Today's Portobello Road bargains...

[ffutures]

Feeling crap today, but had to go to the post office so I went to the one in Portobello road and did some shopping there.

Got two rather nice books: The Iron Pirate by Max Pemberton - an 1890s novel that predicted the commerce raiders of WW1 and WW2. Turns out to be a 1930s edition, unfortunately, but I don't own a copy and it was a nice one to get for £3. Still in euro copyright until 2020 so I won't be putting it on line. Then on another stall I found a bound volume of the boy's weekly magazine Chums from 1894-5 - a big book, over 800 30cm x 23cm pages and must weigh 2-3 kilos, with a gorgeous gold and black on red cover - unfortunately the spine is missing, but I got it for £3 so I'm not too bothered. Don't think there's any stories or articles relevant to Forgotten Futures in there, but there are some nice illos including full-page colour plates, mostly for action-adventure stories, so there might be something useful there.

Also got 24 quail's eggs for £1.50; long time since I've eaten then, but 3 or 4 ought to make a nice egg sandwich.

Weird problems with Livejournal all day today - can't access it normally, I've only just thought of using a proxy server to post this. But I gather it's a known problem so hopefully will be OK tomorrow.

Comments

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I had a second-hand copy of The Iron Pirate as a child. I think it must have originally belonged to my uncle (and thus, like yours, was probably a 1930s edition). For a while, when I was aged eleven or so, it was my favourite book.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I may have read it at some point, but it's nice to have my own copy.

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

I ate quail eggs once. They were a little startling; not unpleasant exactly, but the flavor was much stronger than that of hen's eggs, as if all the flavor molecules had been squeezed into a tiny package. I don't think I've seen them sold anywhere in many years, here in San Diego, not even at Whole Foods, which aims upscale.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I've had them before; they're usually much more expensive, so I don't make a habit of it, but it's a nice treat.