What's Cooking? Bloggers, Brixton, Bristol & Balti

When we get home after a long day of vintage trading the last thing we want to do is cook so, more often than not, we'll just collapse on the sofa and dial a pizza or an Indian takeaway.

"What we need is a slow cooker" I said to Jon last Wednesday and, lo and behold, moments later we spotted this unused 1970s Gordon Bleu model on a stall at the car boot sale for £2. I shan't be making any 1970s dishes in it though, having lived through them I can confirm that the era wasn't great for us vegetarians, little wonder I was such a scrawny child.

We're trying it out today by cooking one of our favourite dishes in it and the smell of mixed vegetable Balti is almost driving us insane with hunger.

Talking of vintage selling we did another double this weekend, setting the alarm for 5am to make the journey down to Bristol and the achingly hip area of St Paul's. I was so excited at meeting beautiful Amie, after knowing her virtually for almost six years , that I forgot to take a photo, so I've cheated! If possible she was even lovelier than she comes across on her blog. I can't wait to catch up with her again.

After a successful day trading we loaded the van and took the two hour journey to the outskirts of London to check into a hotel at Heathrow, avoiding the long drive back to Walsall and the evil 4am start the following morning to reach trendy Brixton. Jon and I killed ourselves laughing when, on our way to reception, I was approached by a very posh guest who asked if I was performing at her function later. God knows who she thought I was! We checked in, showered, had a couple of beers and a plate of nachos (the cheapest thing on the menu) and went to bed, setting the alarm for 5.45am.

Despite the hotel being a mere 12 miles from Brixton it took over an hour and a quarter to get there. London traffic really is mad, even on a Sunday morning. Staying over meant we hadn't the facilities to make our usual cheese cobs which was just as well as we wouldn't have had time to eat them anyway, over a thousand people visited the fair, we never stopped all day. I was thrilled to meet the gorgeous Sarah & her lovely boyfriend Sam who'd crossed the river to come and visit.

My excitement continued when Kezzie turned up. She was as sweet and pretty as she is on her blog. I just wish I'd had a chance to spend more time chatting.

All in all the weekend was a roaring success, our stock went down phenomenally well and the van was a heck of a lot lighter on the journey back to the Black Country. We've got this weekend off which is no bad thing as some serious re-stocking is required. Our rails are decimated.

Despite the heavy workload I did find time for a little treat. I spotted this 1970s psychedelic towelling maxi on a neighbour's stall in Bristol and had to make it mine. You can't really miss it, can you?
I'm off to eat curry and drink rum. See you soon!

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday. Better late than never.