And as if you couldn't guess from the picture, it's going to an auction. We're in Glasgow at the moment, or at least we have been in Glasgow; the OH is driving back north to Orkney even as I type, leaving me behind to do stuff, of which more later I'm sure.
Anyway I have a friend in Yorkshire who became a bit addicted to going to auctions after he'd been to his first one, and I watch the occasional TV program that includes auction footage. (For UK readers this would encompass the very occasional Bargain Hunt, and various permutations of The Antiques Road Trip/Put Your Money where Your Mouth Is, but never ever Cash in the Attic or Flog It!. Just so that we're clear.) It looked like an interesting thing to do and I'd never done it, so hey presto! I added it to the list.
One of the experts who appears quite regularly on these programs is the Glaswegian Anita Manning, and her own auction business is less than a 15 minute drive from the Glasgow flat. They have general auctions every second Saturday, and this Saturday just gone was one of them. So despite being weary from the previous day's drive we got ourselves up very early, for a Saturday, and took ourselves off to Great Western Auctions.
It was fun, mainly. It took forever, we stayed for nearly four hours and they weren't half way through the lots when we left. We were lucky enough to catch Anita who did the first hour of the auction, and I wasn't expecting that, so a bit of a bonus. We found it quite irritating that a semi circle of dealers formed around the auctioneers podium for some of the better lots; they were intimidating types in the main, and looked more like bouncers than anything else. They don't show you that on The Antiques Road Trip!
We learned some lessons.
1 Go to the preview and have a good look.
2. If there's anything you're particularly interested in, either leave a bid or find out roughly what time it's expected to come up for sale.
3. Don't sit right opposite the auctioneer unless you like looking at dealer's backs.
4. There's a lot of tacky stuff in the world, but most of it someone will buy.
5. There's a lot of nice stuff in the world, but most of it you can live without.
Will there be a next time? Oh I think so.
I loved going to auctions, though I never won a thing. People will buy the most bizarre things!
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