Going Out...And Buying A Bright Purple Kettle...

I bought a purple kettle...it has a whistle. It's bright shiny purple actually and ever so nice...stainless steel...none of that nasty aluminium that gives you dementia...

We had to get some parrot food you see...not that we actually have a parrot...it's a bright yellow bird that must be the most boring bird in the history of birds...but it eats parrot food and the only place that it can be bought is the pet shop underneath the craft shop...and the purple kettle was in the other section...where they sell outlandishly expensive wicker baskets and dinky little gardening gloves sprinkled with flowers that briars and thorns go straight through...the staff are quite gormless...they stand in a neat row behind the counter and try their very best to avoid any customers brave enough to venture close, clutching their goods and a handful of euros...

I went upstairs to the slightly mad ladies who run the craft shop...they dart about with bales of yummy fabric and pore over customers patterns before suddenly dashing over to grab exactly the right material and then they produce sewing cotton and zips and tot up the total on a brown paper bag...

The counter groans under the weight of gorgeous ribbons and pretty buttons...fat quarters and jelly rolls...there is wool that comes from Yaks and wool from Bamboo...softest balls at horrible prices from Alpaca, in all the colours of the rainbow...plain down to earth acrylics and wool from Black faced sheep...

I wander about bedazzled by choices while Paula leans her bosoms on the counter to give them a bit of a rest and directs me to the remnants basket...stuffed to over-flowing with silks and scraps of slithery satins...little bits of velvet and lengths of airy organza...I pick up the packages and wonder whatever would I use palest pink netting and soft baby pink satin for...

She whispers the latest gossip and the sombre Polish girl who works with her pulls her fur gilet tighter and pretends she isn't listening...and stuffs my meagre purchases into a brown paper bag...she does the most exquisite embroidery with beads and narrow ribbons when the shop is quiet...which is rarely.

I tore myself away from the displays and tottered down the stairs to look at the budgies chattering in their cages and the baby rabbits snuggled up with fat guinea pigs...beautiful tropical fish and seriously silly dog toys that Eilis and Millie would eat in five seconds and then look for more of the same...

We went home after that.