Who's stupid idea was it to put hundreds of books on shelves in the auction room for sale individually ?...
I was in an out of the auction room like a fiddler's elbow today...
After dropping Firstborn off at school an hour late after WW111 and trying to buy our tickets to Bournemouth (which couldn't possibly be done as they were changing the guard and adding up the small change in the till over and over again because they were 15p out)I popped in for the first time...
Whilst waiting to bid I picked up a book and started leafing. Then I started reading, and read right through the first lot I wanted, a set of womans biker leathers which apparently went for £24 (gaahh!)...
So I put the book back and home I rushed ( phone hozzie, hoover, bleach, scrub, check watch, fill in DLA form tickticktick whatever)...
Back in the auction room I picked up the book I was reading before and waited (this time with an ear open, although I'm really liking this book )...
I wanted a fabulous watercolour landscape for Beloved for Father's day, but we're at the silly-money end of the room now, where they're selling jelly-moulds at £100 a pop...there's only two of us bidding, but this guy wants it bad, and even though I throw in the £24 I saved on not getting the leathers I must admit defeat and upon being outbid, put the book back again...
I dashed up to the station to buy that ticket (the mystery of the missing 15p having been resolved). I was informed that if you buy a family railcard you save oodles. I did. And you do too...
A pair of small Victorian watercolours in intricately carved frames had caught my eye because they were of waterfalls (and I do love waterfalls), although they weren't a pair because they didn't match, so after a bout of shopping at the CO-Op I picked up the book again to pass the time (with one ear open) until the lot came up and I got them for £18...
Then I picked up Firstborn from school and stopped off on the way home at the auction room to pick up my booty, and whilst I was there I gave them an extra quid and had away with the book...
It's 'The Knot Garden' by Geoff Nicholson...
