Dave and Beryl live in an apartment block overlooking the Bay. Every Sunday morning there is a flea market. As I sipped my coffee, I stood in the sun and watched the vendors set up their portable stores. It was a busy scene, young men loitered. Cars pulled in with small trailers and all manner of objects were extricated from the bowels.
I’m a people watcher and I enjoyed watching the process of preparation of one group. The Husband (or business partner) first pulled a chair from the trailer. His wife duly sat down and had a cigarette. Husband erected the tent and wife observed... The same thing happened when they left, it was interesting.
There were vendors from all over the country selling a wide range of goods. In one section there were African artifacts and the picture above show tall wooden giraffes hiding their keepers. They looked realistic as they reached into the bushes for food.
There were masks, all manner of wooden and carved soapstone animals and even tacky chinese imports. The vendors were polite and quietly spoken. “We can do a special price for you”. I felt guilty I wasn’t buying anything today”
The masks stared out with blank stares, the artwork tantalizingly beautiful. Some, which were painted bright colors came from the Cameroon, some were local.
The elephants displayed on the tar cloth marched to their own beat and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather and the atmosphere.
We walked for some time along the foreshore which reminded me of Glenelg. People enjoying the morning sun, sipping coffee and chatting with friends. What better way to spend a Sunday. We took coffee and a muffin in a cafe on the boardwalk and then viewed some of the “better “ african artifacts for sale. I have to tell you my heart sure beat faster. The proprietor of an interesting african drum shop showed us his display of beautiful textiles and introduced us to a must have book. “African textiles" He spoke in a broad Scottish accent. “Some of the textiles are like tartan” he explained, “each pattern tells a story” and I filed that away for further reference. Afternoon was registration and I visited my class as preparation for tomorrow. The Conference is being held in a turn of the century school.
It was a flurry of excitement as the organizers realized their hard work of the past 6 months was finally being put to the test. Students arrived with their cases and quilting stuff in tow. many are staying in the school boarding facilities which is known here as the hostel. Beryl and I wandered the shops, some 20 I estimate. I took the card of several looking for the right fabrics for my classes and made a mental note to return to several that are selling african fabric.
In the evening there was a meet and greet of the Tutors and we all received a gift of a quilted nameplate for our classes. They are just lovely and so much work has gone into making them. They will sit outside our classrooms for the duration of the Convention.
The evening proceed as any quilting event does, chat good humor and a degree of excitement and anticipation for the week to come. In a few days we will see the mood change to elation and exhaustion. How happy I am. It’s been a lovely day, and I admit to being tired tonight... Class for the next 5 days and then 2 days of lectures so it’s going to be a rather solid week. It’s my career and I love it.
