A look at the inside world of the car boot sale

Being awake at 4:30am on a Sunday morning and not going on holiday or raving at an afters is a strange experience but it is the hour one has to get up for to see a car booter in their natural environment.

PIC LISA FERGUSON 13/09/2020. Lisa Wright (Ocean Termnal Car Boot Sale Organiser) and Balindsa Blackford Ocean Termnal Car Boot Sale Organiser). Ocean Terminal Car Boot Sale happens every Sunday in the multi storey car park

The Sunday car boot sale, which occurs every week at Ocean Terminal, assembles in the shadows, with organisers setting up clothes rails and tables for the keen vehicular entrepreneurs as darkness continues to coat Edinburgh.

The entire level below that designated for the market is filled with cars, some just arriving, with others who have travelled from distant lands and one trader who had arrived at midnight to ensure the best spot for selling his goods.

Balinda Blackford and Lisa Wright, the two organisers behind the operation took on the car boot sale after the previous renowned event at the Omni Centre was stopped several years ago.

PIC LISA FERGUSON 13/09/2020. Ocean Terminal Car Boot Sale happens every Sunday in the multi storey car park

But I am told that they both seem more anxious than they would normally be as they are determined to ensure that the event goes ahead safely.

At 6am the cars begin to take up their spots and are greeted warmly by either Balinda or Lisa who then shows them where the hygiene stations offering masks and hand sanitiser can be found.

Cars all have the same time to get set up. This is to ensure there is no unfair advantage and that everyone has the same time to spruce up their stalls for opening at 6:30am.

Lisa, who boasts about walking ten miles most Sunday’s whilst working, spoke of how she missed the community during lockdown.

She said: “I used to sell myself, and both Balinda and I could be making more money by selling instead of organising but we just love the comradery so much that it doesn’t matter to us.

“You go to the funeral of a car booter and there are lines round the corner to pay respects. We are a big family and in some cases have grown up together.”

Balinda added: “I started out as a new mum and needed money for my mortgage in the last recession before the 2008 one and have never looked back.

“It was huge for me and my family. We ended up getting a real taste for it when I could get really good brands for the kids for just a couple of pounds. Before long my daughter and I were hooked on it.

“She is actually just along there selling goods herself. It definitely has ran in the family.”

Craig Mason, 24, is an independent jewellery trader who also works in banking. He too got involved in the scene at age seven through family when chumming his uncle who would fix and sell bike parts at markets across the central belt.

He said: “I come every weekend. And a couple of weeks ago I managed to establish my very own business: Trotter’s Independent Jewelers Ltd on the back of my expertise.

“It is a really proud community and it’s not just a business. I will do Cheshire, Glasgow, Falkirk and sometimes Gorebridge in a week when I’m not at the bank. You can make money in this but to be honest the best part is waking up knowing you are going to do something you enjoy whilst putting food in your family’s belly.”

Craig had been introduced by Dean - a trader and organiser who did not wish to give his second name - and beforehand he explained the cyclical nature of the car boot sale.

First of all you have your one day traders who just sell things to clear a home of say a loved one. You will then have your seasoned car booters who attend a stall every week and at times buy entire stalls off of the one dayers if they like what they see.

The seasoned car booters are always looking for something that they can sell to auction traders who are always on a hunt for a bargain that they can later profit on at auction.

But sometimes traders are here for more personal and sentimental reasons and that was the case with a young woman named Genna Margiotta, 28.

Her partner, Thomas Brock who was a promising golfer and lived with her in Bonnyrigg, was laid to rest just three days prior to Genna opening at the market.

They were set to be married in September but sadly Thomas had cancer and he passed away in a hospice.

Genna said: “Thomas and I agreed I would come here and sell some of our stuff to raise money for a cancer hospice at Edinburgh charity FACE where he spent his last days.

“To be honest I came here today to raise money but also to take my mind off of everything. Due to treatments we had to self isolate and it meant we were unable to see anyone or work for over six months. We also had to cancel our wedding which broke both of our hearts.

“I used to come to car boot sales with my grandad when I was younger and so this feels like a place where I can feel safe and be distracted. That is what I love about car boot sales, you get a mixture of characters but everyone is so friendly.”

Genna’s love for the people is shared by Mary Moriarty, the Queen of Leith, who was also attracted to car boot sales by a family member.

She said: “Over the years I ended up with a load of junk in the house and started going to Ingilston. You always meet so many amazing people and I tell you something this has been my lifesaver during the pandemic.

“I am so relieved to be seeing people again. It is fair to say I enjoy the romance the most about car boot sales as I can certainly tell you if it was about profit I would have retired long ago.”

Car boot sales are a menagerie of fascinating people, from charities to families to students, that sell not only items but the stories contained within them.

And the comradery and support system that exists for those who attend these markets is like something from a bygone era.

But the vibrancy of the place tells you that the industry is very much alive and thriving and that can only be a good thing.

After all we could do with more repair, reuse and recycle culture in today’s society.

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Joy Yates