as an undergrad in years gone by, the car boot (kabut) sale was something that i rarely venture to. it was more of a malaysian postgraduate student premise, as for the undergrads, it tends to be the newly-arrived young ‘uns that go to them for woolen jumpers and cheap 14″ tellies. i remembered the bunch of us teasing one of the newly-arrived students (he’s a mate who’s now a barrister involved in a very high profile murder case that you read in the malaysian press – ain’t sayin’ who) wearing a baju bulu (pimpin’, yo – only if you’re huggy bear) bought from one such establishment, possibly in blaydon.

the thing with car boot sales are that these are items that are considered junk. why do i want to buy junk when i’ve enough at home that i haven’t given the time of day to clear myself. to be fair, there are things worth getting. i’ve a little rug bought in cullercoats that i still have to this very day in my study. since i’ve a record player, vinyl is something worth trawling through. and i see the point of some of my married friends who buy toys at the car boot that’ll probably last their toddler two years before they move on to a PSP. however, i know of people who buy trashy/kitsch trinkets at these sales. but hey, that doesn’t get their goat, so fair enough.

the last one i’ve been to was near morecambe. i brought dad to one at the keepmoat stadium in doncaster today. saw only one melayu family. and the sheepwoman was awfully proud of me. now, where are my elba slacks.

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as it was too good a day to waste, so i decided to take dad see the city where robin hood had a price on his head.