Leaving Shepton Mallet behind us this morning, Judith Miller and I decided to drop in on Honiton on our way down to Torbay on the final part of our roadtrip. Honiton is legendary for antiques shops, with more than 20 occupying the high street in its heyday. When I worked at Bonhams the auctioneers, I […]
This morning was spent in a leisurely manner – much needed after yesterday’s mammoth, but highly enjoyable, Antiques Roadshow in St Fagans! Although I’m out of the office, work never ceases to follow me around the country, so a few hours were also spent catching up on Miller’s emails. My long car journey with Judith […]
After speeding back from the Lincoln Homes & Antiques Fair last night, and cleaning my two exciting purchases, I packed up my suitcase ready for a bit of an ‘antiques roadtrip’ with Judith Miller. First up on the agenda was the next Antiques Roadshow at the picturesque National History Museum in St Fagans, near Cardiff […]
I first went to the wonderful Lincoln Homes & Antiques Fair last year when Kathryn and I were filming Cracking Antiques for the BBC. I was so taken with it, and the enormous variety on offer, that our runner Simon had quite a task keeping me under control! Although I loved shopping with the Barkers […]
Phew – what a hot one! I’ve just got back from the Brighton Antiques Roadshow, where the blazing sun was as continuous – and welcomed – as the thousands who turned up today. This was my second outdoor event, the first having been Tatton Park last week. I always enjoy these more than indoor events […]
Most of the ‘antiques’ shops in the centre of Prague close over the weekend, with the exception of the higher priced shops, and those in the Old City. That makes it the perfect time to go museum hopping and enjoy the fantastic and unparalleled array of Art Nouveau architecture that the city has to offer. […]
A city centre with a shop selling glass on pretty much every street sounds like heaven for the glass collector. Not so, I wouldn’t give a second glance, let alone house room, to 90% of the cheap trash on offer! Apart from pieces by Moser or similar factories, and pieces sold at the swish Material […]
I’m an enormous fan of 20thC studio ceramics – and not just those produced in Britain. Studio potters in Germany and the Netherlands also produced some ground-breaking, important and strongly appealing work too. With this in mind, I was excited to read an email from Marcel Brouwer today. Marcel, who ran the Design department at […]
The fabulous sun this weekend meant that it was clearly too warm and welcoming to spend any time indoors. Sitting under a willow by a river seemed like a good (and cool) idea, so off we went to Cambridge to sit alongside the Isis in the picturesque college environs. On the way into town from […]
I’ve just got back from my second Antiques Roadshow of the season, at Beverley Minster in the East Riding of Yorkshire. I’ve never attended a Roadshow in a church before, and what a stunning first time it was – the Minster is truly breathtaking. Only if I had time to enjoy it properly though, as […]
Well, in the words of Warner Bros – ‘That’s All Folks!’. Last night saw the final episode of the first series of ‘Cracking Antiques’, where we helped Roy and Katy create a mid-century modern style living room for their 1950s bungalow. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, even with a budget of around £2,500, […]
I’m writing this a little later than planned, but of course I couldn’t visit Berlin (or anywhere, indeed) without having a quick hunt for some new treasures. As time was a little tight on last weekend’s visit, I only had time to visit the excellent flea market at Strasse des 17 Juni, near the S-bahn […]