Some people find going to a flea market fascinating and magical because you never know what you can find: from an old vinyl, a strange piece of furniture, to an object that hides forgotten memories. The latter is what Kurt, a 31-year-old man from Wales, found in a market in Cowbridge.
I’m sure you can’t find what Kurt found in a Walmart and that you won’t see flea markets the same way after reading this story. So, let’s see that intriguing thing he found on a flea market.
A £10 finding
One weekend, Kurt decided to go to a flea market in Cowbridge which was an hour away from his house. When he arrived, there were tables full of books, clothes, and curious objects; but something caught his attention: a retro videocamera.
‘’It cost me £10 (about $13),’’ he said on his TikTok account where he usually uploads old objects he finds. What he wasn’t expecting was finding the second-hand camera was like a time capsule.
The surprising tape
Two days after, when Kurt was at home, he tried the camera to see if it still worked and when he opened it he found three video tapes, but one of them was labelled. Of course, as most of us would have done, he was so curious to watch what it was and he pressed play.
In the little screen of the camera, images appeared from the 90s: a family on summer vacation, kids playing in the sun, and adults laughing. ‘’It reminded me of my own childhood. Every Christmas and school play was recorded with a camera like this,’’ he explained, very emotional. So, what Kurt had bought in that market was a journey directly to nostalgia.
Thanks to social media
Kurt couldn’t keep the tape, so he decided to share this story on TikTok and Facebook and he went so viral that he received so many messages and comments. However, there was one comment that said: ‘’Oh my god, that’s my friend Leah! I have already messaged her and she can’t believe you have found her tape.’’
Within minutes, Kurt was talking to Leah, the owner of the tape. She explained that in the 90s she travelled with her family to Kenya and, after a long time, she donated the camera to a charity shop without realizing the tape was still inside the camera. ‘’It was like it was meant to happen,’’ Kurt commented. ‘’She was lovely and surprised that someone else had her tape.’’
Flea markets
Stories like Kurt’s show why many people enjoy going to these flea markets. They are not just places to find bargains, but also some of the objects you can buy have a soul, memories and a past. So, every lamp, vinyl, or camera can be the key to a forgotten story.
A market connects people and different times. For some people it can be a simple and worthless object, for others it can become a treasure full of meaning. In this case, what Kurt for £10 joined two people who would have never met in a different way.
So…
As you can see, this is a fascinating story full of emotion and an ending most of us didn’t expect, but it’s amazing we get to hear about these beautiful stories in a world with a lot of bad news. So, the next time you go to a flea market you need to pay attention to what you are looking at, you never know what you can buy. What if you experience the same thing as Kurt did? That would be a great story to tell, right?