This morning, we headed south again so that I could meet another blog friend - this time is was Julie. We were meeting so I could give her the third pair of socks. They are for her daughter's birthday in May, but as her daughter doesn't read this, I can mention them! We headed off for a spot of lunch, and amid much laughter, Julie handed me a paper bag from a bakers' shop. Inside was a 'Morpeth Gadgie' bread (a gadgie is a man, perhaps of slightly dubious reputation!)
Julie also gave me some wonderful things in return for knitting the socks, but the light wasn't good enough to take pictures when we got home, so I will show you those tomorrow. We had a lovely lunch, although perhaps we didn't do justice to the lovely food as we were talking so much
When Julie left, I had time for a little retail therapy before I met up with Malcolm and Jennifer, who had also been out for lunch. There is a wonderful new shopping arcade in Morpeth, with some of my favourite shops. First stop was .........
I still have a beautiful dress and jacket that Malcolm bought me for one of our wedding anniversaries way back in the 80s. It is somewhat too small for me now, but it is so gorgeous, I could never part with it (I must remember to take a photo to show you). However, after a brief look at the clothes, I headed for my favourite part of the shop - the remnants basket. I was very restrained, and only bought two pieces, which both cost £1!
The next stop was the one shop that I really miss, since we moved to the Borders
I have, for many years, bought my undies in Marks and Spencers, but today they let me down, as they didn't have the item I wanted in my size.
I decided to have a look round this shop ..........
...... although I was rather put off by the sign on the door which said something like 'we are open, but we keep the door closed to protect the environment' - but I won't have a rant about selling imported clothes (think of the fuel used to transport them) and all the lights used in the shop (all that electricity!). The clothes were lovely, but as I didn't really need anything, I just had a look round, before going on to
This is where I encountered the second man of the tale ...... and he had designs on my gadgie! I was looking at the craft books when one of the staff commented on the bread peeking out of my bag ..... he hadn't yet had his lunch, and was rather peckish. When I showed him the gadgie, he had a good laugh at it - but said he wouldn't want to eat him, it would just be like eating a person! I'm afraid I succumbed to a book - what can I say, I think I need a 12-step programme 'my name is Anne and I'm a bookaholic'
I was served by the same young man - very bright, cheeery and efficient, I think he will go far. He was delighted to tell me that as I had spent more than £10, I could have one of the books displayed on the counter at a (very much) reduced price. Yippee - one of the books was the next in the 'No 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series. I love these books - if you have never read them, get down to the library, or visit the dreaded Amazon and prepare yourself for delightful tales of Mma Ramotswe, a lady of traditional build, and her husband, Mr J. L. B. Matekoni
ps, my friend Lee in Sydney will be suffering from severe book envy - she is such a devotee of Martha Stewart, that her blog is called Just Like Martha!
pps - we ate some of the gadgie with dinner, and he was delicious!