The Last Car Boot Sale

Car Boot Sales!

I have promised Iron Man that this really is the last one.  It’s going to have to be as no loft means no hoarding.

This one has had to be hardcore though.  Alarm set for 3.45, leave by 4.30.  Never before have we been so committed.  The Kid had a sleepover and the attention seeking rabbit was left with enough supplies to see her through the morning.

There is no room for the 7.00 sellers these days.

You end up in the cow-shed and go home with everything you came with and 25p.

That’s enough to rock any marriage.

So here we are at Dunton in Essex and for the first time in weeks, I’m cold.  So cold that I’m tempted to start dressing myself in the very items I am selling.

This will probably be the closest I will get to a modelling career in brown leather boots and a Pom Pom scarf.

In fact, I’m glad to see it’s not just me that’s cold because there are people here shopping in their fleecy pyjamas.

I often wonder what possesses people to get up at such an ungodly hour to buy other people’s toot but wild horses couldn’t keep them away.  Just as well really.

We are rather departmental this time around and Iron Man could easily be cast as Mr Selfridge as he stands over the merchandise negotiating with purchasers that are interested in the giant inflatable champagne bottles.

As I sit in the car, I feel proud that he has stuck to his guns and held out for 50p per bottle. Especially after the effort of blowing them both up.

This is despite being offered 50p for two.

Sale agreed!  Inflatables Are Us!

Our Christmas section has been unveiled and as I have said before, it would rival Harrods.

The 3 sided tree is out in all its glory.  No shift so far.  People keep wanting to buy all three at a heavily discounted price.

I’ve had to impose a limit of one per customer.

No one needs 3 trees.

I can vouch for that because they have been sat in the loft for years.  I am doing these people a favour in not taking their money.

And as for the three sided tree – well, rooms will always have corners.

There will always be a need.

Trade is picking up slowly, very slowly.  As I sit in the car nursing my chilblains,  I can hear Iron Man engaging with more customers.  I think he may have cracked a joke too.  Time to investigate and the sun is out.

I am seriously wondering to myself though whether the days of the car boot are over.  It’s much quieter than it used to be.  Maybe we have chosen a good time to retire and bail out.

It has been a very long slog.

Lots of bartering and haggling and fun.

And lots of nice people stopping by.

Many satisfied customers.

And some unsatisfied.

I am never going to let you have something for £2 if I’ve asked for £10.  This is not the way to successfully negotiate a deal.

The charity shop will always win this one.

I will also never fail to be amazed at the ability of women with Size 7 feet that try and squeeze them into a size 5 and then want a discount because they are the wrong size.  Such are the antics of these places.   You can never have enough shoes of the wrong size at times like this.

It is these things that make the whole thing worthwhile when you have stood on your feet for 8 hours.

Of course we forgot the chairs.  And of course among the 22,000 stalls, we were unable to find a pair.  This is known as Sod’s Law.

The temperature warmed up nicely over the course of the morning and as we queue to leave at 1245 after 8 hours trading, I am a little charred.

In the boot of the car is more or less what we came with.  Including the trees!!

We have made £130 in sales which is not too be sniffed at but we could probably have both done an 8 hour stint in Poundland for more.

And with the car as full as when we arrived, we go home via St Francis Hospice Charity Shop laden down with goodies for them, so nothing is going to waste.

Best seller of the day goes to Barbie.  Her late entrance proved to be worthwhile.

Her authenticity was questioned and we thought we may have to get Ken involved but she held her ground.

I gave her new owners some wise advice.

It is not OK to bend a dolls legs and arms backwards.  EVER.   It is also not OK to imply that my goods are anything other than legit.  Do we look like we are the type to house fake Barbie’s.  No.  Thought not.

Do not even think about asking me to knock the price down.

People can be cruel sometimes.

I do hope we have done the right thing for her.

And the ex soft furnishings from The Kid’s old bedroom are on their way to Thailand with another satisfied customer.

Everyone is a winner.

I can honestly say that I will never do another Car Boot Sale in this lifetime.

Iron Man and I are at one on this.

We are done with this chapter of our lives.

Promise!

The marriage would not survive.

Nicky

 

 

 

 

In Out, In Out, Shake It All About

So the long awaited official campaign for the EU Referendum has begun.

We have the Vote Leave and the Britain Stronger in Europe parties representing each side.

Up until now, it has been difficult to gather the ‘hard and fast’ facts from which to make our decisions.

We have been presented with biased views and ‘political bufoonary’ from individuals that are intent on point scoring for their respective parties.

It would be an understatement to say that the referendum comes at a time of much disillusion around the political system.

A time of uncertainty and concern that there is ‘no safe pair of hands’.

The bigger uncertainty however lies in our decision making and the way the polls go on 23 June.

This is big, scary grown-up stuff – right?  A big decision we are making.  For us and for the future generation.

This knocks GE2015 into touch.

I’m not sure we can change our mind after 5 years if it doesn’t do what it said on the tin.

It can also be hard to approach writing about things such as this when others appear to be so much more learned.

So, I’m holding up my hand and saying that there is a hell of a lot I don’t know.

There is also a hell of a lot I want to know and learn over the next few months.

Of course there are a few pertinent points around which to hang a decision and many will take this route.

It would be very easy to follow suit here but my concern here is the rest of the implications.  Those that individually and collectively, we may know less about.  There are so many facets to each choice.

We can listen to very persuasive interviews and feel slightly more fired up towards a particularly stance, only to be swayed again when an opposing viewpoint is given.

I am too young to remember life before the EU or whether that is relevant in any way to form a decision now given the changing landscape of our world.

I’m also taking a leap of faith in thinking that there are others that can identify with all of the above.

I have become more interested in politics in recent years and have listened, learned and read as much as I possibly can.

I guess it comes from being more comfortable around your own decision making and views.

Nothwithstanding this, I do still feel a lack and I wish to learn more.  This is for no other reason than the desire to own my vote.

When you are a child growing up, you tend to be influenced by the political views of your parents.

I can remember spending many lessons in a cold corridor in secondary school for sharing my fathers views and thoughts on the world with my very politically charged English teacher.

They clearly held very different political views and I, of course, had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

As we move on some 30 odd years, the world is indeed a very different place.  Many of my fathers views would no longer be relevant now.  I often wonder how his political stance would have changed over the years.

It is at times like this when I look to those more learned and ask their advice.

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Unfortunately, all of those people are pretty much in the same boat as I am right now.  They are also unsure.

Perhaps naively, I was hoping for clarity to drop through the post in the form of the government missive.  I was disappointed.

Views vary also cross political parties and whilst the main parties are encouraging a ‘remain’ vote, none of the parties are necessarily united in their stance.

We are now seeing those in the political arena come together to collaborate irrespective of their parties.

It is going to be an interesting few months where I imagine we are going to see the most unlikely alliances standing together on one stage.

And it’s not just here either.  Everyone is getting involved.  ‘Our global influence is at risk if we leave’.  Nothing finer than that statement to cause a knee jerk reaction.

And the celebs are having a say too.  Bring it on if it’s going to bring clarity for us.

It’s difficult not to feel manipulated in one way or another.

Several agendas at play here.

Not much we can do about that though.

My main point here is that I don’t want to be a ‘fear’ voter.

A voter that gets scared off from embracing something that will mean change – particularly if such a change is for the greater good – whether that be ‘in’ or ‘out’ simply through lack of understanding.

It’s very difficult to make a decision that interferes with what we know as the norm.

What we need to avoid is a nation becoming so afraid of walking into the unknown that they react with a knee jerk vote.

Of course everyone outside Britain knows what we should do and they are telling us too.

Understandable that everyone should be looking after their own interests.

But the agenda of others is not ours.

There is nothing democratic about that.  It makes a mockery of our system.

I really want to own my vote and be confident that I have made the right choice.

For me that’s going to mean a lot of reading and a lot of learning and a lot of questions.  I also love a good discussion and debate on things such as this.  So if anyone wants to share their confusion or has read any useful pieces to share that have helped them, please do comment.

What are you doing to help inform your decision?

Perhaps you have already made one.

Have you found it easy or are you, like me, still ploughing through the facts?

Either way I’m sure you’ll agree that there are interesting times ahead.

Nicky