Monday 30 March 2009

... continuing the poster theme!





Here are three more images from the poster set. The coloured part measures about 12 inches by 16 inches in each case. Sorry but I'll only be using imperial measurements on this blog ... all in the name of nostalgia ... pints, pecks, bushels and so on!!

Continuing the railway theme ...





I have an old wood and copper printing plate for sale in This'n'That. Apparently it is from the line which Paul drove the engine on but predates its current title of South Devon Railway.

I understand that the line was originally owned by the same company as the Paignton to Kingswear railway and was then known as Dart Valley.

It's about 6 inches by 3 inches and will remain part of the shop's stock until I can find a railway enthusiast to buy it! Whilst on the theme of railway nostalgia I just have to show you one of the old classroom posters which are part of my shop's "trove"!!

This Railway Station poster comes from a set of 84 coloured posters which would have been found in 1940's / 50's classrooms.

In those days the classroom walls would have been adorned with posters from such series which reflected the seasons of the year, stories being read or perhaps the subject for a 'composition'. Nowadays, fortunately the children's work takes centre place on classroom walls.

I have collected quite a selection of these for sale in This'n'That including the Enid Blyton 'Nature Plates' which were illustrated by Eileen Soper.





Introducing the (usually) unseen hero of This'n'That ... Mr. Fixit (Paul) !!

Yesterday, we spent the day on the South Devon Railway. It was glorious. The mix of bright sunshine and steam trains brought just the sort of wave of nostalgia which I try to create in the shop. This time it was Paul's special birthday treat, a "Footplate Experience" which meant that we spent the whole day going up and down the line from Buckfastleigh to Totnes with Paul, along with three other guys, took turns to be train driver and to stoke the fire.

I rode in the carriage with the guests of the other drivers and enjoyed great views of the Dart Valley and the opportunity to step into the nostalgic age of steam as we made a total of three return journeys along the line.

I'll let the pictures of Paul speak for themselves ....

There's lots of events scheduled for this season ... have a look ...


Friday 20 March 2009

Hello and welcome to This'n'That (my blog and shop!!)


I am Lesley and with the help of my husband Paul, I opened the shop as a retirement project after .....let's just say 'many'.... years of teaching. It is in Totnes, in the part of High Street known as 'The Narrows'. Since opening in 2004 it has gradually evolved into the present nostalgic mix of old and new.