“Gaudeamus” exhibition and “Antiquities Bazaar”Two lovely events during the weekend

      During my never ending work, I had a break during the weekend so as to visit two events which were very interesting.

“Gaudeamus”, an impressive exhibition

      I will start with “Gaudeamus”, the national annual exhibition of books, which was held at Romexpo area. I went there so as to discuss with people about my second book, or at least this was my impression. Having been in several book fairs from Greece, I was expecting a quiet environment, with few buyers and many people being available to talk to you. But I found something completely different…
      This was a real celebration, a… party! Thousands of people were walking around, almost all of them buying MANY books. There were presentations of books every few minutes, with the author speaking to a crowd (which did not have the place not even to stand and listen!). The stands themselves were really impressive, some of them like real bookstores, having almost everything you would like to find. Most of the companies had also promotional, lower prices, creating an even more attractive environment for buyers. Their sales were really very high. I spoke with many of them and they were surprised to collect so much cash, at this period of the year, during a major financial crisis.
      I personally bought some books to read and some more for my collection, but I am very happy because I found (and bought) the map of Romania during the period 1918 – 1940, when it reached its largest surface, including today’s Republica Moldova and some areas of Dobrogea, which were given to Bulgaria, after the Second World War. Yes, I know I was looking funny, carrying 2 maps like this (one is for present) and bags of books, but I felt sorry I was not able to buy more interesting things from there.
      This exhibition made me appreciate Romanians even more, made me being proud of what I saw:
      – A society that reads so much is definitely a cultivated society. Despite the financial problems, the penetration of books in Romanian homes is much higher than the Greek one (for example).
      – I saw endless serious people. They were well mannered, walking carefully, trying not to cause problems to anyone, with respect for the people around them. Civilization…
      – It was also very nice to watch so many parents having their children with them, trying to explain to them things, introducing them to the “book reading” culture. What can be better than this?
      – A country which has a solid basis of so many cultivated people has definitely a strong advantage in creating a better future.
      I don’t care if the prices for books here are lower comparing to other, more developed, countries. People WANT to read. And they should be very appreciated because of this. BRAVO to all of you!

Bazaar of Antiquities: Interesting but…

      Sunday was the day for the Antiquities bazaar. I went there full of… wishes to buy interesting old things. What did I find? Endless Chinese items and some antiquities. Most of them in very high prices, being sold by people who represent all that I hate. Liars, greedy, changing price all the time, based on who you were and how you were dressed. The real opportunities were very few, hidden in between Chinese… elephants (yeah, directly from the Romanian Communistic period) and cheap carpets.
      There were hundreds of people attending this event too. Most of them were disappointed from what they found and they focused on the small stands with… food, which were vertically placed, in the middle of the fair. I personally focused on what I wanted the most. These were old newspapers (1915), magazines (1937) and automobile maps (1946), a vinyl disk of John Lennon’s  “Imagine” and some more minor stuff.
     

      I have a question though: Why a rich Romanian does not go to an event like this, buy all these old newspapers etc and create a small museum with them? They are part of Romanian history. Why should they be available for sale to anyone (like me) who has few money to buy them? What is the necessary amount for all these things to purchase? Not more than the equivalent for the cost of (one more) apartment for a mistress, or (one more) expensive car etc. I wonder how come noone thinks to create a positive image for himself in such a (relatively) cheap way?
      (Again I sound too romantic, no?)