A hot time in the Windy CityNo,

A hot time in the Windy City
No, not Chicago, but London, as 22 Yanks roared through the Mother Country

By Ralph Finch

So there I was, sitting out on the runway that dark and frigid evening in early January.
I could see the snowplows through the plane windows, going back and forth in what seemed a losing battle with the blizzard roaring across Michigan, the East Coast and, over the next few weeks, the bulk of the country.
As we headed for our second de-icing, I began to worry that I’d run out of old bottle magazines to read, and that we’d never get off the ground and I wouldn’t make my London connections to join up with 21 other Yanks for the Antique Bottle & Glass Collector magazine’s 9th romp through the Mother Country and its antique markets and bottle shows.
Finally, after 3 1/2 hours of watching the snow blow by our small windows, our big bird took off; I settled back for what wasn’t a long winter’s nap: Next stop, Heathrow Airport.

The following morning I awoke in a far warmer world than the one I had just left. The first order of business was digging out my sunglasses. A bright, bright morning greeted me, with temperatures around 50, and the sun making the grass on the local golf course a radiant Kelly green.
Why so many of you stay back in America, shivering away knee-deep in snow — by the end of January, parts of New England were to set a record for snowfall — instead of joining our far-ranging group as we sip hot beverages in quaint tearooms in between antique shops and shows, museums and the theater I’ll never understand! Once again, as you read this report, just remember: Next year, you could be part of it.
On Friday morning at Heathrow the Yanks (aged 9 to mid-80s) rolled in from their various hometowns from the East to the West coasts, from Florida to Pennsylvania to Michigan and Ohio. Arriving in Terminals 3 and 4, we were picked up by our great bus driver, Dave, and began the run up to the ancient walled city of York, where we were to stay for two nights, overlooking the River Ouse (full breakfasts and dinners including, thank you very much).
Our two days at York practically took our breath away— in more ways than one. First, it was hosting a convention of archeologists! Second, further north of us were flooded cities and winds of 100 miles an hour, but York still faced a major “breeze” that even blew through the closed windows of our Moat House Hotel. It was like sleeping in a wind tunnel!
“I love York, but the wind was overpowering! That’s hurricane force,” said Floridian Arlene Caruso. “All holding hands when we went outside was kind of fun though.”
And the morning we departed for the Coddswallop Bottle Museum, the river literally was creeping up the street and starting to turn our hotel into a genuine moat house!
“The weather in York wasn’t disagreeable; it just added to the interest of the trip,” said Tom Hicks of Georgia.
Here’s a brief outline of the rest of the trip:
The city of York; the Elsecar bottle show, the bottle museum, the bottle auction, the antique shop. In London it was museums, restaurants and more antiques markets, such as ....
The pre-dawn 500-dealer Kempton Park market where experienced shoppers carried torches (flashlights), followed later in the morning by the 1,500-dealer Ardingly show.

Some of us carry a torch for the theater, too, and the West End got a decent turnout as seven people attended the great Palace Theatre to be awed by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Woman in White” (with Michael Crawford). Jim and Janice Hagenbuch toe-tapped to the “Rat Pack,” and said it was like being at the Sands Casino in Vegas in 1960, seeing Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. singing live. Arlene Caruso saw “Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang,” while Jonathen Melnick went to the great Royal Albert Hall to see “Dralion - Cirque Du Soleil. A group of us — Jonathan, Bob and Alex Barbour and myself, saw Elvis strut his stuff in “Jailhouse Rock” at the Piccadilly Theatre, while John and Mary Wolf were awed by the lion’s share of “The Lion King.” “We enjoyed the elaborate costuming and the re-created motions of the animals,” said John, “and the great African music.”
I also had reservations for two hours at the Tony Award-winning and grand “Grand Hotel” at the intimate Donmar Warehouse Theatre. How intimate? It’s only four rows deep!
“I saw ‘Woman in White’ and thought it was great,” added Tom McCandless, “but, I started getting chills at intermission and had fever through the night. I had to take it easy after that.”
A delightful sunny Friday morning was spent at the Bermondsey Market, followed by a long Saturday winding through the stalls at the Portobello Market.

That’s Tom Hicks studying a target ball collection in the Coddswallop Museum. The collection belongs to John Hargreaves, who has the distinct pleasure of possibly being England's only target ball collector.

The last Sunday we were at the 200-dealer 29th annual WinterNational
No trip is perfect: We were pounded by the British pound, making it even harder this year to find value with our weakened greenbacks. We also took a pounding from the cold and flu season. John and Mary Wolf spent three days in their hotel room, and by the end of the trip, our tour bus sounded more like a sick room on wheels.
Here are some of the travelers to tell you in their own words what they liked (and didn’t like) about the trip:
Tom McCandless of Hopewell, N.J.: “Although I have never experienced such winds, I enjoyed York, its cathedral and the walled city area. The hotel and its food were excellent. The winds whistled around my sixth-floor room, but I slept soundly,” said Tom, which allowed him the next day to tour the fantastic National Railroad Museum. “The train museum is very big, very educational, and complete. The hand-held audio tour is very useful — much easier to use and understand than the one I rented at the British Museum.
“At Elsecar, I bought some Christmas lights for resale.
“I have visited England several times, three with Jim Hagenbuch, so, I get a bit bored with sightseeing in London. However, I always enjoy Covent Gardens, especially the very professional quality of the musicians and singers who perform at the center court for donations.
“Portobello is always interesting, although the weak dollar makes prices seem very high.
“I felt sorry for the dealers who set up outside at Ardingly. I couldn’t believe they stayed set up in the rain and wind.
“I did buy an American historical flask at the WinterNational!! A pint Summer - Winter GX-15 in sparkling mint condition. It had been dug in Ireland!! It was priced reasonably and still on the sales table at noon.”
Tom, I’m not sure if I should go here, but Arlene Caruso told me to ask about your baby butt.
Tom replied by sending a photo of a 3 1/4-inch tin of “Nothing Smoother Than Baby’s Bottom Virginia Tobacco by Savory’s,” so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
John and Mary Wolf of Dayton, Ohio, didn’t enjoy the York weather, which gave them all the more reason to attend the indoor National Railroad Museum. “Well worth going to,” said John. “A huge number of train engines and cars.” In a York antique shop, “we got an 1879 print of Lock Lomand, Mary’s family’s ancestral home.
“At Elsecar, we got to see dealers and friends who didn’t make it to the WinterNational, so that was good; and I bought an amber mini-Warner’s Cure to resell. I also bought a 20-inch by 30-inch enamel ‘Veno’s Lightning Cough Cure,’ purchased for a friend.” (John has a smaller version hanging in his home.
“The bottle museum had wonderful displays, including target balls and medicines.
“I got a couple of cures at the 324-lot auction, for a friend here in the States; and the antique shop at Elsecar was especially nice.
“In London, we got to the Imperial War Museum, but there was too much to see in one visit. We also went to the National Gallery, impressive, like our Smithsonian; and we went to the Horniman Museum, which has a great collection of musical instruments, and where we have a friend who is a curator.
“We didn’t get to the British Museum or the Victoria and Albert,” due mostly to being knocked out by the flu. When they finally got back on their feet, “We enjoyed the Chinese restaurants — Poon’s, with members of the group, and at the Crispy Duck in China Town with our curator friends
“We found a lot of stuff at Ardingly — it’s a great market. We got a bronze cat pen wipe, some Royal Dalton miniatures, two advertising mirrors, a framed advert for Guinness, and a couple pieces of china.
“We bought a nice set of Britain lead soldiers, probably from the 1930s; I have 15 or 20 sets from when I was a kid.”
At the WinterNational, John “bought a framed Player’s cigarette sign and one new aqua bottle: an ‘Arthurs Cura-tuss for Coughs and Colds Carmarthen.’ I knew it existed, but I had never seen it before. It wasn’t out on the table, but was brought to the show for me to see. ... I didn’t buy anything else, but we talked with a lot of people.”


Ohio cure collector John Wolf, from left, Nancy and Bruce Webb of Tennessee, and Jonathan Melnick of Florida talk about what’s in the bags.	Bruce Webb counts out the money as wife Nancy watches. Bruce collects pub jugs and was able to acquire several at the antique co-op next to the museum.

Rick & Meryle Rinker, Loves Park, Ill., collect sauce bottles, paper-labeled soldered tin cans, American clocks and knife rests.
“Always love the Moat House — especially the location,” Meryle said. Weather was lousy and the 7 a.m. fire alarm jarring when we had planned to sleep in. Enjoyed the group shops, but did not buy anything there.
“Wish the dealers had been set up when we got to the Elsecar show. Bought a couple of sauce bottles at the show, skipped the auction (nothing that looked interesting to us this time), and found a wonderful group of glass knife rests at the antique shop — on sale at half price! Bought six pair of knife rests there.
“We just love London. Since I was sick most of the time, we took it easy and did not go to museums, etc., this time. We love the ability to travel the city via tubes — you can go anywhere in the city on your tube pass (which is included in the cost of the trip). Our only complaint this time was the dollar’s lousy value — food, etc. was VERY expensive.
“Kempton Park is always one of our favorite shows. I got a couple of inexpensive knife rests and Rick found two clocks — one American, the other a ‘Picture Clock.’
“At Ardingly we went to the outside booths first — it looked like it was going to pour, so decided to go outside first and head for cover when it rained. Therefore, we were probably among the few who saw the whole venue. We did not buy much though — looked at lots of things, but prices were a little high. It was really nice getting warmed up and eating at the far building.
“Again, enjoyed looking at Portobello, but didn’t get a single thing!
“We thought this WinterNational had less excitement than past ones we have attended — not as many buyers and not as much enthusiasm. We did find a great little sauce bottle, embossed “PAYNE & SON 328 REGENT's.” It looks like a very early one. Rick found two clocks — both are most likely reproductions, but they were really nice — cast iron. One has an older clock in it and is shaped like a rabbit with red eyes that move with the ticking of the clock. The other is a smaller elephant.
Meryle said she went with Jim and Janice on a side trip to Bath, but “was disappointed to learn that the large antique centers have closed. Only one was still there, but since it was Wednesday, the weekly market was open,” and found a very nice crystal knife rest there.
“What did we like best/least about the trip?
“Best — it was sunny most of the time in London, a real treat. Least — the dollar’s deflation.”


Part of the black glass offered by Chris Mortimer at the WinterNational. Chris’s new book on English Pratt ware can be seen in the front.	An extra added feature to the Coddswallop show was a BBR Auction held by Alan Blakeman and staff. Many of our group participated, some even winning items being auctioned.

Bob Barbour and his son, Alex, 9, from Shawnee, Kan. The father collects figural Bitters, poisons and Sandwich colognes, while Alex collects sample bottles and small poisons.
“It was our first trip to England,” said Bob. “We both loved it. The people of England are great!! They made these two Yanks feel right at home.
“The two bottle shows were right up there, especially the WinterNational. It was Alex’s first live bottle auction and he actually won a lot.
“The highlight of the trip was the Chelsea vs. Manchester United football (soccer for all you Yanks) game. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of seeing an English Premier League game.
“Old Town York was a wonderful example of medieval England. The York Minster was unbelievable! The Viking museum was very interesting too. York is a magnificent town that we would love to visit again. Our time there was very limited and with the cold weather we just didn’t get a chance to see everything we wanted to see. A good reason to come back!
“At the Moat House, the irony of having an archeological convention and a group of bottle collectors together in the same hotel was very amusing. We knew who they were and what they did, but they had no idea about us.” (At one table, the Museum of London was touting a new booklet on the excavation of “John Baker’s Vauxhall Glasshouse, 1663-81 to 1704.” One of London’s “post-medieval glasshouses,” it produced “wine bottles, potash glass vessels and finewares.” It’s a good thing the English “Archaeology Service” got to it before Jonathan Melnick did!)
“Our first English bottle show, at Elsecar, was very enjoyable. We bought a few bottles. The auction was fun. Alan runs a very swift auction. The bottle museum was fabulous. The antique shop had a lot of bottles, which is always nice. I should have bought the light-colored Tippecanoe and not listened to the advice of my fellow collectors.”
In London, the Barbours saw “the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, London Aquarium, a Chelsea vs. Manchester Untied football game, Cutty Sark, the Maritime Museum, Harrods, Hamley’s Toy Store, Portobello Road and the Boat to Greenwich. London is a fascinating city with more museums, galleries and attractions than we could have visited in a month. I think if Alex had to choose one thing (he liked best), it would be the British Museum. He loved the mummies and sarcophaguses.”
And the Barbours loved the food! “Yo Sushi (conveyor belt sushi), White Swan Pub — great place for lunch, Chinese at Poon’s, Italian at Trattoria Bardigiana, English Sunday dinner at the pub on the way to the tube, the British Museum Court restaurant. The best fish and chips were right across the street from the play, ‘Jailhouse Rock.’ All the food was absolutely wonderful!!
“At Kempton Park, although we didn’t have any torches (flashlights for you Yanks) we did pretty well. Alex found a very rare Wakelee’s Camelline in the smallest size. According to Richard Siri, the last one sold in Pacific Glass for $500-plus. (Alex paid $12 for it!) You have to ask, ‘What in the heck is a California bottle doing at an antique show in London?’ The seller did have one other California bottle, a fig syrup that we declined to purchase.”
“At Ardingly, unfortunately we hunted inside first; by the time we got outside, a storm that would make a NorEaster proud blew in and I do mean BLEW!!! I have never seen that many dealers, pack up that much merchandise in that short amount of time. Needless to say, we got shut out at Ardingly.”
The Barbours went to Portobello Road and “bought a few things, before it got too crowded. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but we still had to go to Harrods, Hamley’s Toy Store and to get chocolate for my wife. All this before 1:30, so we could get to Greenwich for the Saturday market!
“We had a great show at the WinterNational; I could have spent all day chatting with Norm Lewis, Rob Goodacre, John England, Canadian Dwight Fryer and the many other bottle collectors we met. I guess that is why they have the SummerNational! I picked up a Coles Patent (England) Ossidine Poison in a very rare large size. Alex picked several one and two dram poisons for his collection. The smallest poisons are getting very difficult to find, even in England.”

Jonahan Melnick of Sarasota, Fla., was brief in his comments, but nevertheless enthusiastic. (He was probably getting readying to rush out and go mucking somewhere.)

Just part of the 200+ sales tables set up at the WinterNational Bottle, Pot Lid and Collectable Fair.

“I find that England is rich in history, and the inhabitants are quite friendly. York has many noteworthy historic sites.
“Elsecar, and the Coddswallop show and BBR auction was among the highlights of the trip.This was my first live auction that I participated in abroad, and I was successful in acquiring several lots, including a rare colored ammonia for my collection.
“I love London; it’s vast! And there is so much to experience! The Museum of London and mucking along the banks of the Thames discovering 17th and 18th-century clay pipe bowls where most-rewarding adventures.
“Another highlight of the trip was to see the Velvet Revolver rock concert at the Hammersmith Theatre.
“But the No. 1 part of the trip was the quality time spent with my friends, Ed and Juanne Herrold and Bob Barbour and his son, Alex.”
Ed and Juanne Herrold of Sarasota, Fla., enjoyed their second trip to England with Jim’s entourage and “we loved it both times! Having the bus available for shows is wonderful because we can go back to the bus when we get cold or tired, and it provides a great place to temporarily store our purchases!
“We had great elevated views of York and the Ouse River from our Moat House hotel window. Although the early-morning fire drill dumped us into a cold wind, it did get us moving early. (Real early!!) We saw a great deal of the city when the skies cleared, then watched the river rise and flood an outdoor eating area until it covered the table tops! We enjoyed the sightseeing, which included the narrow streets comprising ‘The Shambles’ of the medieval portion of the old city and the dramatic Minster! (We had seen the wonderful Yorvic Viking museum on our previous trip.) And, at the Moat House, even the hotel food was excellent!
“We really enjoyed the Coddswallop bottle show at Elsecar, though we did miss the bottle museum there. Juanne acquired four different ‘Compass Coffee’ bottles in various colors and sizes and it did comprise a very interesting group. I bought a Continental squat (black glass onion) bottle covered with a beautiful ‘Tiffany’-like gold hue. We also enjoyed watching much of the BBR auction, especially counting the number of times Jonathan Melnick’s hand went up! Somehow, he was able to get all of purchases back to the bus!
“In London, we visited our favorite, the British Library, where we viewed the incredible ‘Illuminated’ Bibles and religious transcripts, plus the first scripts of several Shakespeare plays. As usual, I was enchanted with the extremely rare stamps comprising a part of the world-famous ‘Tapley’ collection, left at his death to the British Museum in the 1890s and transferred to the new British Library building in 1998. The collection displays 12 Hawaiian ‘missionary’ stamps, worth collectively more than $1,000,000, plus two examples of the rare 1847 Mauritius ‘Post Office’ error stamps (they were supposed to read ‘Post Paid,’ but one sheet was printed ‘Post Office’ by mistake)! A single example is worth $1,000,000!”

The Herrolds also enjoyed the Egyptian and glass exhibitions at the British Museum.
At the Kempton Park show, Ed acquired a beautiful cobalt-and-white Nailsea glass scent bottle. A few hours later, Juanne acquired an old English Teddy Bear from the 1930s at the Ardingly show. Ed got the flu (or at least a terrible head cold) the next day, so they passed up Bermondsey and Portobello. However, he seemed to gain strength as WinterNational drew closer!
At the WinterNational, Ed acquired three different “True Daffy’s Elixer” bottles, two of them pontiled and one with a great gold patina, and from three different dealers! He also got a yellow-green Handyside's Cure. His prize, however, might be a mineral water bottle! In both size and shape, it resembles a William Radam’s Microbe Killer, but with sloping shoulders. It is embossed on the shoulder, “Not to be Taken,” and on the front, “The Woodhall Spa Co. Ltd.” and is peach or apricot in color!
Bath was another good trip for the Herrolds: Ed bought an old British stamp album with some valuable contents on the On the Bridge Stamp shop, while Juanne purchased two Teddy bears at another shop On The Bridge. In addition, she bought some Christmas figurines at a shop 50 feet from where our bus parked in Bath!
All in all, it was a great trip, they concluded.

Richard and Bev Siri of Santa Rosa, Calif., said they enjoyed “York ... sightseeing was great and antiquing was interesting, but we did not buy anything.
“The bottle show in Elsecar was fun and I did buy a few items. We really liked the museum, did not precipitate in the auction as I don’t know enough about the items offered. The antique shop was nice, but did not buy anything there, either.”
In London, “I went to the British Museum and walked and looked at as much as we could. I take a long time in museums as I read all the signs. We dined at places local to the hotel; the food was generally good. We kind of wandered around the city, going to sales, antique stores, shows, etc.
“I’m an early riser, so I walked around the area of the hotel at 5-6 a.m. You get to see a different view of a place that early in the morning. I also quickly discovered that you can’t just keep turning left or right and get back to where you started. One could get lost easily.
‘The morning, as we went to Kempton Park, Bev looked out the window and saw a fox going down the street by the park. Dave, the bus driver, said that there are quite a few in the parks throughout London. There are lots of things to eat as the garbage is put out in bags to be picked up in the mornings, and there are lots of pigeons.

Don Dowdall of Florida; sitting, at left, is Alan Blakeman, the promoter of the Elsecar bottle show and the publisher of the British Bottle Review magazine.

“At Kempton Park, I bought an *anvil, a Boston powder jar, a Milwaukee beer mug and a pin with St. George slaying a dragon, which is on the backs of various English coins. Also a tyre ashtray from, Firestone, with an amber insert. Tire is Tyre in the Queen’s English.
“Bought some clay pipes, more English tyre ashtrays and some pocket knives. Bev got some perfume bottles.
“At Bermondsey we purchased an ivory puzzle in a bottle and some more pocket knives.
“Portobello was a great experience, We spent about seven hours there. I got an English gold coin made into a stickpin with St. George slaying the dragon it, and a nice crude amber glass French mustard jar. Also found some nice figural cigar cutters and more pocket knives
“I got two different sizes of Russian gold coins made into broaches with a pick and shovel with nuggets on each side of the coin. I collect mining-related items also and have some from Alaska made like that.
“At one of the London fleas I bought a group of Punch magazines, one from each year from 1879 to 1905. Looking for ads and the stories and graphics are great.
“The WinterNational was a learning experience. I would guess the show was at least 40-percent pottery, if not more when you include the sea of pot lids. Going in, I knew that the chance of finding what I collect in bottles would be slim to none, so I focused on bottles with American ties and I found a few. The one I liked the most was an amber successor to the California Fig Co.
“In my view, Alex, the youngest of the group, got the prize of the trip with a sample-size ‘Wakelee’s Camelline’ bottle at Kempton Park.
“Jim and I went to an upscale antique show in London one day and although we did not buy anything there I did get get some good ivory put-n-takes and a deck of cards made out of ivory with bamboo backing. The shop owner and I were at an impasse until we discovered that they have been to the area where I live, and their cousins live about 15 miles from me!
“We enjoyed the whole trip, buying, sightseeing, and the group that was with us. The bummer part was the exchange rate which kept us from buying lots more items, not necessarily bottles.”
*An anvil? That’s different. I asked Richard for a little more detail on that one! He replied:
“The anvil sits in a burl base that’s 5 inches in diameter and 5 1/2-inches high. It has a stem that fits into the base so that it looks like a regular anvil sitting on a pedestal. The anvil is 2 1/2-inches high and 6 1/2 inches long. A fellow at the market said it may be from a fraternal group of some kind. My son collects anvils and this one is for his birthday.”

Bruce and Nancy Webb, Knoxville, Tenn., primarily collect pub jugs (whiskey water pitchers), but have been known “to buy most anything else that strikes our fancy or fits into our eclectic home decor” (or three car garage), said Nancy.
“This was our third consecutive trip to England. We loved it!
“York was great, except for gale-force winds. We enjoyed staying at the Moat House, which was really first class and had very good food. While in York, we went antique shopping and visited the National Railway Museum,” Nancy continued.
‘The BBR auction and bottle show were good. We bought several pub jugs at the show, several at the auction and about a half dozen at the nearby antique malls. We also enjoyed the museum at the BBR auction complex.
“While in London, we visited the Imperial War Museum with John and Mary Wolf. We spent the entire afternoon there, but only worked our way through the WWII and D-Day exhibits.
“It was extremely interesting and well worth another visit. We also took a river boat trip on the Thames to Greenwich. While in Greenwich, we visited the National Maritime Museum, saw the Cutty Sark clipper ship and went to the Royal Observatory. The observatory was definitely our favorite place. It’s known as ‘the place where time begins,’ since Greenwich Mean Time originates there. It’s also known as the point where zero degree longitude was established. The observatory was designed by Christopher Wren, who also designed St. Paul’s Cathedral. Yes, St. Paul’s was another one of our sightseeing stops this year.

“Kempton Park is where we found a very nice Radam’s Microbe Killer jug at an attractive price. A bit bulky to carry back with us, but we never could resist a deal.
“It was so cold, windy and rainy at Ardingly, that I bought a scarf! Bruce, however, bought more pub jugs. I did pick up a nice decorative tile to use in my kitchen.
“We enjoyed going to the Palace Theatre and seeing ‘Woman in White.’ The computer-generated stage settings were pretty remarkable, and we liked the music a lot, too.
“We picked up one or two small things at Bermondsey and Portobello. We liked Bermondsey, but think Portobello is simply an overpriced tourist trap, but a very interesting place to visit.
“The Winternational was fabulous, as usual. MANY, MANY great pub jugs. Bruce picked up a few treasures to carry back home and add to his collection, plus more pub jugs are also being shipped back. We ran out of money before we ran out of things we wanted to buy!
“What we liked most about the trip was simply being back in England with a great group of people we enjoy traveling with. As for next year’s plans, we cannot see that far into the future, but hope fate will be kind and allow us to return to England at some point in time.”

Fighting their way through the crowd at WinterNational is Beverly and Richard Siri of California.

Trip organizer Jim Hagenbuch of East Greenville, Pa., said he thought that “the WinterNational was a bit off, attendance wise. This was possibly due to the bad weather up north or having two shows only one week apart.” (Indeed, several English collectors commented on the wisdom of having two major shows back-to-back.)
“Surprisingly, this was one of my better buying trips. England’s economy is currently like ours was a few years ago, so many of the dealers were eager to sell. I bought five identical items collectively priced at £210 pounds for £125! I can’t remember that deep a discount in the past.
“I believe everyone in the group had a good time. I always try to mix a good amount of antiquing in with a fair amount of sightseeing.
“I think most everyone liked the two days in York. Many of the group had traveled to York before by rail several years earlier, only staying for a few hours. York is so interesting and has so much to see it requires at least two days to see and do everything.
“With the exception of a grouping of recently found target balls I didn't buy as much at the bottle shows as I would have liked. I did acquire a number if nice things the day we bused out to the Kempton Park and Ardingly collectors fairs.
“I think Tom and Mabel Hicks bought more than anyone on the trip. Every time I saw them they were hauling bags back to the coach.”
Indeed, others were amazed at how Tom finds all this stuff.
“Sometimes I don’t know how,” admitted Tom, “and most of the time, why.”
“Next year’s trip,” Jim continued, “will be roughly on the same time frame as this year’s, except we probably won't go back to York. Most likely, we will go out to Exeter to a 500-dealer show instead. I should have the trip set up my early July.”

Food for thought: Antiques, touring, theater and eating — all done with friends — are big parts of the trip. Breakfasts with a few companions (or the whole group) and ditto lunches and dinners were a daily treat.
One of my favorite lunches was at York’s St Helen’s Square, at Betty’s Tea Room (it’s relatively “new”) and having one of its famous “Fat Rascal” buns. When you sit in Betty’s, surrounded by huge curved windows, elegant wood paneling and ornate mirrors, you can still imagine yourself aboard a luxury ocean liner, since its design copies the art deco style of the Queen Mary ocean liner as it was experienced on the ship’s 1936 maiden voyage.
With Tom and Mabel Hicks and Arlene Caruso we sat at Betty’s and looked out onto that ancient city’s cobblestone streets and watched the people go by, including other Yanks: “There go Jim and Janice, heading to the antique show” (held in a thousand-year-old church). “There’s Richard and Beverly; bet they are off to that fancy antique shop.” “Oh, there goes Tom McCandless ...” “There’s John and Mary Wolf.”
“We probably saw half of our group walk by,” agreed Tom Hicks. It was like traveling half-way around the world to enjoy a small-town atmosphere with close friends.

And meeting our English friends added to our pleasure.
“We took the train to Coventry one day to visit Norm and Jane Lewis,” says Nancy Webb. “They treated us to a visit to Coombe Abbey, on 500 acres near Coventry. Despite the cold, we walked the beautiful grounds and enjoyed seeing the wonderful English gardens, complete with topiary. The visit with them, the great pub meal and sightseeing made for a perfect day.”
“Enjoyed the bottle show at Elsecar,” said Arlene Caruso, “and meeting up with English friends I hadn’t seen in several years: Roy and Maureen Paget and David and Andrea Smith.” Arlene also “met up with my American friend, Donna, whom I met in England 15 years ago through a mutual friend in Florida. She’s married and has lived in England for 25-plus years. We meet every year, have dinner, and I bring her Butterfinger candy bars, which she cannot get there. Her husband tells her after our visits that she sounds just like a Yank!”
“We got to have dinner with curator friends from the Horniman Museum and the Victoria and Albert,” said John Wolf. “They both have connections to a friend in Dayton. We also had dinner with a high school classmate who is a college professor in London.”
Your trip reporter had too little time with Alan and Ann Key and sweet daughter Caroline — and only got to wave to their No. 2 son, John, who was helping out with the bottle auction at Elsecar.
I did get more time with fellow target ball collector John Hargreaves, who lives just outside London, near the historic Pinewood film studio. I sipped tea at John’s home, chatted with his lovely mother, and saw more of John’s seemingly endless collections.
John took me on a tour through the studios — his late father had been an executive there, and John also spent many years there, working on various major movies “and some you’ve never heard of.” Highlights of the drive were seeing the giant backlot pond where the Titanic sunk — both in the 1958 J. Arthur Rank production and James Cameron’s 1997 effort, and driving on “Goldfinger Boulevard,” at the spot where James Bond crashed into the wall in that 1964 film.
We had dinner at a nearby pub filled with movie posters and other film memorabilia, and argued so vehemently over who was going to pick up the check that diners at other tables were volunteering theirs!
Tom and Mabel Hicks of Eatonton, Ga: “Our sixth English trip and, like the others, it was great,” said Tom. “It amazes us that we have gone anywhere six times and had six great trips.
“I liked the Elsecar show fine; it was small, but it was no smaller than many shows I go to in the States; we bought Roman coins, maybe 200 clay pipe bowls, 25 Victorian Christmas lights, and other odds and ends. We were impressed with the bottle museum exhibits, especially John Hargreaves’ target balls. And we enjoyed going to our first English bottle auction, although we didn’t get anything.
“At Kempton Park and Ardingly I bought 50 golf clubs and four golf bags, three unusual croquet mallets, and three pieces of Prattware I’d never seen before in my life; I was tickled to get the Prattware!
“I got four bamboo fishing rods and nine reels from a dealer at the Spittlefield market at an incredible price. I also bought an ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ book, pre-1900, for a pound, the cheapest I’ve ever bought one.
“Mabel got six match holder/strikers for her collection.
“At the Winternational I missed three target balls on Rob Goodacre’s table, but he said he would bring others to the St. Pete (Fla.) show,” (which he did, and Tom bought them). “I also got some Prattware lids with a little damage that were very reasonable.
“At a small show outside London, in Chingford, I got 20 cribbage boards.
“We will be back next year;” said Tom Hicks. “To us, it is as annual a routine as Thanksgiving or Christmas.”


During a day trip out to Bath the group stopped at the Salisbury Cathedral. Here Tom McCandless studies the cathedrals original, and still working, clockworks, made in the 1600’s!	Janice Hagenbuch in the Chapter House, the part of the Salisbury that housed one of the four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta, written in 1215.

Arlene Caruso of Green Cove Springs, Fla., said she “enjoyed the bottle show at Elsecar. I only had time to get through one of the antique shops, as the whole complex has grown since we were there last.
“Took in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London and enjoyed it immensely. George Clooney was too cool! And I finally got to see ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,’ much acclaimed by our group last year. It was wonderful. Also saw ‘Woman in White’ which I enjoyed. The sets/backdrops were very unique and fast-moving.
“Kempton Park market is always good, and I managed to pick up one or two bargains in Cornishware. Ardingly was wet, and I spent a lot of time inside having lunch and drinking tea.
“I skipped Bermondsey and Portobello, and took the train with the Hicks one day to Southend-on-Sea at the mouth of the Thames. Had a good fish and chips lunch; then found some goodies at an antique co-op. The next day we took in a small antique show in the village of Chingford, a short train ride out of London.
“I enjoyed the Winternational, and picked up some bottles for resale. Was a bit more selective in all my buying this trip, due to the poor exchange rate.”
Next year’s trip is already in the planning stage, so watch for its announcement in upcoming issues of this magazine. And think about joining the group.
“I have enjoyed every trip organized by the Hagenbuchs,” said Arlene, “mainly because of the small, congenial groups, travel that includes the countryside and other parts of England, and the pace is relatively slow (except on market days!). Enough free time is built in to allow a day off when we need it. I plan to continue taking these trips as long as I am able.”
“Jim puts together a fantastic package and minimizes the stress you would typically find in a trip overseas,” said Bob Barbour. “I would like to thank everyone on the tour for being so helpful and kind to Alex. This was the first time a child of his age went on this trip and I would not hesitate to do it again with Alex.”
Tom McCandless noted: “It was a good time with good company for dinners, Oriental and Italian, near the hotel. I had lined up a good fish and chips restaurant, but never got there. There’s always next year.”
Same time next year; see you there?
And you won’t need snowboots or a shovel.


Wave if you are having a brilliant time at the WinterNational Bottle Show! That’s Alex Barbour, nine, lower left. Last to leave the show is trip honcho Jim Hagenbuch, at far right. Standing next to Jim is the show’s promoter, Pam Ball.	A wonderful display of Royal Doulton pieces at the Coddswallop Bottle Museum, located in a building near the bottle show.