Seven Secrets of Successful Men

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I should have bought her, but I passed it by. She was sitting on a stall full of statues and rocks and sundries and she was beautiful. I also know she was pre-owned, as she had that stamp of ownership that pre-owned items have. She was at the Saltfish Festival at Georyeong and I still regret passing her by.

The Koreans do not buy anything second hand so there are no shops where one can browse anything re-owned. When something is no longer needed, it is simply discarded, usually at the rubbish collection points, and the rubbish collectors pile their trucks with discarded items.

In fact one day there was a perfectly good cuckoo clock sitting by the rubbish. I mentioned that I would have liked to take it, and was told I could have if I wished to. I see many items lying there and see the rubbish man sorting and selecting stuff into various piles as I walk past every day.

The markets are full of cheap new mass manufactured items and this lady was rather unusual. I should have bought her.

It is interesting that one is not able to give anyone a second hand item. It is seen as bad luck and also an an insult. I asked about giving my lady on the street some warm clothes and was told it is not done. I wonder about charity, as if one cannot give things, then the poor cannot be given things one has discarded or no longer need.

I remember so well the Thrift Shops of Australia where the churches sold donated items, and where you could always get a good bargain, if you patiently sifted through the shelves. I have bought some great designer clothes from these shops that I would not have been able to afford elsewhere, with some very expensive labels. I remember my daughter laughing at me for shopping for labels at the Thrift Shops.

The Antique Shops here are huge carved furniture, huge statues and urns, and very unfriendly staff who do not welcome browsers who do not look Korean.

I really miss the wandering through second hand shops collecting crystal and pearls, and the odd bit of designer clothing or jewellery. I used to collect antique jewellery and most of my collection came from weekend jaunts to various country towns specifically looking for and through every antique shop we passed looking for specific gold and diamond items. Those were magic days. I remember buying an old watch chain for very little, which when cleaned up, was rose gold and very beautiful. I wore it for many, many years.

Ah!! The stories