Monday, October 18, 2010
Dorking and Kathu.
Today we have been in that interesting old town of Dorking once again. It is a town with many shops selling interesting old things.
I concentrated on my old things.
I had a box full of stuff to slot into the display.
It was cold this morning - and you know that this means the shop would feel too cold for comfort.
I decided to warm myself up a bit by putting into operation an idea that had floated into my head.
"Let's re-arrange things!"
The up shot of this is that I brought home 2 boxes of stock, which I felt no longer fitted onto the shelves. During the week I will go through those boxes and re-price things in readiness for the time when we sell at a car boot sale.
So I was busy for an hour or so. But generally this has not been a busy Monday.
I sold a little floral jug today for me.
Others did a bit better than that - but some sold nothing at all.
Dorking is a town with some soul and a sense of community.
That is important.
It also has some lovely old buildings.
Phuket has places which also have that good feeling.
Kathu is Jamie's home village - although their house is about a mile from the village centre.
It is a village where working Thai people live.
It has always been so - having developed during the days of tin mining on Phuket.
There are no flashy shops and restaurants - indeed, there are no cafes at all in the village centre.
You can get fried bananas at the road side and another stall does the most fantastic fruit shakes for 15 baht (about 30p).
There is a 7-11 mini market and some other small shops.
There is a Thai Buddhist temple and Chinese Buddhist shrine.
Kathu - pronounced KAT - OO.
I like to stroll around the places where people live, keeping my eyes open for details.
Late one afternoon. Jamie, Bill and I did a Kathu photo shoot.
Windows in Thailand have patterned grills - to prevent intruders. There is no need of glass to keep the weather out if the window is under cover.
A heap of roof tiles make an interesting pattern.
Upper storey windows, closed off with shutters.
Kathu chicks.
Bill waits at the corner.
And here he is posing in his village!
House gate - with paint peeling a little.
Woman waiting.
"This is my little shop"
In the Chinese shrine - probably talking through all that needs to be done for the vegetarian festival.
Food before the altar in the shrine.
Charming fierce heads in the shrine.
Nearly dark now; it gets dark at about half past six, with very little variation on that time between the seasons - perhaps half an hour.
Street name.
Street scene.
Broom and tap.
One day I will get one of those brooms - they are so beautifully made.
Another street scene.
I concentrated on my old things.
I had a box full of stuff to slot into the display.
It was cold this morning - and you know that this means the shop would feel too cold for comfort.
I decided to warm myself up a bit by putting into operation an idea that had floated into my head.
"Let's re-arrange things!"
The up shot of this is that I brought home 2 boxes of stock, which I felt no longer fitted onto the shelves. During the week I will go through those boxes and re-price things in readiness for the time when we sell at a car boot sale.
So I was busy for an hour or so. But generally this has not been a busy Monday.
I sold a little floral jug today for me.
Others did a bit better than that - but some sold nothing at all.
Dorking is a town with some soul and a sense of community.
That is important.
It also has some lovely old buildings.
Phuket has places which also have that good feeling.
Kathu is Jamie's home village - although their house is about a mile from the village centre.
It is a village where working Thai people live.
It has always been so - having developed during the days of tin mining on Phuket.
There are no flashy shops and restaurants - indeed, there are no cafes at all in the village centre.
You can get fried bananas at the road side and another stall does the most fantastic fruit shakes for 15 baht (about 30p).
There is a 7-11 mini market and some other small shops.
There is a Thai Buddhist temple and Chinese Buddhist shrine.
Kathu - pronounced KAT - OO.
I like to stroll around the places where people live, keeping my eyes open for details.
Late one afternoon. Jamie, Bill and I did a Kathu photo shoot.
Windows in Thailand have patterned grills - to prevent intruders. There is no need of glass to keep the weather out if the window is under cover.
A heap of roof tiles make an interesting pattern.
I am sure my Granny had a plant like this.
In fact I think everybody in the family must have had one for the little plantlets along the leaves drop off and start growing in the soil.
In the UK they must be indoor plants - now what did we call it?
Upper storey windows, closed off with shutters.
Cables - of course!
When I first saw the man on the left in his traditional Thai lounging clothes, I began to weave the tale of an old man relaxing in the late afternoon fresh air.
When I first saw the man on the left in his traditional Thai lounging clothes, I began to weave the tale of an old man relaxing in the late afternoon fresh air.
But look again - in his hand he has a calculator and he is wheeling and dealing with the man in dark clothes.
Kathu chicks.
Bill waits at the corner.
The road twists and turns through the village.
The lanterns are up in readiness for the Chinese festival due to start within the next week.
This is the Vegetarian Festival - about much more than cleansing the soul with pure foods.
Jamie has words and pictures about the festival on a number of sites.
Some pictures might make you feel a bit uneasy if you don't like body piercing!
This one is Part 1 only - I will let you know when Part 2 appears.
And here he is posing in his village!
House gate - with paint peeling a little.
I assume that the plaque has the name of the family and the number of the house.
Woman waiting.
I think this woman is always waiting!
"This is my little shop"
The half filled bottles contain small amounts of fuel for motor bikes.
In the Chinese shrine - probably talking through all that needs to be done for the vegetarian festival.
Food before the altar in the shrine.
Charming fierce heads in the shrine.
Nearly dark now; it gets dark at about half past six, with very little variation on that time between the seasons - perhaps half an hour.
The shrine roof.
Street name.
Street scene.
Broom and tap.
One day I will get one of those brooms - they are so beautifully made.
Women chatting in the late afternoon.
Just look at them - about my age, I would think. How can they sit
comfortably in that position - a position that I just can't get into!
Another street scene.
Next time we will move on (as we did that evening) to Kathu market - with every food you would wish to eat and many others that you would not want and maybe didn't know existed!
I recall that we went home from there to eat the wonders that Mam had prepared.
Labels: shop and stock, thailand
