If you have a high Indian/Asian population in your area, try some of their shops - you can get them in downtown East London quite often, although trawling through car boot, garage, jumble and opportunity shops can yeild quite a haul.

Incidentaly, I wanted to buy some playing spoons, a long time ago, and went around my local market, testing them out. Found that the plated nickel silver was best, but the very shiny modern versions of the good old fashioned turn of the century table spoon were very tinny and flat sounding. Drove two stall holders barmy and ended up having an impromptu concert with the third!!

Why play a washboard?

They double as great kevlar vests when the audience realise you're the band, not the laundry!!

Also, go for oldfashioned metal thimbles, not tailors thimbles (no tops to them), and try not to get the really shiny ones, for reasons, see spoons above. Besides, after a few hours bashing, the plate comes off and they turn your fingers green.

If you have a salsa band near you, talk to them about where they got their instruments from, because there is now available a fairly passable purpose built wavy bit of metal on a shoulder harness. Worn like a breastplate, it means you can march, drink your beer, fend off the audience, scratch, pick your nose, anything else, without the whole kit and caboodle falling to the ground.

LTS