General Chat

CC.when Bohemian Rhaposody came out first time i thought it went on for far too long!
I like Best Friend.

Perse,
That must have been an enjoyable experience having a bookshop but it must have been hardwork. It's only in the last 4 years or so that I 've got the reading bug.

CC – an older cousin of mine who was a bit like a brother to me – taught me to drive and who I still miss another one who died before he made 60 – he loved songs from shows and Glenn Miller was a real favourite of his. When we walked into his funeral – there was Glen Miller music playing in the back ground. Had to tell my eldest to button it – she started to say what awful music.

I think nearly everyone likes “Queen” or at least likes a couple of their songs – the chap that won Matthew Kelly’s Stars in Your Eyes - think he did Bohemian Rhapsody – he came to NZ and did a show.

Sorry did not see you sneak in Tec – oh dear your good lady wife seems to be having a bit of hard time of it. Sorry you missed out on your “Welsh” dragon and tall ship – what was the ship. When I sold something here – we went to the auction and I did not get to meet the person who bought it. Was sold to a phone bidder. I was wanting to see it go to a good home – silly really.
It is very good of you to wear a nurse’s cap keeping up traditions – I miss the fact that our nurses here no longer wear caps. And when they are in scrubs they wear those paper elasticated hats that make you look dumb.

Perse

The hardest work Patricia was buying books from people - secondhand books are sometimes peoples treasures but I would have to look at them with dollar signs in my eyes. Some people would turn up with the mangiest dirtiest looking books you ever did see and wonder why you wouldn't even handle them. When my OH was there one woman got in a right state because he only looked at a couple of the books - they were covered in dust, grime and insect poop - and she said to him "you know the customer is always right" and he said I agree and when buying book I am the customer.
Sometimes I would take a book that was falling apart if it was a good one - I would not pay for it but I would have it in my give away pile - and I would give it to a customer I had not seen before - it pretty much guaranteed that they would pay a return visit.

Timeshare - we went to one of those - I looked through their book and picked a country where they didn't have a place - I only went to wind them up - and to get the free gift. But they really tried very hard - I came out from there laughing and my OH who was with me said you were very norty.

Persey

Perse,
I had a load of old books which were in a state and very old. One book had the price in pounds and pence. I felt embarassed about taking them to a charity shop so I put them in the recycle bin!

Oh sacrilege - Patricia really old books can be worth money.... antiquarian bookshops are a very good business to be in if you know your stuff. Where we were we could sell the odd one - like if someone had asked us about it (we would have a request book with names and numbers) but if someone came in with a book that we knew to be of value and knew we would probably not move it - we would take it to another dealer. (and I did not take a commission for this)

I think your problem CC with Tec and his stethoscope is that your heart starts to race and goes boom diddy boom diddy boom boom boom. It's ok - I won't tell.

Perse

I like old books - got lots of them.
I found a lovely book on a market stall, good clean condition, linen bound.
"The Watercolour Drawings of Thomas Rowlandson"
The trader wanted £7, but as I hesitated he let me have for £5. I later looked it up on the internet, and someone wanted £75 for a copy.
I like it too much to ever part with it.

Tec.

Hello all - you seem to be getting on quite nicely without me. Aren't you all a artsy, literary, musical bunch:-))

I like any music that takes my fancy. My daughter coaxed me to listen to Pink and Amy Winehouse and I love them. I love listening to all the old musicals that were played often in my parents' home. Celtic music is a big love of mine and I often listen to Loreena McKennitt, Celtic Women and Enya. I also like Mike Oldfield.

My daugher has several old copies of Alice in Wonderland with lovely illustrations. It was always a favourite of hers. Her eldest now has all her old Enid Blyton books and her old classics like Black Beauty.

I've risen to a cold miserable day but after the last few days of sunshine and soft breezes I'm not complaining. It is autumn after all.

Sue xx

No CC. I wouldn't part with my favourite books for any money.
Another lovely old book I have is "Corbetts Emigrants Economy"
It's an emigrants guide for men emigrating from Britain to America, a fascinting little book published in 1828.
Half of it was recently re-published in paper back. The publisher explains that the other half was not legible because of condition. I have the whole book in faircondition. Another one I wouldn't part with.

Tec.

I have quite a lot of valuable books - my OH wanted a book titled "The Age of Houses Illustrated" It is all black and white and published by Lincoln College here - he finally after much searching got an ex North Shore Libraries copy paying $100 for it on line. He then took it to a book binder and had it rebound costing another $40 and this chap has done an absolutely wonderful job of it. The book has NZ houses from the early 1800s right through to the 1970s. It was well worth it. We have an extensive NZ collection of books.

I have noticed that some of our opportunity shops here are pricing themselves too high on pieces of good china. They get it for nothing and then are asking what the antique shops want and I have even noticed they have gone way OTT. A dealer won't buy from them and the majority of their customers haven't got more than a couple of bob to spend.

How are you when he takes your BP CC? Is it where if it is too high when you are seated that you have to try again lying down?

No don't go there!!!!

Persey

Talking of literary stuff I've been writing up my diary. I was a couple of days behind! It might make fascinating reading to somebody one day after I'm dead!
It's been cold and miserable here. We had our summer last week!
It's gone eleven o'clock here and I've work tomorrow. It's quiet in my office but 2 of my work colleagues will be back in the afternoon.
I've got to do the rubbish as well

Morning Sue,

Combs hair, straightens clothes, tugs forelock.

How's it goin' cobber?

Sometime I have trouble getting back to the right page on here - it is slower to do some pages than others - decided it must be the point of immigration getting back onto the thread..... but passport stamped again so I am okay.

We've had a spot of rain for a couple of days but very sunny today. A few days ago it poured down - but not as much as Southland so can't complain and if I did well...............................


Persephone

Good Morning Sue,
It rained here all day - but we needed it. Monday is the May Day holiday, so I shall be dancing around the Maypole on the village green with bells round my knees............

Goodnight Pat, sleep well.

Perse, That book of yours on NZ houses sounds interesting - I've got a book here all about the history of cottages through the ages, that's interesting too.

CC, I may havementioned The Emigrants Guide before, I've read it so many times - it really gives a good insight to social conditions here in the 19th century.

Tec.

Good night Pat - lovely as always to see you.

When I was growing up my parents had a very large veggie garden and we all would help on the weekends. My dad had a book brought out by Yates seeds and I have memories of dad reading it in the evenings and planning the garden. A couple of years ago I found an old copy of the Yates gardening book at the local markets. I bought it for a ridiculous $2.00 and when I looked through it a very old packet of cabbage seeds fell out as well as an old pamphlet for seeds from a shop even I don't remember. I love the book as it reminds me of my dad. I might add that my mum isn't very sentimental and throws out anything that is past being useful:-))

By the way CC - don't encourage Persey to be disrespectful:-))

Sue xx

Whenever I think of Morris Dancing I thinks of the slap with the wet fish dance with John Cleese and Michael Palin (forgot his name for a minute there and had to go and look at one of my books)

I have quite a few of my mother's books - I don't think she read them - well not as much as I did. My dad used to bring home books from the Railway - he would come home with Larry Kent and Carter Brown novels and cowboy stories and men's magazines (they were pretty tame in those days) and I used to devour them all. My mother never knew what I read - I have my very dog eared Alice in Wonderland but also have more recent copies. I did give away quite a lot of my childhood books but I still have a couple of bookshelves of them. We don't have any of OH's childrens' books - he was an avid reader but I guess his mother passed them all on. I had to stop my mother from giving away a lot of mine - I was given all these guilt trips to handle for not doing so.

Good night Paticia may you have a good day at work tomorrow and be able to make lots of good entries to your diary.

Persey

Cooties, cooties what are those????

I have never had anything like that - quelle horreur.

One of our rebel leaders was called Te Kooti Rikirangi born in the 1830s -
there are few with the name Te Kooti.

My mother would have had a fit if I did get head lice - she would not let me belong to our suburban library - "you don't know who has handled those books" - I didn't join the public libraries till I left school and she just didn't want to know - I was such a bad girl.... and she was even more horrified when my eldest joined when she was three and then the youngest joined when she could just walk. My mother was no longer alive when we bought the bookshop, I would've probably been disowned or banished for such treason.

Disrespectful who me? I have a gold star for good behaviour I will have you know CC.

Curtsies and goes to hang out washing.

Persey

I shall be dancing around the Maypole, slapping my thighs, and rattling my tambourines, with a feather in my hat.
With that mental vision in your heads, I will say goodnight.
Enjoy your day everyone Down Under,
Hope you slept again Berona, and feel better.

Goodnight CC. SLEEP WELL.
~~~~~~~~~~to Diane,

Goodnight,
Tec

Goodnight Tec and my best wishes to the Duchess.

I must also be off and start my day. So good day to the Aussies and Kiwi and a good night to our Pom friends:-))

~~~~~~to Diane, Berona, Linda and anyone else who looks in.

Sue xx

Good - I caught your post before I logged off CC.

When dad passed away mum almost immediately started clearing out his stuff. I was horrified although a small part of the trained me knew it was her way of dealing with his death. His clothing and shoes I could handle but when she started on his books, model aeroplanes and other personal belongings I was really upset and took boxes of his stuff because I couldn't bear for them to be thrown out. Now except for his photos on the wall there is hardly anything of dad's in the house. Even the garden has been changed. I have to say it changed my relationship with my mum for awhile. I was grieving too.

Sue xx

My mother gave her mother's dinner set away - there are various pieces all over NZ. They moved house when I was five and she left all the silver behind because she could not be bothered cleaning it. I was away when they did their next move - ( I was twenty) and she left my grandmother's wedding photo (in a frame that my mother had made for it) on the wall. A china cabinet which she deemed old fashioned and all sorts of other items that I happened to like. I got really upset though when several years later I was going through her old glory box downstairs and my father's first pair of slippers were not there. He had kept them all through his years in the bush and the army only for her to chuck them away as not needed. My dad was not impressed either when he found out. My mum did not like 'old' - she would not sit on our lounge suite because I had bought it from an antique shop. Got told you don't know who has been sitting on it.... to which I said that she didn't know who had sat in the seat she was about to sit in when she got on the bus or train or who had slept in the hotel bed before she came along and used it.

My mother's cousin turned up at my place with several pieces of my grandmother's china once and said to me this should be yours. Uh oh - my mother was cross with me for saying thank you very much and taking it.

I always check with my girls - before I do this do you want it?

Allan and I both got gold stars CC - then Allan let himself down and probably the bouncy castle as well and lost his - so mine his stuck fast to the fridge so as Sue cannot take it away no matter what!!!!!

Persey
~~~~~~~~~~ hi Carole you are bound to be around somewhere!!!