The joy of French car boot sales

Every Saturday morning Michael rises at four and drives down to the Côte d’Azur to the Magic World car boot sale. He goes early to see the bric-à-brac unloaded in order to pounce on any interesting old bottles, which he collects. His collection of 18th-century champagne bottles is probably second to none. While hunting bottles, he might also impulsively buy something that tickles his fancy. His knowledge of old things is wide and deep and occasionally he unearths something that would make an Antiques Roadshow crowd gasp with avarice. Then he goes for a swim in the Mediterranean. He’s back at home by ten.

Last month he came back with a set of late 19th-century French pharmacy scales. The glass and mahogany cabinet alone is a work of art. The scales are so precise the balancing needle must be viewed through a magnifying eyeglass. The beautifully crafted mechanism set on a black glass floor must be worth hundreds, perhaps thousands.