[Sounds of introductory splendour]
The other day, I was in my storage lockup and noticed that a slither of free space
had made itself known, so there’s only one solution to that, and that’s to go
Thrifting. Today’s thrifting site was ‘The Late One’; a car boot sale held near Aylsham
in Norfolk, so called because it starts at 11am on a Saturday,
rather than some frankly sick kick off of 7am or something, USUALLY ON A SUNDAY TOO.
It’s usually fairly busy, especially given the on site parking. It feels a bit like
a Primark sale to begin with, but there are bargains to be had, amongst the crap of course.
This Planet of the Apes magazine stack caught my eye, but then a lot of stuff on the nearby
stall did also. Masters of the Universe for example, not an original 80s model though,
one of those 2003 remakes. But that Space Precinct doll sure is original. Yoink.
This guy was having a clear out of his collection, so we’ve got a Deep Space Nine watch,
a Pepsi Star Wars watch, books of Pogs, and cereal boxes, Tazos, these Micro Machines Star
Trek models. Lots of intrigue. It always feels a bit weird having a good look,
when you’ve got the stall owners eyeballing you directly, but I picked up a few bits of interest.
Ooo, a rotary phone. The woman wanted £20, so nah.
This stall had some intact 80s stink bombs,
in that glass box. Interesting. I imagine they smell of literally nothing now.
Check out this PYE P-640 desk calculator. It had a reassuring weight to it. Perfect
for a paper weight and light calculations on the fly. Old
calculators always intrigue me. They feel like an old pet that needs a good home.
I’m always intrigued by original MP3 players too. These ones were knocking about before
Apple came along, and who can resist a good Casio Data Bank. Even in the 90s,
I never had anything to store on these, and I definitely don’t now. But cool, none the less.
Here’s my parents. Who I met at the car boot, along with my kids. It’s weird how a
field full of junk is often a great place for a family get together. That’s the UK folks.
There were a few of these game stalls knocking about. Always lots of jewel case games,
and stuff like Catz2 for the DS.
They rarely have any big box software, but it’s always worth having a quick rifle through.
Now we’re talking, a Teasmade from the 60s. I’m actually buying this,
mainly because I’m writing a new book, and for some reason, I talk about Teasmades in
the book. So for £6, I can get freshly made, slightly manky 60s tea made for when I wake,
and have something to take photos of. Oh look, a BB Gun; the 8-Bit Guy would LOVE it here.
This Corgi Slam Bam Sam set is pretty cool. I’d have been tempted to buy if the box wasn’t so
tatty. It’s basically a pair of wired, remote control cars that you can slam into each other.
Oh here we go. This is where I start buying random old cameras for a pound. Yup,
there’s more to come. Although this stall also had some Genius True Audio Expression PC Speakers,
and I can’t get enough of vintage PC Speakers. I just need to finish
setting up my selection of 90s PCs to go with them. Nearby a Railway Wonders of the world book,
lurked, which was filled with detailed 70s and 80s illustration, which I absolutely love.
This microscope set, from the 90s looked incredible,
but I decided to pass on that. Honestly, there’s no rhyme or reason to how my
mind works at a car boot. Some crap I buy, some crap I don’t.
I do love these Yamaha PS keyboards. I’ve got one very similar. I was always very impressed
by it’s set of Wavetable sounds. But if you look next to it, yep,
someone is literally selling a poop scoop. That certainly stinks.
Hmmmm, £12 for a widescreen monitor and keyboard. TEMPTING for the casual pro-gamer.
A casual pro-gamer who could BE WEARING A SPACE SUIT. This must be how Elon Musk got started.
Oooo,
PS4 games. Mmmm, I like PS4 games. But I have too many PS4 games, which gives me decision anxiety.
Not to worry though, because here’s a pair of Chinese worry balls, featuring some bells inside
no less. Clearly they were put there to tempt me into buying this Advent Laptop, which apparently
was “UNTESTED”, yeah sure. No power supply you say? Right. Still for £20 with the worry balls,
I decided to buy it for some reason?! At least I can take the hard drive out, maybe.
This bear, he looks sad at all my purchases. I do not blame you bear. You are wise.
THE TOPPER BOOK 1975.
We used to have so many comics to choose from, now we’ve just got the Beano, really.
More games. Some PS1 games this time, and a copy of Monopoly for a couple of quid,
which I’ll take, because I’m on a quest to secure as many Monopoly games as I can.
Oooo, WiiPlay, man, the Wii was so much fun, I need to revisit it some time.
Now check out this solid gold Lord of the Rings tape set. Apparently, it’s a radio play from 1987,
but it just looks so damn nice in this case, with the gold and the insert.
£10, haggled down to £7, yes please.
Honestly, if you want an old LCD monitor, go to a car boot sale, they’re everywhere.
CRTs a little less so.
I’ll just give you a quick scan over a typical stall.
Most of them are like this; just unrelenting
crap. Come on Susan, let’s chuck a load of garbage in the trunk and sell it to unsuspecting mugs.
That’s a car boot… and that’s why I’m here… Plus you get the odd spider in a frame also.
But this immediately jumped out, a tiny iMac, that’s actually calculator and clock.
Filled with extreme corrosion I might add. But for 50p, I’m definitely taking that.
I’m also taking the Alien Quadrology.
Still, perhaps, the best Alien set you can purchase on disc, especially for 50p.
This stall had a lot of games as well,
but it just feels like such a misson to work through them all, that I really can’t be
bothered. There might be something worth having, but then I’d prefer just to retain my sanity.
But then I found a big flappy Wii matt, complete with Family Trainer, and for some reason that
appealed to me. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME, HONESTLY. WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH THAT.
Ooo, a BatCave?… this is the Fisher Price Batcave
that was sold fairly recently. Definitely no 1989 Batman.
Oh look, I found a cache of more digital cameras. All shapes and sizes.
I’ll definitely spend £4 buying them for some unknown future video, perhaps. Still,
I also got a couple of decent tripods for a few quid, which are always useful for filming.
Now, this is the point at which my mother wanted to buy a vase, but the owner of the vase wasn’t
actually at the sale, and so the stall operator phoned her and I had a videocall
to negotiate the price. She wouldn’t budge, so it cost £15. But, hey, it’s good to talk.
Ohooooo, look at this Sony Vaio. I love these neon coloured models. They’re part of the
C series which came out in 2011, and even now they tend to sell for a couple of hundred.
Temptingggggg. The guy wanted £140 for the laptop alone. Hmmmmm.
I’ll buy some Sonic the Hedgehog VHS tapes instead.
Oh, and this Labyrinth maze, which I vividly remember buying from the school Christmas
catalogue in 1991 or 92. Kept me entertained for hours. £4 for the stack. Very nice.
I also bought this MadCatz PS1 steering wheel for £2, because, I like, steering wheels.
See, you now get a steering wheel in the view as well.
At this point, I had to
nip across the road to the garage cash machine, and you know why don’t you. Yes, you do.
~SS
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~SS
So, back I am here….. £120 I haggled him down to, including the case. Because I
really like the case, and I really like the laptop. It’s got an i3 380M cpu,
and actually pretty useable even today. Especially as it has Windows 7 installed. The battery even
holds charge. Of course, 2011 clearly isn’t retro, but I have plans for this beast. Yes. Plans.
Alright, final chance to look at a few objects.. BUY ANOTHER BLOODY CAMERA.
Look at an old BT phone.
Buy a Sooty’s Playpack for a pound.
Look at a baby in a bowl.
And buy some Usborne KnowHow books, because
these books are amazing. I had all of these in my childhood.
And then it was time to go, and bring this bargain hunting thrift sessions to a close.
Here’s the haul.
I’m actually quite happy with this collection.
That MicroMachines Star Trek set, teasmade, Chinese worry balls, officer Brogan. You know,
there’s a lot here, that I wouldn’t buy if it was on eBay, but the beauty of a carboot is the
instant gratification, and the CHEAPNESS. That being said, I still spent about £200.
With that Sony Vaio being the main expense. Buy damn, it’s nice.
That Advent laptop isn’t working at present, as you’d expect.
Probably water damage or something, but I’m going to take it apart and see what’s what.
If nothing can be done, I’ll just strip some parts out and call it a day.
Also, these tripods are pretty nifty, for five quid. I’m always running out of tripods,
which sounds weird, but sometimes I’m using 4 cameras at a time,
and some tripods have strengths over others. That little one is perfect for some table top scenes.
and that concludes GBR Thrifts episode 11.
Until next time, I’ve been Nostalgia Nerd. Toodleoo.