Monday 18 April 2016

Weather Bombed!


It was not a great start to the weekend.  All geared up for Bus Types, the forecast was grim on Friday morning.  Periods of grey, wet nothingness, punctuated by biblical downpours and snow.  We took a view to pack the van and head off first thing Saturday morning, as the forecast for the rest of the weekend was good.


At 10.30 pm, just as Gaz packed the last box into the van, I took a call from Sophie, a Bus Types rep. 

“Have you set off yet?” she asked, “cos if you haven’t, I would recommend you don’t come.” 

With tales of traders being towed on site and off again, due to waterlogged ground, which would require days of blazing sunshine to recover, we reluctantly admitted defeat.  To top it all off, I developed a sudden and extremely painful toothache.  With a sense of foreboding that only a trip to an emergency dentist can bring, I topped my glass up and hoped for the best.  Hard liquor might just see it off.

The view that greeted us - bleary eyed - early on Saturday morning, was enough to cause snow blindness!  The weather was definitely living up to the apocalyptic warnings.  On the plus side, the toothache had subsided to a more manageable level.

At a loose end on Saturday with a van full to the brim of Voodoo Street stock which should have been unleashed on the unsuspecting revellers at Bus Types, we felt a little jaded.  This wasn’t helped by photos emerging on social media, with blue-sky backdrops, of a pretty good turn out in spite of the adverse ground conditions.  One point to note is be very careful how you search for “Bus Types” images on Google.  One small slip with the keys and some pretty alternative images pop up!

Time to count our blessings and make the most of some time off. 

Last week we sold one of our beloved barrel boards.  Never intended for retail, they were made with love and always draw attention on the VW circuit, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before we caved and agreed to sell one. 



This vintage oak beauty is on its way to a discerning customer as I write.

I also had some time to engage with cyber friends on social media.  Working so closely with Gaz from home, it’s easy to become detached from the big wide world.  Sometimes that’s a good thing, but it can be quite insular at times.  The awesome thing about Instagram is the immediate connection you can make with other creative, like-minded nutters!  Social media is like a virtual office to me, so I had an exchange with the lovely @Janie_evo, randomly, about sphinx cats and wiled away some time googling these fascinating creatures.







I managed to squeeze in an hour's shopping at a local emporium I've recently fallen in love with, which is like stepping back into a way cooler era.  On Saturday it was bursting at the seams with the usual suspects, pineapple ice buckets and vinyl collections, but I also spotted rolls of Flash Gordon wall paper circa 1981 and these playing cards, which I bagged for our road trips.







An impromptu basketball session in glorious sunshine finished off our Saturday and then we kicked back with pizza, a movie and a few jars.

Sunday we took a little road trip into the Shropshire countryside and admired the gleaming scooters grouped in Ludlow Market Square.  This one caught my eye, as it payed homage to one of my favourite TV series, Life on Mars.




Later on when we lamented our lost weekend in Oswestry, one of our mates sent us this photo, which kind of says it all really. 
  
We’ve put it behind us now and are crossing everything for a smooth run at Derbyshire Dubs in a few weeks’ time.



Thursday 14 April 2016

Bikes, Boxes and Blogs

OK, so it’s been a while since I posted and today is the day that I make good on my new year’s resolution to bore you, sorry, blog more frequently.

Running a business, child containment, crappy day-to-day domestic stuff and maintaining sanity and fitness is a struggle many of us deal with.  Waiting for the perfect week to blog about is never going to happen and there aren’t enough hours in the day to labour over the words to write, so this week’s as good as any to let you in on the random events, irritations and lifestyle of the three of us here at Voodoo Street.

Monday dawned with the usual mixed feelings; a new week in prospect and all the potential that brings, coupled with the knowledge that we face the nightmarish back-bothering task of lugging our entire stock down from the loft (once quite a nice room, now a dumping ground for Voodoo Street’s growing collection of stock, skulls and curiosities) to the front room and again outside into our VW van ready for Bus Types this weekend.  An intense 30 minutes swim at the local pool helped reinvigorate the senses (or dull them just enough to cope with the week in prospect!)



Tuesday was a race against time to supply our friend and super talented BMX rider Pinder, with some Voodoo Street tees.  He had been asked at short notice, to film a video for Rockermini BMX in India, but we all failed miserably with Pinder stuck at work in Birmingham after 9 pm having still not packed for his 3 am flight.  Thankfully he still has enough Voodoo swag to rep us out there and we’ll hopefully share some of his updates.

In between, I’ve been assisting the boy with SATS homework, babysitting tortoises (!), booking a ferry to the Outer Hebrides (more of that at a later date), talking Gaz down from finishing off our complete tool (not in a good way) of a printer with a lump hammer, tackling a gremlin on Facebook which has served to arbitrarily delete our posts, ironing stock, updating our web store and photographing an array of items we have accumulated in recent months, some of which might be on offer at Bus Types. This Packaway Stove might be on offer for example.



Bus Types is in Oswestry, one of Britain’s oldest settlements, and in keeping with Voodoo Street’s trading history, no doubt set to be the scene of apocalyptic weather for the next few days!



As I type, the living areas of our home have been sacrificed to boxes, filing cabinets, paperwork and our SMEG fridge door sticker display.
 
I have accepted that until Monday evening, our home is more likely to feature on TV show “The Horders Next Door,” rather than gracing the pages of Ideal Home magazine.

Today, with Gaz organising stickers, lifting boxes, ensuring Dr Jones, our tattooed mannequin, is ready for business, I’m wrestling with the more important business of what to wear.

Always keen to rep the brand, I shall be donning one of our logo beanies at the very least.  But those of you who know me, also know my penchant for vintage and that I like to mix things up a bit.  So, given the forecast is damp and chilly, these are going to be my key pieces:  Voodoo Street Logo Beanie, Doc Martens, ageing nicely and vintage faux fur jacket.  I might also throw in one of the maxi dresses acquired from our trader friends Kinky Melon’s Retro Boutique alongside my jeans.


If it ain’t nailed down, it’s going in a box or a suitcase!  Til next time. x