and they were extremely efficient in getting a cheque to me just a few days after the sale. The Victorian wire planters sold for £100 which was about what I expected despite buying them years ago from an antique dealer for £250 - we know that the dealers have to make a profit and we enjoyed having them in the conservatory for many years.
But the £40 that we got for this Victorian fireplace was a bit of a shock. This was a hell of a bargain for someone as it is a genuine antique complete with patent design registration mark for the 1870s and cost us over £300. When you take into account the charges, the £30 we got was probably not much more than its scrap value. As I said, I'm not complaining, we needed to clear things out, we gambled and we lost. Mind you with prices like this I'm tempted to visit the auction as a buyer and restart the eBay selling that I enjoyed so much from 1999 for seven or eight years. I've still got all the reference books and think I'm still enough of an expert on antique pottery and porcelain to spot a bargain.
It's a good job that Bonhams in London came good with the sale of the Japanese stuff last month. Their cheque took a bit longer to come but it's now cleared and will pay for the new car.
We're heading off for Gatwick tonight as we've a flight to Spain to catch early in the morning. Our niece is getting married on the Costa Del Sol on Saturday so it's two days in the sun and a chance to see the family briefly before heading back to Framlingham on Sunday. How times have changed from our own wedding in the glamorous Chatham Registry Office and the reception in Rainham Scout Hut - the cheese sandwiches and sausage rolls were delicious and it was genuinely one of the happiest days of my life.
We're still in Rochester at the moment lending a helping hand to Paul and his family but I had to pop back to Framlingham last night as we'd arranged with auctioneers Abbotts of Campsea Ashe to take some stuff in to their sale room. They've a regular weekly sale on a Monday and it's so popular that you need to book a slot weeks in advance. As I walked towards the car, which was parked on the main road, I noticed a wing mirror cover lying on the pavement. "Hmm" I thought "that looks ominously like my wing mirror". Sure enough I walked around to the driver's side to find this.
No note, no insurance details - nothing. As you can see, I was parked within a space and, although the mirrors protrude it's a main road with plenty of passing space. So I had to drive back to Framlingham with reduced visibility.
I got back to Fram, loaded the car to the gunnels with all sorts of stuff from the garage including these good Victorian items, some great garden planters and candle holders and much much more and went to bed. I took the load to Abbots first thing this morning and then headed back to Rochester via Toyota in Ipswich to sort out the mirror. It's going to be £278 to fix it which sort of negates the purpose of my drive home as, although the stuff I've taken to the auctioneers cost the best part of £1,000 I'm not expecting much more than £300 when all the charges have been taken off.
I don't want to get on a soapbox here but what happened to honesty? I can understand ignoring perhaps a tiny scratch (although a brief apology under the windscreen would be welcome) but to leave someone with a bill for almost three hundred quid and no recourse to the insurance (excesses and no claims considered), is criminal. If someone took £300 from your wallet they would be a crook, what's the difference? I said no soapbox so that's the end of the matter but I would ask anyone to think twice about the consequences of their actions and ask themselves if they would be happy to be on the receiving end.
On a positive note I should get the proceeds of the sale of my Japanese collection in a couple of days. I've been thinking of replacing the car. It's quite amazing that the proceeds from these three little bits
of pottery could possibly buy this.
We'll wait and see.
And if you want to grab a real bargain, get along to Abbotts of Campsea Ashe on Monday.
