Hungerford Arcade co-owners, Adrian, Hazel, managers, Rita, Wendy and James, all the staff and stallholders wish Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II a very happy and joyous Birthday.

Original: Joel Rouse/ Ministry of DefenceDerivative: nagualdesign [OGL 3 (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3)]

Hungerford Arcade has many connections with people from all walks of life whether

Photograph Courtesy of Granddaughter, Claire O’Neill

L-R Claire with Arcade Manager, Rita

they are local or far, far away.  This time, a lovely young lady, Claire O’Neill called in to tell us about an Antiques Fair in honour of her grandad who recently passed away.

George had been a silver dealer for over 55 years as was his father before him.  He was a well respected member of the community and much loved.  George was very ill and became a patient at the Hospice in the Weald.  He was so grateful for the care he was receiving that he promised the Hospice he would hold an Antiques Fair to raise money for them.  Unfortunately, George did not live to carry out his promise, but in stepped his Granddaughter, Claire O’Neill who put the wheels in motion so that the Fair could go ahead on the day that George had planned it for, 28th April 2019.

The Skinners School has kindly donated the whole school for the occasion and as well as the Antiques Fair which covers two halls with over 55 stalls, there will be live music and refreshments kindly donated by Fuggles Beer Cafe.

The Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Len Horwood will be officially opening the Fair which will be announced by the Town Crier.  It is going to be a marvellous day.

George was still dealing on the internet while in the Hospice and even after his passing, was still selling and making money.  Nice one George!

Hungerford Arcade was very pleased to welcome Erik Thorbjørnsen all the way from Norway to do a special shop here at the Arcade. Erik stayed for quite a few hours and bought a whole host of beautiful items to take back to his shop Blå & Maritim Antikk Hvasser.

Erik said that many people recognise him from the restaurant Den Blå Brygge in Sandøsund, which was decorated with various objects from far and near. We quickly found out that guests wanted to buy these items.  We first started on a hobby basis, but now we have left the restaurant to others and are focusing on the sale of beautiful and old items full-time, both through the shop in the old bank room vis-à-vis Hvasser Motell, as well as at our online store.

I am particularly keen to track down objects that, in addition to fulfilling a function, also meet aesthetic and craftsmanship requirements.  Two words, professional pride, which is almost never used anymore, characterises much of what I can offer. Artisans and specialists who made run-of-the-mill items in ancient days often said that what they did was also to be beautiful, in addition to being solid and user-friendly. This is reflected in beautiful wood, shiny brass and great design.

You can visit Erik on his website at https://www.blaantikk.no/

This is a supplement to  a small series of articles in which I will discuss items that I have either purchased or just seen when visiting antique establishments in Hungerford and elsewhere.

A Spring Day

It was one of those early spring days which state clearly that winter is over, even though the air is still cool.  Blossom is on the trees and all kinds of creatures (including the crazy ducks) are engaged in complex courtship rituals.  One feels good to be alive, safe in the knowledge that the home test matches are two or three months away.

Today was such a day and Caron and I decided to catch up on a few chores that we had put off during the darker winter months.  Once these were complete, I decided to pop into the Arcade as Tesco’s was not my scene.  I purchased four items which I have listed below;

A vintage clothes brush in the likeness of a Marie Antionette (this is my best guess although I have never met her).

Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) by Charles Baudelaire (a brand new paperback copy).

The Dryad Quarterly dating from Jan-March 1935 (which contained some great thirties advertisements).

A pamphlet containing the works of Edward De Stein (1887-1965) who was known as a First World War poet (he only published once in 1919 and this later collection appears to have been printed just for fun).

I do not intend to go into any great detail in this short article and have written it (whilst waiting for a train) to illustrate what can be found when just browsing within the Arcade and elsewhere.

As you can see, I love poetry and tend to gravitate in that direction and the Marie Antionette clothes brush was just a small gift for my wife for putting up with my general disinterest during the day.  It is great fun drifting through antique Arcades and shops and the like. You never know what you will find.  If I had set out with the above on my shopping list, then it is unlikely that I would have ever found them.

This was my journey and for the price of a book of stamps, I was able to purchase all these fascinating items  You should try this yourself (wherever you live) as it is great pastime.

Happy Hunting

Stuart Miller-Osborne 

 Hungerford Arcade have many classic car collectors come in looking for scale models of vehicles they own or, wish they owned.  Geoff was thrilled to pieces when he took delivery of his vintage 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air today!  There are many more where that one came from, so do come in and have a leisurely browse.

Don’t forget our Classic Vehicle Show outside the Arcade on the 19th May 2019 with the West Berkshire Classic Vehicle Club and their fabulous cars!

Hungerford Arcade has a lot of visitors from around the world and one lady in particular caught my eye the other day and her name is Margaret Lucas.

Margaret travels all the way from Australia every year for the Cheltenham Festival and part of her journey always has to include Hungerford Arcade.  Here she is with Adrian (co-owner of the Arcade) holding on to her treasured horse brasses.

Hope you had a wonderful time at Cheltenham Margaret.  It was fantastic seeing you again and we look forward very much to welcoming you back next year.  Rita