Yesterday morning I called the company that was supposed to haul away our old TV. I was on hold for 16 minutes, with them promising I was "the next caller in the queue," before suddenly being disconnected. I called back and was once again reassured that I was the next caller, but before I spoke to anyone I realized I could interact with them via a "chat" system on their web site.
So I abandoned the phone and chatted online with a very nice woman who told me that a "glitch" in their system had allowed me to schedule the pickup for Monday, a holiday when they weren't working, but that the TV would be collected on the 8th.
And then I went outside to bring in the TV until then, just to get it off the street, and it was GONE! It literally disappeared while I was trying to arrange its removal. I'm not sure whether the company collected it or some total stranger took it thinking it might have some value, but hey -- I don't care. As long as no one brings it back.
I had a busy morning. I took our blankets and bedding to get washed, and went to school to put away the Christmas decorations in the library and neaten things up there. I walked all the way even though it was miserable and rainy. I felt like I needed the exercise.
At noon, I went to meet blogger Linda Sue at a nearby antiques market I'd read about online. She came up from South London with her friend and erstwhile blogger Sarah and Sarah's husband Andy. We had fun wandering around this crazy maze of a four-story indoor antiques mall, where huge areas seemed to be under renovation (above), and there were staircases worthy of M.C. Escher going to vague and shadowy places. When we exited, we found we'd come out of what looked like another building entirely.
We had lunch in their little top-floor cafe and we enjoyed ourselves, though I don't think any of us bought anything. Some of the antiques were quite luxurious -- modernistic chandeliers and sleek mid-century furniture costing thousands of pounds. I found four little brass sculptures that I liked until I looked at the price tag -- £4,800. Ummmm, no.
It's just as well. Having just disposed of an antique TV, I'm not inspired to acquire any more objects!
We went for a wander along Church Street and nearby Edgware Road, a very multicultural area where you'd swear you were in Cairo or Damascus.
The weather, however, was very London.
We liked this garage with its curvy portico supported by columns resembling old gas pumps.
Finally, we walked back to Abbey Road, where I caught the bus for West Hampstead while Linda Sue, Sarah and Andy went back to South London. Linda Sue leaves soon to return to Washington State, so this may be the last time I see her on this trip.
We remembered to take a selfie!
Oh, and Linda Sue brought me my wonderful lizard, which you may recall she rescued on my behalf from a Dulwich thrift store. It has taken up residence on our bed, where it fits neatly atop a pillow. Olga noticed it immediately and sniffed it curiously but (fortunately) lost interest once she realized it isn't edible.
I slept so well last night. There's nothing as wonderful as clean sheets and blankets.
Your granny looks like Tuesday Weld! What a day! Thank you for braving the storm !
ReplyDeleteArab Cargo? What's that? Baby camels, fez hats, desert sand, dates and copies of The Quaran? Linda Sue has a nice face - unlike the bloke she is with.
ReplyDeleteArab Cargo. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have memories of being in an internet cafe in Edgware Road in the early 2000s. The local exotic population were rather good to see. It was only later that I fully understood what could happen in that internet cafe.
That garage portico is good..nice to see a bit of thought going into that instead of grey square concrete columns.
ReplyDeleteLove the lizard.. thankfully Olga doesn't seem to want to play with it!
Well, nice to see the lizard';s new home, with Olga guarding[?] it.
ReplyDeleteI imagine som eone thought the TV might be good and snuck off with it.
It's fun to read Linda Sue's and your accounts of the same trip, and thanks for remembering the selfie. Does the lizard have a name yet?
ReplyDeleteThere are antique "malls" like that around here too where you could easily get lost for hours or days and find yourself in a different county than the one you started out in, never leaving the facility. Of course after awhile it all becomes a blur and I always wonder how people got some of that furniture up those crazy stairs.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you and Linda Sue got to see each other again. What fun! Too bad the weather was so dreary. I guess y'all are used to it by now.
Thank you for the selfie! Two of my favorite people right there.
When you first mentioned the "stuffed" lizard in your earlier post, I thought you meant an actual lizard that had been preserved. I'm glad to see that it is this cute toy lizard. My daughter's dogs would chew that little guy to pieces!
ReplyDeleteNice you got to spend more time with Linda Sue.
Our town has a number to call to schedule pickups for bulky items that can't fit in with the normal trash. We are allotted one pickup per week. I would guess 50% of the time I set something out the day before my scheduled pickup, it gets picked up by someone driving by and never makes it to the county dump.
ReplyDeleteno such luck for us out in the county. if we want to get rid of something we have to haul it to the transfer station and they charge you a fee. but what a fun outing. there are several antique malls in old town Rosenberg, not nearly as big but just as overwhelming after a while.
ReplyDeleteSo many interesting photos today. That scene in the antique mart is interesting. I like the very wet outdoor seating and those "gas pump" columns are amazing. Nice photo of you and Linda Sue. And lastly, I love that cute frog! Looks like a fun day in spite of the weather.
ReplyDeleteI love love (love) the lizard! So adorable. I wonder if I could make a crochet version...
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to meet up with blog friends! I too have had encounters and even established friendships with some of my bloggers/readers. Great selfie with happy faces. I usually end up with half my face in the photo--hopefully my "best" side. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat day for you all, in spite of Henk! Looks like the lizard gets to stay, Olga approves! :)
ReplyDeleteI've always loved M.C. Escher drawings! I'm glad Olga isn't too interested in the lizard. I would have to put something like that out of reach in my home.
ReplyDelete...clean sheets and blankets...and a lizard!
ReplyDeleteHi Steve,
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun afternoon! I only saw those coloured signs from the back so didn't realise they had writing on them! Love all your pics.
That sounds like a wonderful day. Good eye candy, good companionship, too. When we were in London in 2018 we stayed just off Bayswater and a block west (I think) of Edgeware. One night we went out for dinner and had just fabulous Middle Eastern food. I think any of the spots we passed would have been just as good!
ReplyDeleteYour TV disappearance reminds me of how if we want to be rid of anything, put it by the curb. It doesn't last long. (Once Rick dumped everything an ex-tenant had left, which was a lot, and two people almost got into a big fight about it!)
What a nice day spent with friends. Excellent selfie of you and Linda Sue.
ReplyDeleteSo you all had a great "last day" in a place with beautiful things with astonishing price tags. The lizard looks just right on that pillow.
ReplyDeleteI'm betting the TV got taken by someone who will strip it for useable or saleable parts. I see it here all the time, but instead of taking the tv, they squat right there on the footpath and take it apart, keeping the bits they want (copper wiring is much in demand here, often stolen from buiding sites), then leaving the rest of the "shell" for the council pick up.
That’s a sweet selfie. I love those gas pump columns. Can’t believe you didn’t buy those brass sculptures. Yes, I understand it was 4800 pounds — but that was for FOUR.
ReplyDeleteLinda Sue: You mean my OLDER SISTER!
ReplyDeleteYP: Yes, we were mystified by Arab Cargo as well! You leave my face alone.
Andrew: I'm sure it was people harmlessly e-mailing their parents back home and that kind of thing. No reason to believe it was anything subversive!
GZ: Yes, points for creativity on the big gas pumps!
Bob: Ignoring it, more like.
Boud: I haven't named it! Maybe Alfie -- that was the name of the antique market where the hand-off occurred.
Ms Moon: Yeah, I shudder to think of having to move some of that furniture in and out. Some of those pieces were HUGE.
Ellen D: Ha! No, I do not do taxidermied things. :)
Ed: I bet that happens a lot here too. As long as it doesn't get discarded on some roadside somewhere.
Ellen: Is that where you used to work? I remember you working in an antique mall.
Sharon: It was fun! We stayed largely indoors.
Bug: Oh, I bet you could, you of astonishing crochet skills!
Margaret: Ha! It helps to have long arms.
Jim: Yeah, I didn't even know Henk was a thing until I got home and read the news.
Kelly: She has never gone for stuffed things, or anything really except her balls and her Kong toys. She's very focused on those. (Fortunately!)
Catalyst: Doesn't everyone want a lizard in their bed?!
Sarah: I confess I knew about them ahead of time, so I knew which angle to photograph them from. :) It WAS fun!
Jeanie: As we all know, that's how I found some of OUR furniture! That neighborhood off Edgware and Bayswater is rife with inexpensive hotels, I suppose because of the proximity of Paddington Station.
Susan: It WAS a good day!
River: Oh, well, I'm glad they didn't do that. The last thing I want is a disassembled TV on the sidewalk outside my house!
Mitchell: Ha! That's two months' rent!