It was one of those perfect spring mornings. You know the ones; clear blue sky, birds singing, washing drying on the line and the smell of fresh cut grass.
So, it wasn’t long before we were on the open road, passing Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, on our way to Station Mill Antiques Centre in Chipping Norton. Station Mill is, in my humble opinion, heaven to any lover of old things. The centre consists of rooms of treasures, and the sweetest tea room, stocked with homemade cakes and scones, all of which are served on miss-matched vintage floral crockery.
While browsing I stumbled across a tiny porcelain girl. She had been reduced to £2, and was clearly unloved. I am a bit of a sucker for waifs and strays of the vintage variety, so I felt compelled to give her a new home.
We then drifted to Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds for a traditional English cream tea. Warm scones, raspberry jam and clotted cream, turned into a post St George’s Day celebration feast.
While walking off the over indulgence, we discovered the most wonderful traditional toy shop. Those of you who were ‘of toy buying age’ in the 1970’s will know what I mean. Not only did they have a glass cabinet of plastic animals (set out in rows - possibly a visual merchandising law set in the 1970’s), they also had lots of Hello Kitty box sets. You could buy almost anything; from a Hello Kitty florist to a Hello Kitty cafe. I resisted a Hello Kitty set – there really isn’t any more space in my cabinet - but I did buy a Jemima Puddle Duck plate. I must confess, to this day, I still feel sad about poor Jemima’s eggs being eaten by the foxes.
