Page 46 - BBR July 5 2020 Auction

Moving Up A Notch
No shows, no pick ups for
many long time planned
quality entries for what was
to have been the tip top/ phenomenal auction to rconclude what would have been the 30th UK SummerNational Auction. So much hope, hype and expected happiness to round off the final day - all thwarted by the blasted Covid!
However, most folks know my never
say never resolve. Not much gets AB
down - if we’re knocked down (and
we’ve suffered a few of those along
the way) just like the rock band
Chumberwamba who sang “we get
knocked down but we get back up again”
BBR is forever pulling itself together, there with whatever it is everyone has come to expect of us - more relaible even than British Rail?
Dear old Boris, bless his cotton socks, allowed non essential businesses to re-open on Monday June 15, with certain operating guidelines and as this magazine went to press we were all expecting/ hoping/ praying the self distancing rule may go down from two metres to just one. When you receive this you will know if that has been announced?
As per instructions BBR opened its doors to public after the Council had literally kicked us off and closed the Heritage Centre in March - not allowing us even to conduct our already prepared April 18 and 19th Auctions behind closed doors. Everything was all laid out in the salesroom (both days - almost 700 lots!), the catalogue was ready to go to print, all the back office work completed. Government instructions said non essential businesses should work from home wherever they could, only go to work if you couldn’t do it at home. But BMBC insisted BBR could not even operate online behind closed doors for either the auctions or the publishing/ book and magazine sales.
“The bottle hobby has jumped leaps and bounds over the decades and in the midst of the pandemic lock down AB pulled out all stops creating something extra special for Sunday 5 July replacing what would have been the much planned Bottle Jamboree - the 30th UK SummerNational...” GL
Left & above: We thought we’d show a happy smiley face on the front cover of this issue to reflect the joys of kick starting back into some kind of action. Here’s Wayne Clynes during happier days digging up the elusive North East mineral classic ‘Shimmin/ Sunderland’ bulbous bodied codds... and other stuff!
up to 8pm. I even did a bit of internet buying - spotting a nice early pair of freeblown little glass beakers
Katie was over the moon to get back to BBR - yes, really. Good to see that happy cheery face again. Think we’d all missed our regular office banter
and the chatting with customers - lifelong collecting friends. When the phone rang it was good to actually hear voices we have grown accustomed to, and, genuinely,
were missing.
We thought the cover should this issue reflect some cheerfulness - what better than a smiley Wayne Clynes from the North East holding up his fantastic
digging finds. Sure you’ll recognise that familiar, unique, bulbous bodied mineral?
So, what the Dickens to do with no so much anticipated bumper SummerNational week-end? Rack the brain... and I came up with an auction with a difference plus a far
from standard catalogue too, produced in complete lock down on the kitchen table of my little cottage across the road from the
During the lock down I sat at the kitchen table diligently working on “stuff” most days
Above: Thanks to Canadas Phil Culhane for my purchase of a couple of lovely freeblown cups/ beakers to break my lock down blues boredom.
42 | BBR 164 MAGAZINE
Above: BMBC forced BBR to close their doors, not even allowed to operate absentee/ online auctions behind closed doors, meanwhile Maison du Biere did a roaring trade in the sunshone as they were allowed to operate during the lock down?
Heritage Centre, as well as a frustratingly shut down Market Pub too in the good weather!
Missing out on all those pre arranged auction pick ups from around the country - we lost NINE Shows - completely scuppered everything but it was with
a degree of cunning and conniving I managed to save the day procuring the late Grace Narraway Collection of pot lids, ONE OFFS & RARITIES as we’ve come to expect in a Summer spread, and I purposely threw in a selection of more affordable pieces to give less affluent a chance to join in our July fun.
BBR “A Summer AUCTIONS Spectacular?”
Tried • Tested • Trusted
Antique Bottles, Pot Lids, Advertising & Breweriana
pm 2020 Sunday 5 July 2
Special Ltd Edition Catalogue