Sort of shopping
Dec. 3rd, 2006 09:25 amYesterday, en route to visiting relatives, we stopped in the charming Hampshire town of Alton for lunch and book hunting. It was very quiet: ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cybersofa opined that everyone had gone Christmas shopping in Guildford.
The Alton bookshop yielded a few of the better Chalet paperbacks but nothing else of interest, disappointingly. There are plenty of charity shops and I reckoned a paperback Molesworth omnibus was worth 50p, even though I have some original editions. You never know when you may want to carry a copy around with you.
I also browsed the yarn shop. Lots of Patons, a fair amount of Rowan and a small selection of Debbie Bliss plus a lot of pattern books. There were three assistants in there (three? in an empty shop? I don't understand how they can pay themselves), sitting at a table knitting, crocheting and chatting. I can't say they were rude or unhelpful but one can't help feeling like an intruder on a cosy, private scene, which is not how a potential customer should feel. I came away with a bag of half price Rowan from the bargain bin, wondering if I should have got more. They had several so-called 'project bags' containing mixed leftovers which were pretty but I couldn't think of anything to do with them.
We were lucky, considering the weather Friday and today, to have a perfect day for our trip, with the countryside beautifully brown and green. It felt more like autumn than winter, though.
cybersofa opined that everyone had gone Christmas shopping in Guildford.The Alton bookshop yielded a few of the better Chalet paperbacks but nothing else of interest, disappointingly. There are plenty of charity shops and I reckoned a paperback Molesworth omnibus was worth 50p, even though I have some original editions. You never know when you may want to carry a copy around with you.
I also browsed the yarn shop. Lots of Patons, a fair amount of Rowan and a small selection of Debbie Bliss plus a lot of pattern books. There were three assistants in there (three? in an empty shop? I don't understand how they can pay themselves), sitting at a table knitting, crocheting and chatting. I can't say they were rude or unhelpful but one can't help feeling like an intruder on a cosy, private scene, which is not how a potential customer should feel. I came away with a bag of half price Rowan from the bargain bin, wondering if I should have got more. They had several so-called 'project bags' containing mixed leftovers which were pretty but I couldn't think of anything to do with them.
We were lucky, considering the weather Friday and today, to have a perfect day for our trip, with the countryside beautifully brown and green. It felt more like autumn than winter, though.
