Saturdays Part Two.

Saturdays Part Two.

Last year I’d done really well at a huge craft event and was looking forward to this year’s event, at the same place. I’d booked the same spot that I had been given last year, as I had done SO well. My Husband Paul and I had great expectations for this Saturday.

The difference this year was that we had kittens in the house, our cat Gray had given birth to six lovely, cute, sweet, kittens none of them were gray like her, there were two that had three different colours on them and has money was always tight we decided they would go for more money than the others that were only black and white, there was also the runt of the litter she was all black. The kittens were eight weeks old.

This year Paul had decided to make lots of papier mache dishes with various decorations on them. So as I knew I had all this space from the event last year I took with me the usual three clothes rails, gazebo, tables and all the other items I would need to make sure the event was a success.

I decided for the first time since I have been doing this event to book a black cab so that I could get my items in and also Pauls, but when I rang the taxi company they said they didn’t have black cabs! I knew another taxi car wouldn’t  have been big enough, to go with my small car, then the receptionist said that they did have a mini bus,  I asked how much would it be she said, “£25 there and £25 return” it was a lot, for the car taxi was only £17 there and £17 back, so it was a big difference but I figured that it was worth it and booked it for the early morning pick up.

All the preparation has been done and today was the big day, selling hand tied dyed clothes need one major element, the sun! It had been lovely, sunny and very warm all week until Friday evening when the heavens opened as they said it would on the weather forecast, and they had also said it would rain in the early part of the morning before it would clear up and be sunny again.  So I was even more apprehensive than usual, for I didn’t want this to be a wasted day, I’d put everything into this, time and money and effort.  We were as usual broke and well into our overdraft and I wasn’t due to get paid for another three weeks, so it was a very stressful time. The lovely kittens were not due to be sold for another two weeks, and although they were the cutest things the two weeks couldn’t come quick enough for me.

The taxi driver arrived on time at 05.30am as we were about to put our items into his taxi he said to Paul, “You can’t put anything in any part of the taxi, only in the boot!” Paul came into the house and told me this, I went out and he said the same to me, I looked at the boot and it was at least 6” wide!!!!! And it was a foot and a half high!!!!! I said to him, “I have paid £25 for this mini bus, and not just the boot, but for ALL of it!!!” He replied, “You are NOT putting your dirty suitcases on my seats!!!!!” I said, “They are NOT dirty, they have craft items in them!!!!”  The taxi driver put my soft leather suitcases that are slim in the ‘boot’ I told Paul to ignore him and to put all the other cases and items in the rest of the mini bus! I was livid!!! We had SO many things with us if he seriously thought I was going to pay £25 to only use 6” of the ‘boot’ he must be nuts!!! It was made clear to the taxi lady on the phone that it would be a huge craft event and that they wouldn’t be able to just drop us off and go, for there would be longish queues to get to our stall and then to leave the venue would be queues too. I asked her to let the driver know, she said she would. She is SO nice this lady that I always use this taxi company. All the drivers are Asian but she isn’t. Over the years that I have known about this particular taxi company If ever I need to use a taxi I always use them, for they give exceptional service, always! If I was to phone up today, she would know who I was by my voice and the road that I live on!!!!! She too is THAT amazing. So to have a driver like this today of all days was disgusting! Everything was carefully put into his taxi, on seats and floor and into my little car too, he said he’d follow me. Before he got into his mini bus he told me to, “Step on it”! I said, “Pardon?” He said, “I have another job in half an hour” I couldn’t get any more livid!!! What a nasty man, this was supposed to be a love day for me and he was ruining it.

I approached the roundabout and was about to look left and right when I heard the taxi driver sounded his horn LOUD behind me!! I thought I can’t believe he just did that!!!! I decided to report him when I got back home, who the hell did he think he was? The entrance to the main event was signed posted and well known, but we were by the pond a completely different place to the main venue. So as I didn’t know where the stall by the pond was I still had to go to the main venue for the directions, so he must have sat there steaming with smoke coming out of his ears! He followed me round to the left and there it was our place for the day. It was then I asked him why he had sounded his horn at me at the roundabout he shouted, “YOU COULD SEE THERE WAS NOTHING COMING YOU DIDN’T NEED TO STOP!!!!”  I replied, “I’M A WIFE WITH TWO KIDS WHY SHOULD I GET KILLED FOR YOU?!!”  I was going to pay the £50 after the event, but he told me that it would be a different driver in this van tonight and the rules was all monies had to be paid at the start and not on the return visit. I was pleased it wouldn’t be him again, and I hoped I’d never see him again, as long as I lived! I don’t know what he would have been like at his next visit, for the thirty minutes had long gone for the next pick up.

For the first time in eleven years it was raining, not a lot but enough, as we arrived. I had no motivation to unpack my lovely things that I’d put SO much time and effort into.  Then slowly as I put the clothes rails together and the tables the rain stopped. I remembered that about seven years ago there was a rain storm there, the kids were quite young and the winds and rain blew hard and I was afraid, for I thought what would happen if the gazebo blew away and even worse landed on someone and killed them! That day seven years ago is still etched on my mind, and I still shudder when I think about it. The rain and the WIND was horrendous,  everyone at the event ran for cover, they ran under all the gazebos I was holding onto one corner post , Paul another the kids had the other two corners posts, I shouted to the first woman to run under our gazebo,  “Don’t just stand there, hold onto the post!” She did, for she didn’t want to be blown away either. We were lucky for after the mini storm had stopped, other gazebos were taken apart by the storm, and were in bits on the floor! I remembered the first year we did this event, I’d bought what I call now a, do-it-your-self- kit!!! Me and Paul didn’t know how to put it together, and had an argument right there and then as other craft folks looked on! He shouted at me and said, “YOU SHOULD HAVE PUT THIS UP IN THE GARDEN BEFORE TODAY SO YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN HOW TO DO IT NOW”! I replied, “I WAS BUSY DOING TIE DYE AND GETTING EVERYTHING ELSE READY!!!!!”  The lovely couple next to us on our left, with a VERY posh gazebo,  he came over and very quickly put it together, we thanked him.

I wondered if today we would have a storm, would any more rain ruin today’s event. Or would the sun break through and save the day.  We set our tables up Paul had one table with his items on and some on the ground. He had a leaf green coloured curtain, covering his table and another green curtain spread out on the ground with his colourful dishes on top. My tie dyed items was next to his for this year we had even more space than we ever had! My rails looked amazing as did my table; the little tree too had carefully chosen items hanging in it, as did the rails behind us surrounding the pond!  We were like a male peacock with his brightly coloured feathers you just couldn’t miss us.

Eventually the crowds came, but this was to be a first, for I only sold tie dye valued at £84 I was beyond gutted, we simply didn’t have any money in the bank and was banking on selling items today, the £20 I’d brought, in change had been borrowed and our hopes for today gone, Paul didn’t know just how broke we were, for he tends to panic when he knows and I can’t cope with that too, with my heart fluttering with fear of the unknown. There were some good things that did happen that day, many asked us (again) if we had a web page, we said, “No” and one lad pointed out to us that “With a web site people can look and look again and that also when they type in what it is they are looking for, they usually want to buy, unlike here at the craft event when people are just looking and moving on.” That made sense to us, and encouraged us. It didn’t rain again that day, it was still busy, but I only sold four items! Paul sold nothing at all! I am not often VERY negative but when I am I AM! As I sat there feeling miserable,  and sorry for myself I felt like chucking my hard work in the bin! I didn’t want to go again! Why, I told myself did I bother, when I could be at home relaxing on my day off, instead of getting up 04.00am to come here. I had also for this event, tie dyed a wonderful linen dress but it wasn’t warm enough for me to remove my coat, so it stayed hidden.  As I felt as low as I could, I saw a cancer patient child, age about 8 years old been pushed in her wheelchair, she had no hair but a wide smile, she brought be back and she put everything in prospective. I’d had also read while sitting there an hour or so  before on my mobile, on my place of worship web site about a friend of a friend who had found his son a promising athlete,  hanged yesterday!  I told Paul of both things that I’d read and just seen. Both were very sad situations and in comparison, we were OK and would be OK.    

At 4.30pm we all packed up. I decided to keep some of the things I really liked,  that were my size for myself, for why should they be stuck in a suitcase when I could be enjoying them.  I couldn’t wait to get home. The mini bus arrived with a lovely driver. He was as I had expected polite, helpful and friendly. I asked him if it was OK to put my cases on the seats he said with a smile, “Of course.” Paul went in the mini bus to our home, by the time I got home, I saw the mini bus driving off up the street.

As I walked into the Lounge I noticed a tabby kitten on the floor, it had more white than the other tabby, it stood out at first as looking a bit odd there where it was, with the other kittens running around. I know from the past experience that kittens like to fall asleep anywhere after they have been playing.... I washed my hands and unload the car. The kitten was still in the same place on its side, I mentioned it to Paul and after he’d made himself a coffee, he made some sugared water with a bit of kitten food, put it in a syringe I’d been given as an ear dropper for olive oil, this was a spare and unused. The little mite cried a bit as Paul put some in his mouth, the children had been left instructions to feed them and give them water, this had been done, they also had their mum Gray with them. Paul put the little one back on the floor with his siblings and Gray came over and had a look she then walked away and sat about a yard away. It saw then I saw the SADEST little look on that mothers face. It just about broke my heart, and tears rolled down my face. I looked again at the beautiful kitten and I was sure it had died, I asked Paul to check and he said yes he had passed away. I was gutted, I first felt sorry for the kitten, we had left him full of life and then I felt sorry for Gray, what a sad, SAD day! That kitten was also worth money to us, to help us get out of debt. Paul buried him in the garden.

What a contrast from last year on Saturday to this year on Saturday the two Saturdays couldn’t have been more different! Last year I sold £400 worth of tie dye clothes and the sun was HOT this year I made a total loss! I sold only £84 worth of tie dye clothes, (we had been hoping to make £1000 between us) the space cost £120 the taxi cost £50.

I thought lots about the cancer child, and the teen that had committed suicide, the evening before, I thought about the kitten and Gray, she had been offered chicken but she didn’t want it, she was too upset. I decided not to make a complaint about the nasty, rude taxi driver, because he knows where I live.

Roll on next year.