Kassam Stadium Car Boot Sale

I'm sure more people go to the Kassam Stadium fot boot sales than for football! Certainly on a sunny Sunday morning it's packed. Most people seem to turn up earlier than the advertised time, and whatever time we arrive, there are already hordes of people leaving, triumphantly bearing their morning's haul.

If you've never gone to a boot sale it might be hard to see the appeal: it's just other people's unwanted junk isn't it? But there's something much more satisfying about this type of shopping - spotting bargains, paying hardly anything for something you really want, tracking down your prey, knowing that there's only one of everything, haggling, winning it! It brings out the hunter in everyone. It's certainly hard walking into a real shop afterwards. The prices are awfully high for a start!

There are always lots of baby things, looking remarkably smart. I guess babies don't wear things out before they grow out of them. Lots of household items too - cocktail shakers, and kitchen implements and so on. Some stalls sell clearance items - new shoes £1 a pair, and toothpaste with foreign labels. Sometimes it's even within its sell-by date! There's lots more bizarre things too, and almost anything you want will turn up there sooner or later. Once we encountered a stall with a whole lot of chemistry equipment for sale from a school which had closed down. Bunsen burner, anyone? We've even bought boots here.

Go armed with plenty of cash (preferably in change) and a shopping list. You'll return with a totally different set of items! But you might just find something you've wanted for ages, or of course that undiscovered masterpiece or antique which has been lurking in someone's attic for ages and might be worth a fortune...

This time of year is perfect - warm enough for the icecream van to be very welcome but not baking hot. And of course all the stalls are shining in the sunshine with their wares looking like treasure! Go and suspend your disbelief! It won't be till you get it all home you'll wonder why on earth you thought you needed all this stuff! Never mind - once you've bought a bit more stuff you can have your own stall...

Jen (Unverified), 16/04/07