All Good News!

Thought I would post a quickie just to keep you lovelies updated on what I have been up to this week. For a change it’s ALL good news.

Most importantly I have finally resolved a very serious issue with an import we have been struggling with since mid-June. The goods are now safely tucked up in my warehouse and last night I slept properly for the first time in weeks. The main stream media were mostly obsessed with inflation figures yesterday. I can tell you exactly why UK inflation is so high. We are absolutely and entirely dependant for almost everything we need to survive upon foreign imports. The burdens put upon that process by government have made it all but impossible in some cases and in just as many an unattractive proposition. That’s why we no longer import bonsai, it’s too complicated, expensive and risky for a little guy to touch. That’s now beginning to effect a lot more than our little world. The end result? Everything costs more.

In a rare upbeat moment I would say I am in favour of us living smaller lives. Many of us seem to have everything these days, the average Joe seems to have riches and privilege my parents would only have dreamed about 70 years ago. Folk today need a lot more respect for what we have been given. I think I would like to live in Great Britain in the 1920s and 30s. Life was a lot harder for most, dentistry was not what it is now and most everything was local.

Our village has a magazine, some glossy affair that appears on my floor from time to time. In a recent issue they featured an excerpt from a Kelly’s Directory from the early 1930s. Back then this village only had a few houses, nothing like today. However within the stretch of a decent walk I could obtain everything from a loaf of bread to a surgical operation.

Our little village was primarily a market garden area but we had a solicitor, a pharmacist, doctors, dentists, bakers, farmers and growers of almost everything including cut flowers. There were vets, school teachers, builders, a car garage, machine shops, a blacksmith and even a trucking company.

However today I want some bits and bobs for my poly tunnel rebuild and I have to go online and order everything up from some monstrous shed in the midlands for delivery tomorrow because these huge soulless companies have put all the little local guys out of business.The best old fashioned family owned hardware store in the world was just 3 miles from here. It had traded in the area since 1938 and spread across the county. The big store by me was doing great and had done for decades before Screwfix opened directly opposite.

Recently that hardware chain closed it’s last little village shops and is no more. Now if I want to buy a pair of hinges these faceless shops with virtually no employees don’t carry much of anything. I can go pick one up today and get the other delivered tomorrow because they only have one in stock. Sorry but WTF use is one hinge? I used to pop into that old store, it was called Coopers. I knew the folk there and they had time for me and my stupid questions. Now all i get is a blank stare from some poor kid who has no ability to connect with anything unless it appears on a screen. Ask him a question like what type of screw is best for oak wood and you’ll get those familiar two syllables so prevalent in our society today. ….dunno!

So, just a quick update on the tunnel project. This has turned into something more than I anticipated but seeing as it’s no longer required for the raising of large numbers of commercial trees I have appropriated it as my own. I’m reusing all the old materials and adding quite a lot of other peoples old stuff too. I’m hoping to create a practical, useful and somewhat more appealing space than what had become, if i’m honest, a bit of a shit-hole. The last week has seen a lot done both inside and out. For an old wheeze who spends too much time in front of a screen this has proven to be what shall I say…..? Hard! K’in hard in fact but I love doing this stuff. It’s been 17 years since I did this all first time around and back then my dad was helping which he no longer can and I miss our constant arguing and bickering plus everything takes so much longer now. Still I’ve not managed to break myself yet and progress is good.

On other fronts we have had a painter in these last couple of weeks which has caused chaos. We work from home and when we came into this house nearly eighteen years ago it was pristine. It’s not been touched since, running our business has been all consuming. As a result the place is trashed. There’s even places where the laminate flooring has completely worn away down to the underlay. Time to put that all right.

And even more good news. A new bike this week, in the spirit of living a smaller life I have been busy condensing my crazy collection of bikes into fewer but better examples. I’m losing my shirt on most sales, the demand for average bikes has collapsed though special and rare machines are in ever increasing demand and so that’s what i’m doing. The last deal of the year was this 1981 Harley Davidson Lowrider (FXS for those that know). It’s an original factory paint matching numbers bike restored with a light touch by one of the countries best classic Harley guys.. I own a hens tooth folks 🙂

Meanwhile outside the  autumn colour has been blazing and Baxter’s been sleeping between bouts of tearing the place up and finding clever places to crap. I love my life! Now, where have my boot laces gone?

Graham.