Proving one man's trash is quite literally another man's treasure, reporter Paddy O'Gorman paid an early-morning visit to a lively car boot sale in Balbriggan, although he discovered he wasn't early enough. "Everybody there told me it was busy now and everybody told me you should have been there at 5am!" he told Sean O'Rourke. Live music and a festive atmosphere was the backdrop as 20 to 30 cars opened up their boots to the public, displaying a veritable Aladdin's cave of clothes, shoes, electrical goods, household objects and everything in between. It's certainly a good place to get rid of unwanted clutter, but for some, it's a full-time job and worth a dumpster dive or two. "It's a race between me and the wife who gets in first!" said one trader, who regularly has a dip into a skip for sellable cast-offs.
"I actually got up onto the lorry and into the skip. There was a big mat… and there was something wrapped in it and I didn't know what it was. Next thing I felt the hand. It was a big Santa Claus – it does all this singing and dancing! I only sold it there before Christmas."
This particular man explained how he had lost his job as a lorry driver 12 months previously when the company folded and now the car boot sales were sustaining him.
Another lady explained how she was caring for her sick brother, sister and mother and she was using the money she was earning to raise her brother's children. The sale means more to her than just financial gain.
"I sold a fair bit of stuff now, a lot of clothes and shoes and bric-a-brac… It's just the company and to get out from being at home. I'm looking after three patients all week and I just like to get the break on the Sunday."
The car boot sale attracted all kinds of people looking for all kinds of things and Paddy was particularly impressed with the vibrant ambiance and community feeling. He said,
"I think the car boot sales have something of the atmosphere that I remember elderly farmers… used to tell me about what fairs were like. I'd go to marts 30 years ago and they'd tell me about the fairs. It was a big get-together."
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