Bingo, Bogangar and Byron

We had all done well the previous day with our bingo cards, finding antique silverware, party invitations, Christmas tableware, a glass etched with grapes, an Andre Rieu DVD, a knitting pattern, a sequinned cushion etc, but some things were proving tricky: a skateboard, a street directory, a book of poetry and a How to Host a Murder game. The other two had each easily found an umbrella, but so far, I was out of luck. 

The next hopefully fertile field was the Tweed Coast Community op shop in the back streets of Bogangar.  I didn't find any umbrellas but did pick up a paua shell pendant to wear with my water outfit, for the bargain price of $3. The neck area of the kaftan looked a bit bare. For the whole trip, I looked unsuccessfully for a replacement silver chain for my boulder opal pendant that I have owned for years.  I have just this minute realised that the chain on the paua shell one will be an adequate replacement for the time being.

One interesting thing that I spotted in this shop was that they sell buttons by the glassful. I have never seen that before.  Presumably you bring your own container. 

From Bogangar to Pottsville is just a short hop, via beautiful Norries Headland and Hastings Point. We had no time to stop for photography, but headed straight for the back street where lurks the Pottsville Community Neighbourhood Centre, only to find that the street was chockers with cars. We headed back towards the main drag and managed to find the only parking space in Pottsville.  All became clear after our trek back to the neighbourhood centre, which was having its weekly market day.  The op shop would have been fine by itself, but add all the stuff outside, and it was amazing!

I was the first to find an under-the-building area next door, where I hit serious bingo paydirt. Not only was there a skateboard, but an Adelaide street directory as well.  

It was squeezy upstairs in the clothing area, but eventually we negotiated the change-room, strollers, a helper obsessed with selling a child's Halloween costume to somebody - anybody - there immediately, and strolled back to the car, which just happened to be parked opposite a coffee shop.  Kismet!  Coffee and cakes followed.

I had planned to completely bypass Byron and its traffic congestion and paid parking, but on our recce when Michael and I were heading for the solar train, we found a very quirky oppy indeed at North Byron.  It is called Golden Ripple and has a serious hippy vibe, as well as cheap prices.  The car parking bays are in old spaces for landscaping supplies, which have now had artwork added. 

There was treasure inside, but also loud music, which just about drove Jo around the bend.  I found the only book on my booklist for the whole trip as well as Tennyson's Idylls of a King, which meant I could cross off "book of poetry" on my bingo card.  I was now seriously in the lead.  There was a Lismore T-shirt there that I would have loved to buy but it was too small.  Golden Ripple disappointed me in the magazine department; in fact the search for interesting/unusual magazines for that competition was proving more difficult than I expected.

From Byron, we skirted Ballina and headed up the cutting to Alstonville, where there were three oppies, one of which we had visited years before. It is the Anglican and it is a goodie.

By now, I was getting frustrated by my failure to find an umbrella.  Jan tipped me off that I should look harder in the shed out the back, and sure enough, I spotted one near the door on my way out. I also found a magazine, but it was fairly boring (Horsewyse, for young female horse-lovers). It was, however, free.

We were getting tired, and definitely hungry, but managed to fit in a quick trip to Vinnies before discovering that the only place in town that sold coffee and was still open was the lovely Miles & Henry bookshop.  By the time we had finished there, and regained some energy, the Uniting Church shop had closed. C'est la vie!