Car-boot blog

Back to the Furore

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:07:39 +0000

Soon after September’s restricted ‘1 car park’ booty was played out, the Casino generously softened their position and reinstated the second park for the October event.
Understandably there were conditions attached, better management of the traffic, less impact on the casino and hotel, and an hour earlier for finishing, 4pm instead of 5 pm. This stay of execution will be reviewed at the end of 2011 to check for compliance.
With the dreaded ‘VIP list’ consigned to history, the entry to the event promised to be the simple ‘pay-up and park-up’ of the past. I should be so lucky!
At 06:15, I arrived at the casino to find 3 or 4 already waiting, nothing new there then. These regular faces knew the score and settled themselves into their favourite slots without fuss. The problems began when car after car that followed were novice booters and had no idea how the parking was meant to be! Without help, I had 2 choices, take time to park each individual car, or keep bringing the cars in quickly to avoid congestion on the main road.
At 7am, my colleague Claudia arrived, but by then the damage was done. Booters were parked higgledy-piggledy across the site and tempers were fraying. I cruelly gave the task of unpicking the mess to Claudia, sorry!
By 10am normality had resumed, fine weather and friendly chatter filled the air. Booters swapped bits and bobs, tourists marched through in mobs,
deals were done and prizes were won.
The early morning mayhem melted from my memory in a moment.

The List

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:12:33 +0100

September’s booty was one we all dreaded and the day didn’t disappoint!
At 06:15 your blogger couldn’t believe his bleary eyes as he pulled up at the casino barrier behind 3 early booters. With clipboard and list in hand, I put my bureaucratic hat on and approached the curious locals.
What followed set the mood for the day, frustration!
I politely asked the driver of the first car in the queue for her name, to check against my September Booty List.
“Nope, you’re not on my list” I said in my best early morning Portuguese.
“What! Let me see!” She complained.
I was wise to this move, having used it myself to gain entry to a Moulin Rouge champagne dinner dance, a much classier event than a car-boot sale, but the principal’s the same. A quick scan of the list, memorise one of the names and ask them to look again, this time using your wife’s ‘maiden name’ because it may have been her that booked it.
Presto! You’re in! Worry about the real consequences later!
The other locals quickly surrounded me. One gentleman declared himself the proud owner of 4 car-parking plots, one of which was earmarked for the lady. Sure enough, his name was there, but I understood the system allowed 1 car for 1 name, so yes, he could enter, but not until Ms no-name in pole position moved. No-one wanted to move backwards and I was not in any mood to be hoodwinked into raising the bar.
I chose to go about setting up my stall, the charity stall and the tombola whilst waiting for a more ‘proficient in Portuguese’ colleague to arrive. Translation had become laboured as single voices were raised and became a chorus.
By the time Spin arrived, the traffic was backed up down the Avenida Infante and drivers were starting to beep. This was far from ideal!
Spin soon spun into action, with arms a’whirling and feet a’pacing, he quickly ushered all the complainants back to their cars to clear the main road.
Ms noname’s persistance had paid off as she was waved onto the park by my panicky partner. Some booters paid at the gate, some didn’t, some were given tickets, some were not. Within 15 minutes, order was restored and a calm fell over this half-size booty. My red-mist cleared some time later.
Despite our best efforts to inform everyone through e-mail, phone calls, newspaper advertising and this website, many booters still had no idea that they had to book a space in advance. A few were regretfully turned away but many more were accommodated in one way or another.
I shared my own stall with the German ‘Cake Lady’ Lucia. I struck a sweet deal to eat as much left over cake in return for half my table. Wouldn’t you know, she sold the lot!
(except 1 slice of pineapple cake that I took as deposit, delicious!)

Spinning out of Control

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 06:42:12 +0100

Roll up! Roll up! Lucky Tombola! Give it a spin, then dip in to win!

The punters were pulled and the barrel was spun,
the tickets were dipped, (though few prizes were won!)
Tackling worldwide linguistics was our Geordie lass, Teva,
in scenes not dissimilar to the Star Wars cantina.

“Nur peek’n” she’d warn, with a wag of her finger,
then a win, and a cheer! And where’s my bell ringer?
The high rollers were happy, whether winning or losing,
all comers were dispatched, both grinning and musing.

The Car-boot had peaked, the punters were queueing,
yet just a few yards away, there was trouble a’ brewing.
Both car-parks were full and our limit was broached,
to accommodate all, the third park was encroached.

The event was a monster, it had now crossed the line,
The casino had been patient, but had to call time.
“No more!” was the shout, “you’re affecting our business!”
So the lines were redrawn without further redress.

Though our fault completely, overstepping the mark,
the casino were gracious and granted one park.
With eighty plus booters and just forty places,
September will see its fair share of sad faces.

Overspill

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:31:38 +0100

It’s not quite light when we start to set up the booty at 06:45. I had recently acquired a parcel of kiddies ‘finger torches’, led lights that attach to your fingers with an elastic band. Turned out to be perfect for those fiddly screws in the dim light of dawn.
It was always going to be mayhem with Spin on holiday, but we had no idea of the numbers that were about to descend on our once humble fayre. By 10:00 both car parks were full and the road was still blocked with hopeful booters. In the end, overwhelmed by the numbers, Claudia and I started turning a blind eye to flagrant flirting of the formal arrangements. Cars started emptying their booty onto the pavement outside the casino car parks and spilling out onto the street!
Apart from the crowded sidewalk, the day went pretty much to plan, everyone behaved themselves and punters came in strong waves throughout the day.
Come back Spin! All is forgiven!

Late but Great

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:44:32 +0100

Your blogger woke late this Sunday morning, I blamed the alarm clock on my Portuguese mobile being 1 hour out, but I was the one that set it, so I plead guilty. Despite the panic, I was relieved to find that ‘the team’ had it all under control, made me feel quite dispensable!
After much grovelling and apologising, all of which I was told was not necessary, I quickly caught up with the other booters and had the gazebos erected and tables built.
The tombola tempted all and sundry with a plethora of prizes, lucky winners were a little sparse, but were heralded with enthusiastic bell tolls to compensate! Next month should see a winner a minute as the lucky tickets run out of places to hide.
Thanks again to all the booters and visitors, we’ve now topped €5,000.00 for childrens’ charities with your help.