Disappointed...

.....in the great British public!

Today we did a "Table Top" sale at the local church hall. Primarily to try & get rid of some of our stuff we've accumulated over the years including many (sob!) books. I was sure people would want to buy some, most of them were in excellent condition. There were some Booker prize winners in there, plus some Clive Barker books (hardback) in mint condition and a couple of classics as well.

Well, do you know we did not sell a single one! Oh, they came in their droves to buy keyrings, ornaments, garden lanterns, a dog bed and even some tatty old football programmes. We made the princely sum of £13 for a couple of freezing cold hours in the church hall, did our bit for the community but still left with a car boot full of, well, mainly books!!

I hope the local charity shop fares a little better, 'cos that's where they destined.....as for the great British public today, well they will never know what hours of delight they have missed!

Work work bizzy bizzy bang bang!!

I haven’t blogged for a while, been busy busy busy! So much is going on at work, loads of people are leaving (taking redundancy) or retiring (early retirement package) so it’s been a round of collections and cards, laughter and tears. The stalwarts of the organisation are leaving, and these are the people I grew up around, as I’ve been there since I left school at 16. It will seem so strange to watch a new bunch of people take over pivotal roles, and interesting to see how well they cope in such tough and demanding times. I have mixed feeling over this. Part of me says that it’s time for a younger bunch to take over, but another part of me is scared for them, I would not want to be in their shoes. Me? I am happy to come in and do a good job and go home again these days. I used to think I wanted to be a manager, but realised I cannot cope with some of the bullying and unfairness that goes on. I just take it all too personally and get too stressed! Life is too precious to let a silly thing like work make you ill. Been there, done that, and don’t want that T shirt any more! So it’s time to knuckle down and get on with what I want to do – my OU course, some writing here and there, and keep my head down until we know what is happening with our jobs!

The race to read

I am a bibliophile. I'm not just someone who likes to read, but someone who truly loves and appreciates all that is to do with books. Not just what beautiful surprises are contained therein, but their aesthetic qualities, their smell (see earlier post!) and what they represent. Someone said to me recently that they thought that the future of books lay in the "ebook" and what can be found online. I have to say I disagree vehemently and hope that they are wrong! Books can contain the works of a lifetime, some of genius, some are just entertaining, some thought provoking and deep. To open the first page and gently crease back the spine as one delves into the unknown is a pleasure that is surely unmatched by typing into a computer or squinting at a small screen to try and read the words on a tiny screen. At this very minute I have a dilemma which consists of "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga, a biography of Francis Bacon, two Doris Lessing novels and about a dozen or so other books bought in recent months. On top of that, a book about Welsh History from the Open University beckons as I start a short course in April. Books represent so much that I have become today, and indeed what I would love to do in the future. Our apartment is full of them. I do try and offload some from time to time but every loss is heart wrenching! Soon we'll be bulging at the seams so I'll have to try and be ruthless, but it's so hard! What do books mean to all of you?

New Course

I logged on to my OU page today, to great excitement. The course materials for my next course (for I am an addict) were despatched yesterday! It's called "Small Country, Big History: Themes in the history of Wales". That means that hopefully in under a week's time a lovely parcel will arrive full of goodies, including a big fat lovely new gorgeous smelling course book! I will have a good sniff of it before delving into something new to learn. Well, it keeps the grey matter ticking over! Anyone else have a book smelling fetish or is it just me?

Guilty?

I was in Tesco after work. Suddenly, I had in my hand a packet of those gorgeous dark chocolate covered biscuits, you know, the expensive Belgian ones, just 9 in pack. I was just going to have one, maybe two with a well deserved cup of tea when I got home. I'll save the rest for the weekend, I told myself as I slunk through the checkout, trying to disguise my purchase along with a packet of ham and some toilet rolls. Half an hour later. Feet up. Peppermint tea brewing. It had been a good day at work, I had left my end of year appraisal beaming with pride. After a small sip of the tea, I sighed and opened the packet. The inevitability of what would happen in the next ten minutes was pushed to the back of my mind. I tried to fight the hormonal surge, as I lusted after the smooth creamy chocolate which melted in my mouth as the sharp crunch of the rich tea type biscuit echoed in my ears. What a juxtaposition. Opposite but perfectly matched. One biscuit had made just a small dent in my insatiable appetite for their chocolatey perfection. I may as well finish this section of the box. In a blink of an eye, and another cup of tea later, the box lay sad and empty by my side on the sofa. I guiltily hid it beneath the rotting banana skins in the kitchen bin. After a few minutes of chocolate heaven I began to feel slightly queasy, as I prepared a nice healthy salad for dinner.