Part Two of my Dorset trip.

On the Tuesday morning, I left bright and early … but would I be too early? Farmer Palmer’s Facebook page (which is more useful for booters than the website) said sellers from 8am. But my experience is that most car boots open earlier (and finish earlier) than advertised, so hopefully that wouldn’t be a problem… if I could find it. I’d noted the road (Wareham Road) as well as the postcode for the satnav and taken note of the advice I’d seen somewhere to input Organford as the town instead of nearby Poole. Wareham Road looked suspiciously built up to be a car boot site. And then I saw a brown sign for Farmer Palmer’s. After what seemed a very long way was the sign showing I was now in Organford. How much further? Just as concern that I’d be too early was turning into panic that I’d never find the place, there was another brown sign. Phew! I checked the time: 7:30.

Someone I took to be Farmer Palmer himself took the money (a very reasonable £6) and stewards directed me to the line they wanted me to join, but it was left up to me where to pitch and how much space to claim. Before I stalled out, I bought breakfast – a delicious bacon butty – from the nearby refreshments van and filled up my flask with much needed coffee.

A few of the stallholders I’d met at Bowleaze the previous day said “hello” and a couple of buyers even recognised me from Ford! One buyer turned out to be the regular haberdashery man but says he wasn’t selling that day as he tends to start later in the season. We compared prices and swapped stories. I reassured him that I wouldn’t be regular competition! Not that it’s a bad thing having more than one stall selling sewing/crafting supplies: at Ford and the Roundstone there are a few of us and far from it being a problem, we mutually trade and some of us have even become friends plus if a car boot gets known for having crafting stalls, it tends to attract “crafty” (in the nice sense) buyers.

Back to Farmer Palmer’s. It was quite a busy and successful day, very relaxed and friendly. It’s a thumbs up from me!