Wonderful Windy Warwick

I had found the Criterion Hotel by driving down the main street of Warwick using Street View on Google Maps.  Pubs don't appear on accommodation website, so a bit of detective work is necessary.
I then went to their website where I discovered they had a self-contained apartment that looked good.  I contacted them and asked if it could accommodate three, and they said they would add a trundle bed for the night.  Another advantage was that staying in the apartment entitled us to our own dedicated parking space, a much-sought-after item in Palmerin Street Warwick.

I announced our arrival, was given the key to the apartment, and directed along the street, around the corner, down a driveway, and into the appropriate carport.  Worryingly, there was a sign taped to the fence thanking us for not parking there after 6th October, due to construction work.  This was October the 7th.  We parked there anyway and then tried to find the back way in.  Although our room was right at the top of the steep and terrifying back stairs, we could not unlock the door.  Eventually after several abortive attempts to navigate through other doors and staircases, I found a way in, took a chair from our apartment and propped open the door at the top of the stairs, and, under the eye of the elderly and somewhat bemused pub cat, we managed to haul our luggage up into our apartment.

There our jaws hit our chests.  The apartment was beautiful.  Pressed metal ceilings, beautiful brass light fittings, a fully laundry and kitchen (with the cutest corner drawers you ever saw) and a well-stocked library.  As trip organiser, I scored the big brass bed.  The trundle, however, had not been made up. By now we were hot and thirsty (the highest temperature the car had registered for the day was 37), so headed downstairs, through glass doors that would be 'shut after the pub closes at 10', for a drink and dinner. I think we scored the last table.  As we came upstairs, there was a an elderly gentleman ranting at a staff member because of lights that were turned on. I don't know what his problem was, as it was quite early, and it was me who had turned on those lights!
Relaxed and back in the room, we showed off our purchases, decided that this was not outfit modelling night, and settled in our lounge room to enjoy the luxury.  Outside, the wind was beginning to howl and were were very worried about the people living near that fire to the northwest.  A young female staff member arrived to make up the trundle bed, and we told her all about our trip and asked if there were any op shops in town that the internet had not told us about.  Of course there were. 'Ask the locals' was the number one thing we learned last time; and she told us the location of two extras.
In the morning, we had a self catered breakfast, but learned that the current fashion for very shallow bowls is not helpful when you are trying to microwave scrambled eggs. I thought I would go downstairs to take some photos of the front rooms of the hotel, only to find that the glass doors were locked.  This was at about 8.15am. I still can't work out how guests get down to breakfast. Then we packed up, and looked out the window.  
There was a truck towing a generator parked behind us.  We lugged everything downstairs, and the driver appeared as we were loading the car.  We looked suitably pathetic so he moved the truck to let us out.

After a couple of wrong turns we found the Lifeline shop in King Street that the hotel staffer had told us about.  They had a sign (like most) stating that only three items of clothing were allowed in the change room at any time.  This was a challenge as we all had heaps to try on, and the change room was right in front of the counter, staffed by eagle-eyed volunteers. We soon won them over, and took in ten at a time.  I know I bought some clothes there, but can't remember which.  Jo found a funky pair of shiny black pants, but wimped out on buying them.  She bought the green top though.

Next was the Salvation Army in Grafton Street. We had decided to make Op Shop of the Day awards. This was not a winner, but did have the Best Dressing Room of the trip.  It was huge and had an actual hanging rack for clothes, rather than the usual one sad hook.  It also did not have piped country music, like the Vinnies in Gatton did, so that was another plus.  The previous day's winner, by the way, was the Lifeline Emporium in Toowoomba.  From there we headed back to the main street.  The Vinnies turned out to be their high-end shop, and I found nothing there.

Nearby was a cafe packed with women, so we decided this was the perfect place for coffee; well, I also had food  but the other two showed more restraint.
Then the hunt was on for the Uniting Church Lighthouse op shop in Guy Street, which the hotel staffer had told us about.  We were excited about finding a park directly across the road, only to discover we could have parked in the yard.  It definitely needs better signage.  It was our winner for the day: in an old house (probably the manse) with delights packed into in every room, and the garage and shed too.  I found a couple of items of clothing there.  The women were delightful: happy and chatty, and so pleased when we praised their efforts.  One was singing for most of the time we were there.The change room is the bathroom, with a laminated sign on string to tell if it is engaged or free; but who cares. I found a couple of items of clothing there.



The last shop in Warwick was the Red Cross, situated on the outside wall of the Rose City Shopping Centre.  This was a great hunting ground for me, as I found three tops there that were all the right length for me. Most are too long, and I have to alter them.  This was also Wig Central.  There must have been about 10 wigs on display, at least as many in packets, and 'there's more out the back', I was told.  I was particularly impressed with the bright pink one.

It was now time to move on, as today was the day we would lose an hour, and the clock was ticking...

The Great Op Shop Road Trip 2 - Smokin!

This year it was my turn to plan the road trip, and as last year Jo had headed mostly north, I decided this time to head mostly south. But first, westward ho!
Jan and Jo had to come down from the Sunshine Coast first and were held up in an unexpected traffic bog north of Carseldine; so after a restorative cuppa we eventually left Wavell Heights at about 10.30, bound for the Lockyer Valley.
The Legacy Way Tunnel (worked on by Jan's son Tim), improved our time somewhat, and we made it to Gatton in good time, noticing bushfires both to the north and south-east of Toowoomba

There are supposedly four op shops in the main street of Gatton, but the ADRA one had obviously gone to Op Shop Heaven before we arrived.
Vinnies was first up, and a nice bright shop it was.  I found three items of clothing there, one the shoes I was looking for, for my costume for the 4WD club Christmas party.
Two shops up, the Red Cross had an interesting mirror, but nothing for me.  I would encounter another identical mirror a few towns further on. We asked where was the best place for lunch and Cafe Thirty-Three was recommended. I didn't think it was possible to put as much chicken on a chicken sandwich as they did!  

Then over the road past a nice young busker having fun with 'Ring of Fire' to the Salvos, where most of the clothes were priced at $3.80. Inspired by Daiso, I wondered? But no. There had been a move to increase prices from $3 to $4 but some thought this would frighten off the customers, so a compromise was reached.  Now the shop has a dire shortage of 20 cent pieces. The perils of pricing by committee.

Our next stop was Backyard Basement at Withcott which I discovered on my last trip to Toowoomba.  It lurks behind another business on your left as you head west and is easy to miss.

There was nothing in the clothes department for me, but I found the Best Wedding Dress of the entire trip there.  The hat was the pièce de résistance.

I was intrigued that they hang their pants and shorts sideways, with the hanger holding the side seam; not sure why this is any better than the traditional way.

One of my main aims on this trip was to complete my Colleen McCullough Masters of Rome book series. So far I had only managed to find books two and three (at Endeavour Capalaba).  Here I found book one for $3. I was also looking for Val McDermid's Tony Hill books that I hadn't read, but no luck yet.

We were concerned that time was passing, so headed up the range to Toowoomba, abandoned our original route and made a beeline for the Lifeline Emporium in the middle of town (next to The Spotted Cow).  What a great store (a sign on the door says it has been nominated as 'Australia's Best Op Shop').  Not only did I find clothes, but upstairs is the best book section I have ever encountered in any op shop. It is like a library.  All the books are divided into carefully marked sections and all are in alphabetical order.  My purchases there came to $25.50, including two more Colleen McCulloughs and the three Val McDermids I wanted.
There is also a vary large vintage section, if that is your thing. Jan found a hat that could have been made for her personally.  I think she was tempted to sleep in it. 

We still had the long drive to Warwick ahead of us, so decided that all the other op shops in Toowoomba would have to wait for another year.  We went for a stroll through the flowers in Queens Park, which were still looking beautiful two weeks after the Carnival of Flowers. As we drove south, the smoke became thicker and thicker, and we heard on the news that a watch-and-act alert had been issued for the fire to the west of us.  The atmosphere was quite eerie.  We had a quick sticky-beak at Allora and arrived, tired but satisfied, in Warwick, where the next adventure awaited...

Goodies and Gossip

Well I didn't do too well finding a pirate outfit for Michael.  Nine op shops failed me there.  However, I did pick up a book and a pair of earrings. And if you want a framed Wallebies jersey signed by John Eales, there's one in Vinnies at Proe Street, Newstead.

The highlight was seventeen pieces of Rosenthal china that I found at Vinnies, Northgate; left there nobly, stewed about them for a few hours at home, then went back to buy them.

Since I came home, I have done some research. The designer, Dorothy Hafner, has designed for Tiffany & Co as well as Rosenthal. 'Her works are in museum collections worldwide'.  She designed the Flash tableware collection for Rosenthal in 1982. http://thechromologist.com/80s-design-classic-dorothy-hafners-flash/ 

I think I have just become a Flash collector, but only from op shops.  The online prices are too high for me.  The current online bid on ebay for one of the large plates I bought is more than I paid for all seventeen pieces.  Please let me know if you see any out there.

The hot gossip is that the Op Shop strip at Capalaba will soon be no more. Save The Children, Endeavour and Footprints are side by side in Dollery Road, very central, with parking out front and well worth a visit, but their leases are up in October and will not be renewed.   The block will become a development site. Honestly people! Priorities!

Anyway, further gossip is that Save The Children are soon to open shops in Chermside (yay) and Annerley.  Annerley is already an op shop hot spot, so the customers are there already. Chermside is op shop deprived now that Lifeline has closed, as well as my beloved the RSPCA shop at Kedron.

Back to the Blog

Has it really been over a year?  yes, I broke my foot, and yes, I lost my Mum, but something happened to my Op Shop mojo there for a while, and I'm not sure what caused it.  I am only just starting to get it back.  

I was downloading lots of old photos from my phone and found some old op shop pics, so thought that might be a good place to start again. 

This one was taken at Neighbour's Aid, one of the big op shops at Lawnton - definitely worth a look - and is a reminder that no matter how flash your sign looks, it's a good idea to check the spelling before you print the sign.

The one on the left was taken at the Lifeline Super Store in Beaconsfield Street, Margate. This is the 'out the back' section, that you enter through the main full-sized op shop.  We have picked up a couple of good things out here, from an office chair to an awesome Tupperware frypan. I had no idea that they made such things. There is plenty of parking over the road, and the huge Save the Children store is just up the hill.

Moving along to the excellent Lifeline at Everton Park, which I may have mentioned before - great book section - but also a place where I have been quite successful in the clothing department. On this particular day, I picked up a Tattersall's Club tie (although sorely tempted by the Pepe le Pew one), which Michael wears when he wants to impress!  I found two nice semi-dressy tops there a couple of weeks ago.


And finally for this blog, one of Brisbane's best-kept secrets. This is the Lutheran Church op shop in Union Street Nundah.  Parking can be difficult but there is a small 1-hour zone out the front.  This little gem is packed with so much stuff you can hardly move around. Clothing, jewellery, Christmas decorations, kids' stuff, and a big bric-a-brac area downstairs out the back.  

My challenge today is to find things piratical.  Mike and I are going to a trivia night on Saturday where we have to dress as either sailors or pirates, and as we each have a pirate hat on hand, the choice seems obvious.  The Lutheran Shop is going to be my first port of call (pardon the pun).  I'll keep you posted...

 

24 Hours Around the Ridges

Last Friday I drove to the Sunshine Coast to attend the funeral of Jo's lovely Dad, whom I have known since about 1970. Jo, you will recall, was one of the participants in The Great Op Shop Road Trip.  Jan, the other participant, lives west of Cooroy at Carters Ridge, so I headed there first with my trusty suitcase.  It was a glorious day for driving with an excellent musical soundtrack all the way up on the radio. And I noticed the Ridgewood Hall was a having a fair the next morning.
  
Jan and I decided that lunch in Cooroy plus a bit of op shopping was the best possible lead-in to the funeral that we could think of.  Cooroy has four op shops, and Jan volunteers at the Lifeline, so she gets staff discount!

We didn't have a lot of time, so it was a bit of a rushed exercise.  Endeavour first.  It has lovely leadlight windows.  It is a small, thin shop, but beautifully presented. However, I only managed to find a book there, a gift for my brother.  Next was the Hospice Shop, which raises funds for the beautiful Katie Rose Hospice at Doonan, where Jo's Dad was cared for until his death. It is rather well hidden behind the main shopping strip. It has a good bric-a-brac collection (unlike the Endeavour shop, which doesn't have the room). I was impressed that every item of clothing has a size-marking hanger, which makes life so much simpler.  I tried on a couple of things here that didn't quite work, but Jan found the tray she was looking for.

Onwards to Lifeline, where I was introduced to Jan's co-workers and found the treasure of the day, a pair of purple crushed velvet pants!  The perfect thing to wear to the launch of my cousin Lorelei's book Dress Memory next week (the book tells her journey through her twenties, relating it to her love for vintage fashion). Now it was time for a lunch break, so we headed for the Thai restaurant, where we sat out on the footpath in the main street and shared two $9.50 specials. Good value.

We realised we still had time to do op shop no 4, the Bloomhill Shop. It is the prettiest of the Cooroy shops, and has a brightly lit, but cottage-feel interior.  Here I found the two extra plates I needed for our picnic set (bright red), another knife for our everyday kitchen set, and a pair of dangly shell earrings.  Not a bad haul for a quick visit.  Jan bought a beautiful red and black velvet skirt.

It was time to head to Tewantin to the funeral, where we cried and reminisced. We then headed back to Carters Ridge for our own private wake and an early night.

Next morning Jan asked if I would like to go pop in to the Hall, as she had entries in the photo competition and was feeling hopeful about her orchid. A country fair? Of course I would!  After we checked out Jan's three highly-commendeds and one second-place photo, we were doing a slow loop of the hall, checking out all the entries. As I stood on tip-toes to photograph a beautifully crafted little model WWII truck about 10cm high, I felt my worst-ever cramp in my right calf, and crashed to the floor like a sack of potatoes.  People came running from everywhere with skilful massage fingers and kindly advice, and after a few minutes I was back on my feet.  Suffering for my art, I finally successfully photographed the truck.  But as my calf was improving, my foot was starting to hurt.

After about half and hour, I was worried about the drive home, so left Jan and her friend Frances at the second hand stall, and carefully applied foot to accelerator.  The trip home was OK, despite my nervousness, until I hit the brakes at Carseline, and I knew I had a problem. Now braking with my heel, I headed to the butcher to buy sausages for the Father's Day BBQ, and as I limped slowly from the car to the shop and back, I knew I had a BIG problem.  Off to the chemist before they closed to hire a set of crutches, then home where help was available.  Car emptied, stomach full, then off to the hospital.  I have a fracture of the fifth metatarsal, to go with the fractured third and fourth that I suffered in 1999. So no driving, no work, no book launch...but the crushed velvet trousers look good with my moon boot, don't you think?

We Did It!

Happy Op Shop Week to all.  

To celebrate, I will describe the 4WD club Op Shop Crawl that happened on the second attempt.

I planned it on the Brisbane Show Holiday Wednesday so that Brisbane workers could come and because shops in the Moreton Bay Region would be open as they have their show holiday on the Monday.  The numbers were looking good, but gradually I lost the two passengers in my car; Heather lost the three in hers, and the one person I thought wouldn't actually come, dropped out.  So in the end, Heather came in with me and we had a convoy of three vehicles.
The plan was coffee at Westfield Strathpine, followed by a sacking of the RSCPA shop opposite, which had served me so well during the eight years when we had a shop at Westfield.  As the clock ticked slowly towards 9 o'clock, I noticed that said shop was looking suspiciously tidy outside.  Close inspection revealed disappointment but not total despair.  It appears to be being renovated (but not closed down). Phew!

We piled into our vehicles, checked out UHF radios, and headed for the Lawnton Trio: Neighbours Aid, the Sallies and Vinnes, side by side.  There were good buys made here.  I picked up three pairs of pants at the Salvos, for example.  And in Vinnies, is the biggest bra I have ever seen. If you wear a 48I, there is one in pristine condition just waiting for you. Also in the Sallies is a beautiful old piano.

This shop is very new, and has nice little shopping trolleys at the front for your convenience.

In Vinnies, we discovered that there is nothing less marketable than a former politician...

It was time for morning tea.  We had to make a stopover at the Lawnton Bakery for those who had not bought morning tea supplies (as per instructions); and then it was off to Bullocky Rest picnic area on the shores of beautiful Lake Samsonvale.

This is a historic photo because on the table is the McBurneys' Stanley thermos flask. This was Telecom issue when Michael was a backhoe operator in their camps in the late 1970s. It has had a rough life, including falling off the back of a truck.  Now it has entered a new phase of its history, because I left it on that table. 

I actually saw this tall thing on the table from a distance just before we drove off, and thought to myself 'It is getting busy; someone has bagsed our table already.'

The next stop was Redcliffe, and on the way the convoy lost Kerry for a while.  She thought she was behind us, but was actually in front. Anyway, we made it to the carpark behind the shopping strip, only to discover that everyone in Brisbane had decided to spend Show Holiday beside the water, and parking was at a premium. 
The vintage/retro shop was sadly closed, but the wonderful old haberdashery was open, as were the two small op shops that face each other.  In one I found the worst souvenir mug ever, complete with its own cave and ugly stalagmites, and in the other were pineapple holders from the Big Pineapple at Nambour.  We did the shops, strolled down Bee Gees Way and then headed for Margate.

Here there are two big shops side by side: Save the Children and the Lifeline Super Store. And big it is. 

At the former, I found an MCG tie for Michael, and at the latter, an office chair for $10.  The photo at left hows the McBurney and Blacklock loot for the day, including the forementioned items plus a second tie, FREE hairspray and soap, a ramekin to replace the chipped one in my set, a small pyrex bowl to complete that set and a steak knife that matches the ones we have (that's my lot).

Heather acquired two books, a brooch, a pair of earrings (which I may steal), a shoulder bag, and three items of clothing.

With the shopping done, we headed along the Redcliffe and Sandgate waterfront to Upper Moora Park at Shorncliffe for a late lunch.  On the recce day, there was no-one there. On this public holiday, there were people everywhere.  We all eventually parked, bought takeaways as required, and congratulated ourselves on a successful expedition.

I had given the participants a challenge for the day, namely a scavenger hunt.  Each needed to find a non-souvenir teaspoon, a hand-crafted object, a pair of knitting needles, a Christmas item and a baby names book.  In the end, only Kerry collected all five, so she was the winner of the grand prize, a glass bowl purchased at Vinnies, Lawnton, during the recce.  There was also a Trip Leader's Encouragement Award, namely a Sydney Olympics souvenir spoon featuring a map of Australia (including Tasmania) containing all three mascots.  It was purchased at Endo's at Stafford.  This award went to Graeme, who not only picked up the latest Tom Clancy novel for a fraction of the price is is currently fetching in bookshops, but was the only man brave enough to take part.

It was a beautiful day, and we all had a ball.

Bookarama

My daughter needed to buy a book that she could destroy for an art project. I knew just the place.

May I introduce you to Lifeline, Everton Park, possible the best op shop for books on the north side of Brisbane.  You park behind it in the eccentric, meandering carpark of the Everton Park Shopping Centre, away from the chaos of the main road.  (There is a basic-but-nice little coffee shop there as well.)

The whole shop is big and tidy, and the book section has its own large corner room.  All books, I repeat ALL books, are $2.

There are lots of CDs as well ($1 each), DVDs ($3 I think) and heaps of children's books.

While Heather was choosing her victim, I had a ramble and a random look.  The first book I laid my hands upon was all about epergnes.  Yes, those wonderfully eccentric table pieces.  It was called Elegant Epergnes and chock full of pictures like this.

At $2, I actually wanted this book quite badly, because it was so beautiful, but resisted the urge.

The next one I resisted was Chambers Biographical Dictionary, about 5 centimetres thick, but biographies are what the internet is for. 

The books are beautifully catalogued, so I strolled over to the cooking section, where I found this.
 

It is a beautiful collection of biographies and photograph of migrants, both individuals and families, each accompanied by a recipe from that family's tradition.

I nobly resisted this one as well, as I could not possibly fit another cookbook in my house. But, $2...

I then moseyed over to the novels, which were not only in alphabetical order but had little alphabet stickers on them, so that you could see instantly if a book was in the wrong place.

As in all op shops, I noticed multiple Stephanie Meyer, but no George R R Martin.

Heather had by now made her choice, a huge hardcover collection of aerial photos of Sydney.

It seemed such a shame that it had to be mutilated, but $2...?

I was spared from any more temptations, as we made our way out into the clothing area...wait, I just might try on that black top.  Yes, we did each buy clothes.

Meanwhile, on the subject of books, The Cystic Fibrosis Book Shop at Nundah is in the third and final day of one of its everything-in-the-shop-half-price sales and I have resisted going there, too.  It has something to do with a cash-flow problem.  However, this is a great little shop, tucked down beside the railway line in a back street, where old Brisbane City Council library books go to die.  I sincerely recommend it.