shopping

Market day in Hungary was an interesting affair – a mixture of ancient handcrafted goods and modern ice cream and doughnut stalls!

This old chap sat the whole day just making basket after basket. I think he was using hazel twigs as they seemed too pale for willow. He invariably had a crowd of interested onlookers  but was totally focused on his work.  We walked past at the end of the day and his stock was quite depleted so a successful day for him.

I learnt a certain amount of basket making from my father,  part of his occupation therapy while in the sanitariums was weaving and together we made a tray and an upright picnic basket (mainly for flasks and bottles going by the shape of it).  The canes had to be soaked to make them pliable and then worked while damp. I remember it being fun but then so is everything to a 10 year old!! I think we kept the basket in the garage but the tray was long gone!! There were also some red plastic canes which we inserted to add colour and to bind the handles. Funny what you remember as time goes on….

Did you notice the name of the modern shopping centre in the background ? Konsum – a licence to shop or what??!! Seemed a bit overt to our tastes. Never went inside so didn’t see what there was to be ‘consumed’.  I suppose that after the years of Communist non-consumption a shop like this was a bit of retail heaven.  Like London comes to Pecs!! Sad really though.

Re the jumble sales – I’ve since discovered that prices of goods vary from day to day – Monday is prime – goods from Uk arrive over the weekend and so Monday is best choice and the price reflects this.  So, by the end of the week, as each day goes on and stock depletes and price goes down accordingly.  A daily sale so to speak! The knowing shopper heads off with her basket on Monday morning bright and early and gets the pick of the cherries!! Can you imagine that happening in TKMAXX – wow, there’d be a riot.