Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sunday work and lifeboat work
Sunday evening and I feel so tired.
This morning we opted for the most local car boot sale, not necessarily the most fruitful, but the easiest.
There is always lots of stuff that is totally unsuitable for us to buy, either for ourselves or with a view to add interest and profit to our wheeling and dealing.
But we arrived home over 2 hours later with a trolley full,
The dining room table is now covered with a variety of things - but nothing is yet ready for the shop.
Maybe the best item found is a glass lampshade - Italian glass from the 1930's. It is white glass with a fluted edge in green. The seller said it had been in her ex grandmother in law's home in Italy.
Also bought 20 jazz CDs - 3 boxed sets with 9 discs and 11 others; all for £7. Ashley might be interested in some of them. I might take one or two to Thailand to give to the man we met in a jazz cafe in Phuket City, will keep what we like and sell the rest.
I spent quite a bit of time today doing a little stock taking - just checking that what has not been crossed off in my file is still in my possession somewhere.
So, I was out in the garage with my file and a pen.
I shall continue whilst at the shop tomorrow.
Some people perhaps don't keep such strict records - but I love a bit of secretarial work.
We are doing both Monday and Tuesday at the shop this week, so I have plenty of time to get things done.
Bill has been out and cut grass - ours and each adjoining neighbour's.
That's another small source of income.
The Grand Prix from Canada was on our TV screens later in the day than normal.
I have read on facebook all sorts of moans about menfolk being absorbed in the football. In our house, in fact, I think I could get far more absorbed than Bill.
But it is Bill who is drawn towards the motor racing.
In our younger days we visited a number of different types of motor racing and I enjoyed the days. We saw the British Grand Prix once in 1968. It seemed exciting to be there and perhaps over 40 years ago things were different.
Today the races seem rather tedious, with pit stops being more exciting than the racing! And the commentators drive me mad as they scream and shout and exclaim throughout the race about nothing in particular.
Though maybe today, British commentators could be forgiven for going over the top at the result - first and second for our "boys".
Bill makes a point of watching and I avoid - but I am not sure just how much Bill really bothers.
Well, before I make a cup of tea and enjoy an early night, let me tell you of the excitement at Beaumaris on June 4th.
We were ambling with our food, trying to find a seat where we really wanted to be for our lunch, when we were over taken by a running man, with his pager bleeping. He was running to the lifeboat station.
That prompted us to decide to find a seat on the pier so that we could watch the drama unfold.
Typing error there - it is, of course, Menai......not Menia.
The lifeboat sits in a sort of cradle and is pushed down the water's edge.
Once in the water - whoosh, the power is on and off they go.
Out into the Menai Straits with the mountains beyond.
If you look hard, or enlarge the picture, you can see a woman, gesticulating and seemingly quite agitated.
The lifeboat returned perhaps half an hour later.
The man facing us was the one who was running and first alerted us to the lifeboat launch.
Now the lifeboat had to be manoeuvred back into the cradle.
Right hand down a bit!
A hose down for the tractor and the boat and back to normal work for the lifeboatmen.
This morning we opted for the most local car boot sale, not necessarily the most fruitful, but the easiest.
There is always lots of stuff that is totally unsuitable for us to buy, either for ourselves or with a view to add interest and profit to our wheeling and dealing.
But we arrived home over 2 hours later with a trolley full,
The dining room table is now covered with a variety of things - but nothing is yet ready for the shop.
Maybe the best item found is a glass lampshade - Italian glass from the 1930's. It is white glass with a fluted edge in green. The seller said it had been in her ex grandmother in law's home in Italy.
Also bought 20 jazz CDs - 3 boxed sets with 9 discs and 11 others; all for £7. Ashley might be interested in some of them. I might take one or two to Thailand to give to the man we met in a jazz cafe in Phuket City, will keep what we like and sell the rest.
I spent quite a bit of time today doing a little stock taking - just checking that what has not been crossed off in my file is still in my possession somewhere.
So, I was out in the garage with my file and a pen.
I shall continue whilst at the shop tomorrow.
Some people perhaps don't keep such strict records - but I love a bit of secretarial work.
We are doing both Monday and Tuesday at the shop this week, so I have plenty of time to get things done.
Bill has been out and cut grass - ours and each adjoining neighbour's.
That's another small source of income.
The Grand Prix from Canada was on our TV screens later in the day than normal.
I have read on facebook all sorts of moans about menfolk being absorbed in the football. In our house, in fact, I think I could get far more absorbed than Bill.
But it is Bill who is drawn towards the motor racing.
In our younger days we visited a number of different types of motor racing and I enjoyed the days. We saw the British Grand Prix once in 1968. It seemed exciting to be there and perhaps over 40 years ago things were different.
Today the races seem rather tedious, with pit stops being more exciting than the racing! And the commentators drive me mad as they scream and shout and exclaim throughout the race about nothing in particular.
Though maybe today, British commentators could be forgiven for going over the top at the result - first and second for our "boys".
Bill makes a point of watching and I avoid - but I am not sure just how much Bill really bothers.
Well, before I make a cup of tea and enjoy an early night, let me tell you of the excitement at Beaumaris on June 4th.
We were ambling with our food, trying to find a seat where we really wanted to be for our lunch, when we were over taken by a running man, with his pager bleeping. He was running to the lifeboat station.
That prompted us to decide to find a seat on the pier so that we could watch the drama unfold.
Typing error there - it is, of course, Menai......not Menia.
The lifeboat sits in a sort of cradle and is pushed down the water's edge.
Once in the water - whoosh, the power is on and off they go.
We wondered who was in trouble.
Out into the Menai Straits with the mountains beyond.
The lifeboat then curved around and came back towards the shore on the other side of the pier and pulled up by a yacht.
The yacht seemed not to be in difficulty - but somebody obviously needed help.
If you look hard, or enlarge the picture, you can see a woman, gesticulating and seemingly quite agitated.
At this stage we can only surmise what is happening.
The lifeboat towed the yacht off towards Bangor or Caernarfon.
Perhaps the woman's husband was in a bad way - maybe a heart attack.
I have just checked the lifeboat website again and they still have not published details of this day's activity.
I could read about a call out a week later - but not this one.
Perhaps they are still waiting to hear the final outcome.
The lifeboat returned perhaps half an hour later.
The man facing us was the one who was running and first alerted us to the lifeboat launch.
Now the lifeboat had to be manoeuvred back into the cradle.
Right hand down a bit!
A hose down for the tractor and the boat and back to normal work for the lifeboatmen.
Each rescue, whether major or minor, is funded by peoples' generosity. I sometimes wonder if it might be a charity that Bill would like to do more for - or is buying strong Lifeboat Tea enough?
The kettle will be boiled very shortly and another cup of Lifeboat Tea will be downed.
I stick to my decaff tea most of the time.
Must just add that we became great uncle and aunt for the 32nd time today. Ruby Monk was born to Charlene in Scotland. I have no more details. I guess Charlene is not doing much on facebook this evening - but did tell us that contractions were getting going yesterday evening.
