Spring fair time

Yay! Spring fair time, when all the churches, schools, scout groups and service groups have garage sales, fairs, and boot sales.
  Today all the action is at the St Mark's church fair, just a few minutes walk away from me. Here's my haul, a goodly selection of books, a raspberry lampshade (to go with the raspberry wall), a lovely old beechwood plane to plane my garden gate so that it shuts ( a casualty of the quake) and a pretty 1940's plate. There was no plant stall this time around, they have no room for it as much of the area around the church has been fenced off, but will have it separately in November. Usual crush of people, but that's OK, it adds to the atmosphere, as long as it's not standing room only.
   Sometimes people get uncomfortably close, I well remember standing next to a woman at the bookstall one year who leaned on me to get me to move, the way a cow leans on a fence to get at the greener grass on the other side. I just leaned back. Give way, will I 'eck!
   You can of course do some guerrilla warfare tactics. I don't brush my teeth before I go to these shindigs; one blast of foul gas from my unwashed, overnight mouth usually gets them away. Leaving your hair unbrushed  is good too, plus some sort of irregularity about your attire; I've found that if you look like a psychiatric patient on day release, people will give you a wide berth. And keep your elbows sharp. In extreme cases, a little light elbowing will have an effect too.  Ah, happy days! The cut and thrust! (Especially the thrust,  says Julian).

    Emma is much better today, thankfully. She slept most of yesterday (mind you, she usually does anyway) but was perky and affectionate this morning. Poor wee sausage, but at least we don't need her fitted with dentures. Just imagine how that would be.