Bath, bags and being a bit blind.

As those of you who have read Vix and Emma's posts before me will already know that Vix did a vintage fair in Bath last Saturday and we decided to visit it.
Even though Bath is a mere hop and a skip away from me, somehow I still ended up getting up stupid early so much so I got to sit around and people watch at the station for a bit.
I got to to do that in Bath for a little while too as my train got in first.
There was rugby on, it was all very festive, and I nearly got caught up in it and came away with a flag and a plastic centurion's helmet. Thankfully the girls arrived before I did decide they would be a great idea!
We went straight to a cafe for a drink and a catch up. It was lovely to finally meet Dee after years of reading her blog.Emma kindly gave me the evil world domination plotting rabbits I had admired on her blog.

It seems they have either had a disagreement or their plans are made........

It was a glorious day made even more so by the company and of course being able to have a good gossip with Vix whilst watching John hard at work.
Pictures were taken

and the fair was thoroughly worked.

As it goes I didn't buy any clothes, though one or two items caught my eye none really spoke to me, unlike the handbags.I firmly kept my handbag purchases down to just (just!) 3. I could have easily bought about 10 if I'd had the spare cash.

There was an ace home ware stand where I also made a couple of purchases.

How fab is this tray? It had a quick clean when I got home and I ate my breakfast off it the next day.

I also bought Himself this lighter. Neither of us smokes but he does have a thing about dice so I knew he'd like it. It looks great on our coffee table.

Without further ado here are the bag purchases.

The final one is the second Corde bag in my collection and a size I've been after for a while, usually they sell for more pennies than I am prepared to pay but this one has been well used and was pretty grubby too.
This picture is it part way through being cleaned. Personally I'm not after pristine condition only, I don't mind worn corners and faded or marked lining they just show the bag has had a history and been well used and well loved.

As Sunday was a grim day I spent it cleaning these and a couple of other recent bag purchases. I've been asked by a couple of people how I clean my bags and toyed with doing a post about it but I'm not exactly an expert so have shied away from that, I would hate for someone to ruin a bag copying what I do.
There are probably bag conservationists who will have a fit but for those who asked what I use

The tools are:
A toothbrush
Antibacterial wipes
Washing up liquid ( I prefer Fairy)
Bar Keepers Friend
A good leather shoe cream or polish
Brasso wading metal cleaner

The antibacterial wipes are perfect for cleaning the inside of handbags and I also use them on the insides of second hand shoes. Not only to they lift dust and dirt, most importantly for me they sanitize!

The toothbrush is the next most used item. Before plunging straight in with your warm soapy water, always test on a less obvious part of the bag like the bottom for colour fastness.

I used the toothbrush and warm water with a splash of Fairy to gentle scrub the Corde bag which had some grubby marks on it.
Never, ever, soak the bag, many have cardboard in their lining. Just dip the brush in the water shake off any excess water so it's not too wet and then use, dabbing the bag dry with paper kitchen towel afterwards. Try to follow the grain of the fabric when you clean.
Let it dry thoroughly and then check whether as in the case of the Corde bag it needs a second going over.
Always be gentle never use elbow grease! Far better to do it a couple of times than scrub like mad and wreck the bag.

I prefer the wading type of metal cleaner because you can pull off the tiniest bit for carefully cleaning metal frames without getting metal polish all over the bag you have just cleaned.

Anyway I've digressed! Back to Bath.
Sadly it was time to leave the fair and even sadder we couldn't take Vix with us.

We browsed the indoor market where I made my final purchase of the day.

How could I resist this sparkling greenness?

Emma took us to the most amazing place for lunch Cafe Lucca. I've walked past it a few times but never been in which was a mistake because the food was delicious.

We ambled about Bath taking in the sights which included a wedding at the Abbey where the bride clearly had something against her bridesmaids, it's been a long time since I have seen such hideous frocks.
Male majorettes shaking their booty and twirling their pompoms and a skeleton riding a bicycle.

All in all a wonderful day out.

The being a bit blind bit. Well age is catching up with me and I now have 2 pairs of specs, reading and distance. It means I suddenly have to remember to have the reading glasses with me at all times or mistakes can be made.
We popped into Sainsbury's to get a few bits and they had some clothes on sale. They had an amazing aubergine print dress which I didn't buy full price but I was happy to buy half price.
Let's just say their dress labels a writ small and I didn't have my glasses.
When I returned with said dress the next day to exchange it the girl asked what was wrong and I had to confess nothing at all, I just hadn't been able to see the label properly and picked up the wrong size!