Cup Cake Guitar

What a great idea! I'd like to see a trumpet shaped like a bottle of cheap wine.

French website reveals waiters' tricks to get our money

The garcon isn't a popular figure in France. The French generally distrust waiters and the press are happy to twist the knife. But an article on the French website Rue 69 is likely to confirm what French diners already know, the title is "7 serving tips to increase the bill".

A few examples:
Alexia, a waitress in a "chic brasserie", told the website: "I serve the water regularly so the bottle is finished bang in the middle of the meal, then I suggest another bottle. Almost always, the customer orders."

Another trick of the restaurant trade, says the report, is serving salty snacks with pre-meal drinks to make customers thirsty and serving the occasional glass "on the house" to detain diners at the table if business is slack.

So the next time a waiter offers you a salted peanut........You have been warned.

Beach Huts - Beach Photography and the North Sea

The beach huts above are on the North Sea coast, where I'll be spending some time over the next three weeks as I travel north up the coast. The beach huts look out across the sea towards the Netherlands. The entire coast, from Kent to Scotland has a unique presence, it's wild and it feels very strange. One reason it feels strange is that it used to be land that was swallowed up by the sea, a northern Atlantis called Doggerland, home to tens of thousands of people before it disappeared.

I've also been spending time creating a Facebook page. I've always been sceptical of the usefulness of Facebook (and Twitter). Do people use it to communicate, or as a measure of their own popularity? Anyway, I'd like to use Facebook to engage with people who read this blog and others who share my interests. Please visit my Facebook page by the clicking links and join me.

This is Exellent - London Can Take it

"Public Service Broadcasting - London Can Take it". Made using the original war time film.

Hunting for Flea Markets and antiques in Spain

Spanish Rastro or Flea Market

 About five years ago I published (on another blog), a series of photographs of the interior of a Spanish rastro. With the help of a friend in Spain I've up-dated the info for 2012 and added extra photos.

 Hunting for 'Flea Markets' in Spain

You may not have noticed but guide books and travel blogs about Spain are rather quiet when it comes to buying vintage and second-hand goods. There's a wealth of information about 'flea markets' in other European cities like Paris, London, Berlin and Amsterdam, but apart from a couple of markets in Madrid and Barcelona, information about shopping for antiquities and vintage items in Spain is veryy scarce. 

I lived and worked in Spain for eight years. I'm a professional photographer, traveler and a collector. I collect vintage books, magazines and maps, cameras, pocket knives, fishing tackle, musical instruments and fountain pens. I could probably think of a few other things, but this gives you an idea about my shopping preferences.Wandering around thrift stores, car boot sales or flea markets is an essential experience for me, therefore flea and antique markets, and pre-owned goods stores are big pull when choosing a particular city to visit.

Most guide books will point you in the right direction for flea markets, but when visiting Spain the word to remember is Rastro which has several meanings, one of which is flea market. With the exception of "El Rastro" in Madrid, which is a large street market, most rastros in Spain are nothing like flea markets we know, but are in fact small stores run by volunteers with profits donated to charity. They sell anything and everything including clothes, furniture, garden tools and ornaments, paintings, posters, magazines, toys and games, shop and industrial fittings. Nothing is restored but it's usually in good condition, or at least repairable, and everything is uniquely Spanish - with the occasional surprise from Morocco! 

Rastros spring up and start trading in any building that offers shelter and security. You'll find that rastros in old houses tend to specialise in clothes and house items, while rastros in industrial units tend to offer larger items of furniture, old shop fittings and stock, plus bicycles and car parts. 

What about prices?

You can get a lot for your euros in a rastro. Generally items are priced from a couple of euros, to around fifty euros upwards, for items of furniture. Clothes tend to be priced between five and ten euros, depending on style and quality. Bargaining is normal - but don't be too pushy.

How to find a Rastro?

Every town in Spain has at least one rastro (they are growing in popularity as Spaniards are coming round to the idea of vintage chic) and the larger cities all have several. But they rarely advertise, relying instead in word of mouth. Fortunately, Spanish people are friendly and will go out of their way help, so just make enquiries. Ask in the local town hall, police station, shop or bar and you'll be given directions. Or ask a taxi driver and and let them take you.

A very nice door knob - Tim Irving

Soho London

I took this photograph a few weeks ago in Soho, London. Soho is a small area of central London that by day (it changes character at night), has remained true to itself and feels comfortable. What's remarkable about Soho, is that it's in an area with the highest property prices in the world, and yet you can still find a gents hairdresser with a hand painted sign. And what a sign it is! The original hand writing must go back to the 1940's or 50's. Every time the premises have been decorated (rarely by the look of it), the painter has carefully worked their way around the writing. It's beautiful.