The Sywell Classic & The Braderie In Lille

Vintage Classics

I love this illustration which I found in a vintage annual which I picked up during the summer, the subject is apt as it is only four days until the Sywell Classic!

Sywell Aerodrome In Northamptonshire

The Sywell Classic will be taking place over two days and will feature vintage and classic vehicles of the land and skies. Tickets can be obtained through the event website and the event has a Facebook page, it was great fun and we cannot wait to return, the forecast is for sunny weather.

Watch A WW1 Dogfight Recreated At Sywell

Another lovely image from another annual from the 1930s, come and see them for real, the vintage 

bi-planes will look and sound fantastic as they fly above as part of the very impressive 'dog-fight'. 

How Will You Get To Sywell?

And yes there will be lots and lots of vintage and classic cars and motorcycles along with some high output drag racers who will be tearing down the strip. You will find the vintage fair inside the cavernous Hangar One.

The Sywell Classic - 26th/27th September 2015

Not a million miles away (several hundred however) is Northern France and early September saw one part of Vintage in the Shires travel to France for the Braderie in Lille. Around three million people descend on the place and it is alive with all sorts of stalls and the aroma of Moule et Frites pervades the air, it is essentially the largest antiques event in Europe and takes place each September. I remained in Blighty to look after the Stratford Fair.

A Summer Find

I found this ever so slightly risque annual at a car boot sale in the summer and took it along to the Stratford Fair where it quickly found a new home.

Some Lovely French Finds

A case full of lovely vintage French enamelware made it's way back across The Channel and I especially like this pretty coffee pot, however the prices were very and it was obvious that the french have 'cottoned-on' to our liking of their wares.

A French Bargain

Undeterred by the exalted prices on show there are always bargains to be found and this lovely set of pans in a duck egg green colour were a bargain, especially so as they came with attachments, a lovely set of kitchen storage jars.

More Vintage Enamel From France!

A few 'bits and bobs' also made the trip back, i must mention this lovely biscuit tine from the 19020s/30s. It is French I believe however the style is one employed by artists in America and Britain during the inter war years and it is a style I like very much. If you have been following this blog or the Facebook page I write for the fair you will know that portraits of women in oil, watercolour, print or on tins such as this have always been a prized find. Some of you will also know that vintage dogs, be they old dogs made from mohair and packed with straw, 'dogs on wheels', ceramic dogs or images on postcards, in books or on tins, are also a favourite of ours.

A Very Decorative Tin From 1920s/30s France

I will write again shortly after the Sywell Classic with snippets of my September finds, photos from The Sywell Classic, posters for the Autumn fairs and news about our return to The Three Swans in Market Harborough on 30th January.

Until then take care and see you at the fair.