Category Archives: Furniture

Books

Around 15 or 16 years ago, I built a bookcase in an alcove in the living room. The project took a full day, finishing well into the evening.

I still like the bookcase, although I could improve the design were I to do it over again.

Recently, my second in command decided that our small living room would appear larger without the bookcase. A compromise was reached; a new bookcase upstairs would replace living room storage.

Today, the replacement bookcase arrived. Naturally, we’d not paid attention to dimensions, so I was a little overwhelmed by its size.

Of course, the bookcase is too large for its planned position. It’s too heavy to carry upstairs anyway. Which means it now resides in our small living room.

The original bookcase will soon be removed, with the outcome of reduced net space. Measurements may be checked when future purchases are considered.

It’s a lovely thing though.

A busy weekend

We’ve had a packed few days. Friday evening was mostly spent in Trillians, where a bunch of us went to support a bloke we (mostly) know separately.

That’s him on drums.

Afterwards, my second in command and I caught a cab to our local. Where we caught the last part of a set from Beyond Madness.

Saturday was spent in Durham, with nice people.

Who fed us with lovely food.

Returning home on Sunday, we called off at the Hungry Vegan for hot dogs, then walked to Ouseburn where old furniture was purchased.

It needs a little work, but really only a little. There was beer in Arch 2, the Cluny, the Cumberland Arms, the Free Trade Inn and the Tyne Bar. And our local. We called in there too.

Cool bird boxes were discovered.

That’s the Cumberland Arms in the background.

The river looked nice on our walk back along the quayside.

Weekend

Yesterday afternoon, we paid a visit to the second hand furniture shop in Ouseburn. Where we bought a rather nice mid-Victorian side table. It’s small, but solid mahogany and quite heavy. A bargain at £40.

This was followed by late lunch in the Ship Inn.

Although this picture might give the impression that the place was quiet, the opposite was the case. It’s great to see a vegan pub doing so well. The food was, as usual, really nice.

And I had a pretty good Oakham IPA, the first ever pint of an Oakham beer I’ve tried. And the first I’ve come across that didn’t contain fish.

Then there was tine for a pint in the Cluny before heading home.

Where I spotted a Lovely Eggs poster, for next Friday’s gig (top right).

And a Shiverin Sheiks poster, for next Sunday afternoon. We’ll be there too.

Today was largely spent plastering, which wasn’t as much fun as yesterday.

Fabric

You know how it is. You’re at work, resisting the temptation of an early finish on a Friday, when you receive a text message saying Hi Gary, I’m in the pub, are you coming?

Well, a man of a certain age actually receives something like Gary, I have gorgeous material in my car.

The end result was the same; I left work and went to the pub. Where we bought fabric.

Chaise

OK, there’s historic (hopefully) woodworm and someone’s made a bodged attempt at re-covering, but we just bought this.

Candlestick

We’re currently enjoying a beer in the Cluny, waiting for food. After shopping in Team Valley, the beer was hard earned.

We also called in to the vintage furniture place, under the arches, buying a lovely knackered old candlestick. That’s it above.

Lamp

After fitting a nasty, white plastic fitting to our new old lamp, I’ve quickly replaced it with something more appropriate. 

We’re still struggling to decide on a lampshade, but that’ll come in time. 

Furniture

Since we live in the tiniest house in the world, we have a rule regarding furniture. It’s quite simple; if something is introduced to the house, an item of a similar size must leave. 

A couple of years ago, we discovered a second hand furniture shop in Ouseburn, just round the corner to the Ship Inn. It’s actually a charity venture, a sideline specialising in older furniture and oddities. 

We visit every now and again, not looking for anything in particular. After all, a purchase could result in the agony associated with deciding what should leave the house. A couple of months ago, my second in command was taken with a glass and wrought iron table lamp, but indecision led to our departure without it. 

I also liked the lamp, although not as much as my beloved. I was unsure about its age; it appeared to be hand blown and had something of a late 60s/early 70s Eastern look about it. Someone had rewired it, but the original (only partially intact) fitting was still in place. 

The lamp was still there on Saturday, so it returned home with us. I began to doubt my estimate of its age since, on closer inspection, the fitting was made from an old, dark brown, hard plastic. It wasn’t bakelite, or I don’t think it was, but it appeared to be pre-60s. 

I’ve replaced the partially incomplete fitting, but could only find a white fitting in the slightly non-standard size. I shall continue to look for a black one though, since white does look a little out of place. 

We’re attempting to learn more about the lamp’s origins; google images found a similar, smaller lamp, apparently sold on ebay (long since weeded). 

It’s not a great picture, but you can see that the cord is fabric covered, so it could be as old as the 20s or 30s. Our new acquisition is actually a lot more ornate (and nicer) than this one, but the design/construction is identical. 

We shall continue our research. 

Craig David

Sadly, Craig David has passed away. Like many other people over the past few years, I’ve posted pictures of the Free Trade Inn pubcat. 

The place just won’t be the same.