Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Carrier Bags...who needs them...

Morning folks...time to pop the kettle on...make yourselves comfy because this is one long winded saga...if you're a regular visitor here you'll know that I spent Sunday morning at my local car boot...not that I wanted too but I've been threatened with eviction if I don't make an effort to de-clutter the clutter which has taken root in the garage over the years.  But any outdoor activity in this country is weather dependent...it's impossible to plan ahead...there may be 52 Sundays in a year but when I'm free it's been persisting with rain and when it's not I'm doing something else. The weather forecast for Sunday was looking good so I bit the bullet and loaded up the car on Saturday night and that's a nightmare in itself...making sure that everything is tightly packed...you definitely don't want anything shooting forward and breaking your neck before you get there. I wasn't very happy when silly o'clock arrived and I had to drag myself out of my cosy slumbers and even more grumpy by the time I'd unloaded the car at the other end...battled with the table which has a mind of it's own and set out my wares for sale and little did I know there was a carrier bag saga about to unfold.
The first customer of the day bought 2 paperbacks for 60p and asked if he could have a bag....poor man looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights when I barked "why can't you bring your own bag"...."surely if you're coming to the car boot you make sure you bring a bag from home" but once the words were out of my mouth there was no taking them back...he rushed off clutching his books like a scolded puppy...leaving me feeling thoroughly ashamed of myself for being so rude and making such a fuss over a plastic carrier...perhaps I should be practising what I preach.
Remember back when our Government were making lots of noise about stopping us mere mortals from contaminating the planet with our excessive use of plastic carriers by bringing in a charge of 5p...£5 a pop might have made us all sit up and take notice about being so wasteful forcing us to re-use last week's shopping carriers but the suggested paltry sum is hardly likely to have the desired effect is it.  I buy into the principle of it all but with a memory like mind...putting it into practice is a different story...hence the hundreds of the plastic blighters stockpiled in the car...mind you they might come in handy as back up airbags should the need arise...along with the supermarket hessian ones...the calico jobbies and even the fold up into nothing variety hidden in the depths of my handbag so why do I find myself caught short at the checkout replying "Yes Please" when asked if I need a bag and yet another joins the throng.  The moral of the story is "folks who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" and I need to engage my brain before I open my mouth.
But it didn't end there...my suitably chastened...lesson learned...happy customer face was seriously tested when a certain very well-dressed but decidedly "nose in the air" snooty "fur coat and nae drawers" woman had me drawing on every last ounce of patience and customer service niceness when she bought 2 M&S sweaters and gave me the mother of all "look down her nose" looks when I went to put them in a Tesco carrier.  "I don't want that bag...don't you have a nicer one"...steam began to billow from my ears...oh boy was I tempted to round on her and point out that if you want stuff in a designer bag...why are you buying clothes from a car boot but she needed no help from me to look petty and small so I found one from M&S in the bag mountain...smiled sweetly and said "no problem at all...you enjoy the rest of your day".  Such a shame that Mrs Uppity hadn't been the first customer of the day instead of that poor man who bore the brunt of my silly "feeling sorry for myself" tantrum.
But the problem of keeping the grumpy part of "grumpy old woman" in check was the least of my worries when I hopped out of bed yesterday morning...the old woman part was having a major protest...achey back and legs that frankly were struggling to pass each other and the brain wasn't playing ball either when I discovered that the washing machine was swishing away empty and the dirty laundry was whirring around in the tumble dryer...definitely not a day to attempt any crafty stuff...much safer to be sitting on the sofa with coffee and cake and lots of oohing and aahing at the gorgeous goodies that arrived on Saturday from Craftwork Cards...
but before there can be any playing...it's time to tidy away the demo/workshop supplies abandoned in the cubbyhole since Saturday...
can you tell it's not one of my favourite jobs...
See you all tomorrow over at WOYWW
Hugs Kath xxx

16 comments:

  1. Morning Kath, I think I would have been the same , grumpy with the first customer after getting up at silly o'clock and setting all my stall up. Imagine going to a car boot without a few bags, typical man. I hope you managed to get rid of everything and didn't have to load it back into the car. Have a good day relaxing today and see you tomorrow. Hugs x ChrisB

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  2. Kath I am in total agreement re your carrier bag tiffs.
    Hugs
    Desire

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  3. ...oh Kath the joys of the booty, I do find it odd how people don't take their own bags but for some reason in their head they still regard a prurchase as something that you provide a bag for and even though they are rumaging around peoples cast offs in a field, they expect you to have bags in various sizes and designs (like miss snooty draws!), there nowt as queer as folk as they say...have fun with these yummy newbie's they look gorgeous...Melxx :)

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  4. Morning Kath you did amused me! I agree with you lol! xx Jan

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  5. Oh dear that poor man. We are luck as we have a car boot that doesn't start until 11 so you can get there about 8.30 - 9 and get set up and relax. He is very stricy and shushes people off if they try to get on early he has even barred some people if they keep doing it. Fancy being barred from a car boot. Loved you post today even without any of your fab makes. Hope Buddy is getting better xx

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  6. Hi Kath, hope you're ok, well I've had a jolly read of todays post and a giggle too, hoping to catch up on what I've missed! Have a great day. Ruby x

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  7. Oh dear Kath, sorry but it did give me a chuckle, it is like we have something in our makeup that makes us expect to be given a bag. We have lots in our boot and invariably always 'forget' to take them into the store! If you go again, I have collected carrier bags since the year dot - really, really nice ones which you can have with pleasure......I saw Julie using those flowers on QVC and they are absolutely gorgeous. Have lots of fun with them. Crafty hugs, Anne x

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  8. I've done a couple of car boot sales and I've met your miss snooty draws!! Well someone very like her!lol
    I hope you managed to sell it all.
    Gorgeous goodies in your package too.
    Lorraine x

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  9. Your post made me laugh.
    Eveline.

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  10. Hi Kath
    Ilove your story about the carrier bag. It wont be long before you join Wales in carging for your bags.
    We have to purchase all our bags so I do take the broken ones for replacement now as I used to throw them away.It is funny when you go to M&S and people carry their purcheses over their arms not good for security. I totaly agree with you people should take their bags with them and I would have looked for a £1 shop bag for snooty pants

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  11. Hope your had a good day after those two little blips. lol Hope that Buddy is improving. Lots of hugs Anesha

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  12. Oh, Kath, I am ROFL'ing here.
    It was fortunate for you that Mrs Uppity found an M&S bag acceptable for her purchace if that was the best you could do, having left your Harrods bags at home, LOL.
    Have fun with your new goodies :)
    x

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  13. Sounds like you had fun at the car boot sale! Can't believe that woman being picky when she was buying clothes at a car boot. Aren't people funny.

    The new Craftwork Cards goodies look interesting!

    Kat xx

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  14. Hi Kath,I hope you managed to sell lots on Sunday and didn't have to trail it all back home again, thats the bit I hate. It's funny how we get called grumpy old folk when we are actually being honest and speaking the truth as we see it, people don't that. I don't think people want to live in the real world, a pretend one's so much nicer. Meanwhile I look forward to seeing some creations with your new goodies,I hope the back and legs are less painful tonight.

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  15. Oh THOSE customers...... I once treated a group of teenagers who wanted to see some biology books on sex to an anatomy lesson with Gray's Anatomy!
    Paula (PEP)

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