Massamá Tailgait Market

Welcome to my first post in this Market Friday community!

On the first day of autumn, during a walk I took with my mum, we decided to go to the Luggage Market that was taking place in a car park near the garden where we usually take the opportunity to get fresh... It was practically a summer's afternoon. It was scorching hot, which made me a little apprehensive about inviting my mother to such a programme. But, slowly, and taking advantage of all the shadows we could find, either on the eaves of the houses or in the long shadows of the tall buildings, we got there. After almost 2 kilometres, we arrived at the fair organised by the Massamá Parish Council.

We found a lot of empty seats, probably because of the scorching heat that day, which made our visit much shorter than I had planned...

This kind of market always gets me excited, because you never know when you're going to find something precious amongst all the old junk.

My favourite thing to do at this kind of market is to let myself be led where I'm "pulled" and then try to strike up a conversation with the seller, if I see that there's someone there who is empathetic and who won't charge me for chatting and won't buy anything from them.

And that's exactly what happened with Mr João, who has been collecting Hot Wheels cars for 20 years plus... can you believe it?

And the collection he had here were only models that he had repeated more than once... You can imagine the amount of time and money he invested. He confessed to me that the value of the cars he's collected over the years is enough to buy a house in the centre of Lisbon!

Impressive, don't you think? But he also confirmed to me that if he were to sell all these models, he wouldn't be able to afford even a fifth of the collection he owns. He said that his taste for collecting came from his father, who loved cars, but in 1:1 scale.

This particular set is priced at 32$99 for example

In his childhood he designed roads, built cities, workshops and even a car sales stand. With age also came responsibility, and he ended up dedicating himself to restoring the cars he played with as a child, and acquiring the models of cars that famous brands sold. As he is one of a small group of collectors, both the brand and its representative in Portugal contact him every time there is a launch of a model or a special edition (which won't even go on sale to the general public).

He said it was one of his vices, but one that had brought him the most health, because unlike others that his schoolmates had developed or acquired, this taste for collecting and modelling had taken him to various parts of the country and even Europe, sharing his passion with other lovers.

Before I left, I had to share some photos of what I found there. A disc telephone, which I think nowadays a small percentage of the population has ever made a call with this now museum piece!

I also found a very simple ceramic plate, but its pattern was the same as one my grandmother had in her living room, which was paired with an equally decorated platter. It's these trips that this type of market gives me that always make me excited to visit them, even if they're not as important as the Feira da Ladra, which anyone who has visited Lisbon has probably heard of.

Although I didn't buy anything at this market, I loved chatting to Mr João. That conversation has no attributable value. They are life stories, passions that you share with those who are interested in them. After all, I didn't waste my time, I valued it!

One of these days, I'll see if I can make it to Lisbon on a Saturday morning so I can share with you all the colour and the variety of objects and people there!

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I hope you enjoyed my first post in this group! I'm sure it won't be the last.

Bem Hajam 🍀

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Photographic edition with PhotoScape X