On our small Island there is always something to do in Winter. Most visitors in the Summer months have no idea want happens here once they go. Visitors are here for a few days or a week and all they will see is the beach and a restaurant/bar table. For residents it is another matter all together. You build your life around the calendar of the Seasons and follow local issues, socialize with friends, etc.
In Winter one of the things many Islanders do is to go to Auctions on Saturdays, there are 2 big auction houses, one in Bedeque and one in Kensington. They sell everything, from furniture to cars to knick knacks. Bargain can be had and sometimes it is surprising.
Yesterday I went to D&L Auctions (Dennis and Lorraine) it is run by the owners and Dennis is the auctioneer, he has 4 helpers on the floor. You can spend easily 7 hours at the auction. It starts early, around 8AM for viewing and at 10AM Dennis will start calling out items for sale. We arrived at 8AM wanting to buy 6 chairs and 4 side tables maybe that English leather couch or one of the antique sofas. However we were not prepared to counter with 4 dealers who aggressively bided on items. Often out biding everyone else. Our budget was limited so at the end we bought 2 Club Chairs and 2 table lamps. Happy with our purchases.
When you travel on the Island outside the Capital you encounter another world all together. Prices are cheaper and the atmosphere is rural, it’s a small world, not necessarily affluent more down to Earth. Next door to the auction place was a little café Baba’s Kitchen selling freshly made sandwiches and sweets, all from their kitchen, teas and coffees. The sandwiches were generous at $4 dollars and coffee was $1.75, that is cheap. In town a coffee is $5. and a sandwich $9. Though Bedeque, pop 310, is only 25 minutes from Charlottetown it is a completely different feel, something our visitors are not likely to ever see.
A lot of the furniture on sale was solid wood probably 70 to 90 years old in very good condition. I suspect most of it came from Estate sales. The Leather couch sold for $220. beautiful Club style couch, a big roll top desk sold for $450. a bargain. Chairs and lamps we bought total $276. again a bargain.
The crowd was attentive and good natured, paying close attention as the auctioneer speaks quickly and the pace can be fast, you want something jump to it or you will miss the boat. A fun day and I want to do it again, we do have furniture to replace at the Club and looking forward to more auction days.
One of the two chairs bought at Auction
