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.
