For some reason, it seemed to me to be a good idea to get up early yesterday morning. I know, I know, I can hear you ask “What were you thinking?” I was thinking — soundly, to a point — that I would go to a car boot sale (a flea market, in US English) and since I wanted to scout for under-priced fountain pens, and when you’re looking for under-priced specialty items you should get there early. Right? Right.
Alas, Polmadie has gone the way of US flea markets, and now — rather than comprising all garage-emptying or estate-settling sales of household goods, it’s dominated by people with packaged goods that somehow came into their possession: batteries, hand tools, light bulbs, some health and beauty aids. There were some miscellaneous household items, but it was not the setting for pen-hunting that I had hoped. That’s OK; it was good exploring and learning, and I had a good time.
On my way home, I stopped at some charity shops and at the one antique shop in Partick. No one had fountain pens, but the proprietor of the antique shop tipped me off that an antiques and collectibles show comes to the West End once a month, and that it would be in Glasgow today.
That mean that I would get up early today (not because I wanted to get to the antiques fair early, but because I had the 8:30 mass at the cathedral). I was needed for the 10:30 service also, so I had my coffee and croissant at the Bay Tree, where I spent a happy hour thinking hard and having delicious ideas. After the second service, I hurried to Kelvin Hall to catch the antiques show, where I spent a few minutes admiring the display of Peter Crook’s pens, and the antiques on offer from many other vendors — altogether a more satisfactory experience.
But time was marching on, and I had gratefully accepted an invitation to Sunday dinner at Vicky and Margaret’s, so I hustled home, changed out of clericals, trundled down to Partick Station, took the train to Anniesland, enjoyed a marvellous dinner of stuffed pepper and roasted vegetables, followed by much conviviality. So now that I’m home, I’m footsore, weary, full, sun-warmed, and ready to turn my brain off, watch a diverting movie, and go to bed early — since I have Morning Prayer and a clergy staff meeting, and then lunch with a colleague, already committed for tomorrow.