'David, what the hell are we doing here?'

'Well, you wanted to come to a car boot sale while you were in England, so here you are!'

'You didn't tell me it was going to be on top of the world, with the wind whistling off the ice-cap!'

'It's only Queensbury.'

'It feels like the top of Everest!'

'You've got Mum's gloves and boots on, what more do you want?'

'A nice warm bed and a teddy!'

My brother David laughed and turned away to continue arranging his goods for sale, while I surveyed my bleak surroundings.

All around were cars, vans and trucks, with people milling around, well rugged up against the early morning chill.  I could see the white plumes of their breath on the air, and shivered again.  I wished I had taken up Mum's offer of her scarf, but vanity won out over practicality in the warmth of her kitchen last night when she outfitted me for the following morning's fun. 

Another car drove along the muddy track in the large field, the driver looking for a place to park and display his wares.  He skidded a little, and I wondered if the tractor was in for more business, towing yet another bogged car from the field.  David had already told me that the tractor driver probably made more money than anyone else at these sales, charging five pounds a tow.

'Do you want some coffee?'  I asked my brother.

On his acceptance, I slogged my way across the mud to the coffee van parked a few metres across the track, and thought of the relative comfort of the Australian flea markets and swap meets to which I was more accustomed.  I could smell the vinegar from another van not too far away, doing a brisk trade in chip butties for breakfast, and shuddered.  Not that I had anything against chip butties for breakfast, but at the thought that I'd need to take my gloves off to eat one!

David's red nose peered from the confines of his scarf as he took the Styrofoam cup from my hand.  'It'll warm up soon', he said, 'Then you'll enjoy wandering around, having a nosy.'

Of course, he was right, and the temperature did let up slightly as the morning wore on, though the mud was here to stay!  My brother made a good profit on the morning, while I bought some fridge magnets and a videotape of the Disney movie Fantasia, which promptly expired on my return to Australia.  Well, David had warned me that it had probably fallen off the back of a truck!

The lesson I learned?  Never ever again complain about the heat/cold/rain/humidity/anything when I'm slogging my way around the Canningvale Swap Meet!