A Swap Meet is all about contradictions. Jewels amid the junk, gems in the garbage, riches in the rubbish and, of course, treasures in the trash. It always comes as a surprise to note the huge number of stalls and the amazing variety of goods on offer: it just seems to go on and on.

So it was on the Sunday of last weekend. The TT persuaded organiser Mark Blyth to put on a happy face as he explained that there were more than 300 stalls and some 2,500 visitors in attendance.

Our favourite was the old-fashioned bed warmer – just the thing when the apocalypse comes and the electricity grid completely collapses. While this newspaper is being carefully pecked out on that old Remington typewriter we kept in the shed just in case, the servants can shovel hot coals from the fire into the circular receptacle and rub it around between the sheets. Who needs an electric blanket?

There were many such drops of ointment among the flies at the showgrounds: oil cans, advertising signs, bottles, tools, ornaments – even a few pot plants. And hey, if you did impulsively buy that something and later come to regret it, set up your own stall at the next Swap Meet. Someone is bound to see it as the beauty among your bin and take it off your hands then.

This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 1 December 2023.