'Memories of Mortlake' and Octavias in Sheen!

When I got off the bus in East Sheen I found the old curiosity shop by the bus stop open for the first time.

Could I resist going in? No way! Nobody seemed to be in.

No reply to my loud 'Good morning.' said again and again...

I walked to the next room filled with all sort of decorative items and still found nobody to answer my repeated greeting.


From that room I could see the stairs and finally heard someone coming down. It was an elderly lady. She carried some food - a late morning snack, I suppose. We had a brief chat and I took a few more pictures.

 She has had the shop for years, cannot past with these once precious items. Now they are crammed in this limited space, but it was different when she lived in a big house in Richmond. There used to be lots of shops like hers in the past, I heard. The place reminded my of  'Spichlerz Regionalny" in Skarżysko Kościelne. I went to see it last August.  Should you have little else to do today you can look for the post about this visit. I wanted to spend more time with the charming lady. Having to dash I promised to try and pop in later. It didn't happen. I couldn't get away from work.
Another time, maybe...

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I took a few pictures of  East Sheen Octavia shops. The one on the corner near the Mortlake Memories and The Garden Centre these objects caught my eye:

 I am sure the two oriental style mugs would appeal to my Mother. She has always been fond of this kind of stuff and (with a bit of help from me and her friends) has accumulated quite a collection. Maybe she has enough... :-)

This set of four prints shows London on the day when the Great Fire broke out.  Quite unique, isn't it? Can you see so many churches towering above the city? Nowadays they are dwarfed by the contemporary buildings scraping the sky.

I'd like to have the space to hang these four pictures. It would give me lots of pleasure to explore the London as it was, to seek and discover all the details the artist re-created.

That's the danger of charity shops. Temptations...

One could learnt a lot how to avoid them from a family of three generations that came to the said shop while the manager was going to lunch. They spoke in my native tongue and didn't realise I was one of theirs until I revealed it when they came to the till.  Gosh... That will make a story, but let me finish it later, OK?

I still want to show you the treasures from the other Octavia Sheen shop where I gave the other colleague a well deserved break (or too many ill used short breaks as he is possessed by a nasty habit of smoking which I disapprove of strongly, mind you).

I think I may have already added a picture showing this thirsty musician:

 This figurine always makes me think of a dear friend of mine, an English teacher and self-taught trumpet player! I admire him so much.


The book on historical cats went into the hands of an elderly lady as soon as I spotted it in the window and took this picture. Anyway, I already have a few cat-themed items purchased for the near and dear cat lovers who seem to be a bit slow at collecting them from my not a mansion-size abode.

This cat was still up fro grab at the end of yesterday opening hours. It's a heavy one though.

More treasures in the shop window:

This print I would like to dedicate to a girl friend of mine who dashed back home from the seaside the other day to make it for a game of tennis:

A stylish mirror detail:

Ideal jumper for a cat lover to celebrate Christmas, don't you agree?

Behold an unusual set of cufflinks and a tie pin:

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And before I forget, before embarking on a two-bus journey home I paid another quick visit to Sophocles Alexiou's photographic studio in Upper Richmond Road.  He has just come back from another exciting assingmnent that took him to Los Angeles and Japan! How interesting!

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Enough for now!

Let's have a great Saturday, shall we?