I’m an avid supporter of ‘keeping it local’ and will do what I can to support local businesses. I know full well that the old saying ‘use it or lose it’ truly applies to local businesses. We are lucky to have in our village a village shop, a post office and a very charming florists. I will use all of these whenever I need those services rather than schlepping to the nearest supermarket. And I enjoy being a part of that.
But this isn’t a blog post about local business.
It is a blog post about vintage items with a local twist however. We are fortunate enough to have a well in our back garden. We discovered it completely by accident when installing a fish pond. Digging in the ground, we found a row of bricks and further investigation showed that they lead round in a big circle. We dug out as much as we could, and got very deep before the level of water meant it would be dangerous to continue. I don’t know when the well was filled in , but they certainly filled it with everything but the kitchen sink! We pulled out an old tin bath, a pram (or the remainder of), and lots of glass bottles. These cleaned up really well and I treasure many of these, especially as they have local companies’ names on them. Some even ‘By Appointment to His Majesty the King’ no less! It really was fascinating and we have a gorgeous working well in the garden now, to-boot!
I also collect vintage postcards of the area. I find it fascinating to see the differences between how the villages and towns once looked compared to how they look now and also in some cases, how they’ve stayed the same. The way we use our towns and streets seems to have changed dramatically over a short period of time but I guess it has had to in order to accommodate today’s lifestyle.
Fishing around in the garage this weekend, I came across a plate I honestly had forgotten about. In gilt letters, it reads “A Present From King’s Lynn”. It is reticulated and has some cherubs hand painted in the middle. I have no idea when it was made. I presume it would have been for decorative use. It’s not that special, if I’m honest. So why do I like it? Well, it has the words ‘King’s Lynn’ on it! I love local…