Car Boot Challenge

A reader sent me this article from Helen McDermott‘s column in the East Anglian Daily Times. She describes her purchase of a Teasmade while filming for her Anglia TV series ‘Boot Sale Challenge’:

“Being there to work, to make a programme, I set myself strict rules about remaining detached from all this and not actually buying anything. Not strict enough. So far I’ve come away with a lamp we don’t need and haven’t got room for, a vase that looks nice but won’t hold water, and a Teasmade. It cost me eight quid. Teasmades were thought very posh years ago when mum and dad had one. It was a sort of electrical stand-in for a maid, combining the function of making your early morning tea and waking you up. You’d fill the kettle and set the clock to the desired time. When the hour came the kettle switched on, the water boiled and tipped into the teapot which tilted as it filled, setting off the alarm and switching on the light at the same time. Hey presto, rise and shine! At least that was the idea. Mum says even before the alarm went off it made enough noise to wake the whole household. What’s more, they nearly always woke up before the thing switched on and used to lie there waiting for it to boil. But it’s got a good eight quid’s worth of charm. And it’s mine.”

Helen McDermott, East Anglian Daily Times, 2003