Viking Bling shopping;-) with the magic troll - flea market galore

 Oh the loot! Oh the loot! How it befits us so cute!;-)

On a recent flea market just round the corner the magic troll and I went for a bimble, not for buying anything, of course. We are both very sensible persons, you know, very prosaic and not at all prone to fall in love with bling and buying our heads off for some goodies.;-)

...errr... no...?!;-)

It was on just about the first booth we came across, that we found a lovely amber chain from raw amber, stuffed tight, and this beautiful dagger with a brass sheath. The guy at the booth claimed it was a Jemenite Jambiya, but some research showed it was of Syrian provenience. A quick check for hardness showed that it was actually even tempered, presumeably forged from spring steel. At the same booth we got the Kauri shells, for free! On another booth we got a silver "Kalevala" moon-goddess pendant, a beautiful interpretation of some Finnish Viking age finds, and an Afghan silver necklace pendant. Those files I got for 2 €, and the beautiful wooden turned container out of true Corse juniper with this lovely high-lustre shellac finish, and the antler cost 5 € total.

 A closeup of the dagger and the sheath, the lunula pendant and the other delicacies:-).

Let me give you some thoughts about it. We talked a lot to the people who sold the stuff, and, treating them with the respect everyone should deserve, we soon learned a bit about their stories. Most were common people selling what was on the attic to gain some space, and some were actually traders doing it for fun. But all of them related to the same problem.

"Most customers nowadays lack any respect. They rummage through the display as if their life depended on it, and like jackals they vomit on what they cannot eat."

 I have witnessed this kind of behaviour myself countless times. And then those "customers" offer ridiculous prices, or throw insults at the trader. Theft is common.

The pictures above tell a story. To us these goodies are cherished treasures, valuable resources and a source of joy. And the stories behind these make them even more valuable to us, as do the people who formerly owned them. Of course did we do some bartering, that´s part of the game, but you can barter without belittling your business partner. It can be quite a fun game, if it is kept polite and nice.

I daresay the people we bartered with were more willing to offer their goods at a lower price because we were polite and nice to them and gave them the feeling that what they did mattered to us (it did).

Many of the traders announced that they will be giving up on it. That would eventually lead to flea markets being only composed of trash sales booth with special-waste-clothes and beeping toy cars.

By being polite and ready to pay a suitable price tag we can do something against this development.

All in all, however, it was a great day with a load of goodies to be had, and we went home with a huge grin, prepared some good food and chatted happily about our treasures no less.

But chance is, this will not be forever.