Splash................

 I cannot tell you how much it rained at the brocante yesterday morning but when Frou Frou  took her boots off water poured out of them!

A few wary dealers sat in the café opposite waiting for a break in the weather and we joined them all feeling glum.

A quick halt in the downpour and everyone made a dash for their vans with me close behind them. I managed to buy a few treasures just before the rain lashed again and most sellers repacked and started to drive away.

One dealer was just sliding down the roller shutter on the back of his van when I spotted the top of a mannequin and asked about her. He pulled her free and my heart sank as I saw her body was almost mummified in old crepe bandages!

I have always told Frou frou that if something is covered up there will be a reason for it and to stay clear. Just as I was trying to peer under the bandages and feel for holes in the body Frou Frou ran past heading for shelter.

She gave me one of those looks that said " Mother you are on a hiding to hell with knobs on with that one".

I don`t know whether the rain had entered my ears and sunk into my brain but I paid for the mannequin and we made our way home feeling more than a little cheated at the lack of brocanting!

The mummified Madame sat in the car boot looking at me until this morning so I carried her in to strip off the bandages and to see what I had wasted my money on!

Any dealer who says they never make mistakes will be telling lies! We all do it, we will always do it and its part of the trade...you just learn, move on and try to wriggle out of the mess!

I slowly unwrapped the bandages and realised that they had been added over the years as the svelte mademoiselle had turned into a plumptious madame!

Then ooooh la la....I realised she was in superb condition below the layers and then.....a double ooh la la....at the base the scrolled lettering...

Au Bon Marche
PARIS

If it hadn`t been raining I would have dismissed her and walked away.

Perhaps the rain wasn`t so bad after all!!

A la prochaine mes belles.
xxxx