THE TIP SHOP AND MORE....

Almost every day since I arrived in Tasmania, someone has said to me "Oh, you'd get that for next to nothing in the tip shop." First Erica said it and even the man in the Mitre 10 hardware shop told me to go there! So, today I went.... but even that has a story because I stopped to turn around, thinking I had gone past the Margate Tip Shop and happened to pull off the road where a man was putting out a sign selling mushroom compost off his truck. So, forgetting all about the Tip Shop I got into talking about these wonderful bags of mushroom compost with mushrooms still growing in them but past their peak production.... and for $4.50 / big bag I bought one! Then I drove off and had to turn around again and come back and ask the man if I had passed the Tip Shop! He said yes, but there was much better and cheaper one in South Hobart..... here we both had to get out our glasses and I openned my new street directory that Mary bought for me, and soon I was off again. What a helpful man.... I also got his whole life story for my $4.50..... why does this always happen to me??

Anyway to cut a very long day into edible sized pieces, I arrived at the Tip shop.... eventually. You see, these places advertise their whereabouts for hundreds of miles, signs pointing here and there but just when you get nearby, they stop! Sometimes there is a 6 road intersection 100m from the place, but you have no idea which exit to take until you have taken them all..... and so I arrived, eventually. The carpark was overflowing but there was plenty of room to spread out.... I just hoped nobody thought I was leaving my car for scrap metal. In the middle of the dusty, smelly tip I sat in the car and ate an apple from my tree, watching people bustling about inside a rickety fence, some coming back to their cars with sinks or old windows or hidden treasures in bags.

So, with a couple of hessian bags under my arm, I entered the unsigned tip shop..... and gasped.... was this heaven or what? There was some of everything, most of it not complete .....  like wheelbarrows without wheels or without barrows..... saucepans and hundreds of lids that didn't fit..... but there were treasures to be found at every turn too... and I suddenly remembered I was not there just for fun, I had a list of things to look for. So I put on my glasses and began to hunt in earnest.

The kind young man behind what was once a desk, gleefully presented me with just the perfect electric drill for any missus..... only it had no cover over the wires at the cord end! I felt mean not taking it but really, that was going a bit too far even for me. It was nearly closing time by the time I had gathered together a few things but I was fairly confident I could manage the expense because another customer told me it would all be fine.... and I believed her! I openned my bag, the young bloke looked inside and said "Is that ALL you've got?" Embarrassed by my frugal purchases from such a fine shop I admitted that yes, this was all for today. "OK, 2 bucks" he said. Well there's cheap and then there's the South Hobart Tip Shop..... about a acre of stuff just waiting to be loaded into your car.... just make sure you allow most of the day, instead of my one hour, and you'd better bring the trailer, there were some couches there that would look just fine in my lounge room!

All of this excitement made me completely forget to take any photos! Your imagination will have to suffice for now.