Charity Book Sale

 I just couldn't resist a trip to the regular last Saturday in October second-hand  book sale at Westleton. 

They have this fundraiser every year for the Village Hall in this village which is open for all sorts of things, including a mini cafe every weekday morning, which must be good for everyone who lives there. 

The weather was lovely for driving cross country especially as I don't seem to have been far lately.

It was 50p to get in and these were my finds for 50p each. I could have bought others but had to be sensible. 

 I had a coffee and sausage roll for a late breakfast in the Foyer cafe and then home.

The book on the left is a National Trust publication called 'How to Read The Weather' by the aptly named Storm Dunlop. It's got lovely photos.

Then I spotted  a grey Persephone book, to add to my collection. The Runaway by Elizabeth Anna Hart which was originally published in 1872 as a children's book. I knew it was a Persephone that I'd not got or seen before - very pleased with this find.

K.M.Peyton wrote books for children and young adults and this is one of her last, published in 2006. I picked it up as it's set in WWII.

Murder Most Festive is a country house Christmas crime by Ada Moncrieff set in 1938. I've never read any by this author, this is her  first  from 2020 - hope it's not too much of a cosy crime.

And another Christmas title is a collection of little stories taken from Alison Uttley's other books. This is also a children's book.

You might wonder at my sanity in buying books to add to the boxes for moving. I do too!

November 2nd

The October weather here in Suffolk was so mild that it's almost a surprise to be in November already, we missed both the named storms and although there was some wet weather it didn't cause any problems and hopefully has helped fill reservoirs and replenish ground water.

So now into November and the local long range weather forecast says mainly settled and dry in the first half of the month but with some foggy days that won't be very warm. More unsettled in the second half of the month....... but will we have really cold weather or ice?..............

   If there's ice in November to bear a duck

The rest of the winter is just mud and muck.

  

I googled November paintings and this come up, by Fidelia Bridges an American artist 1834-1923

Very atmospheric 

Autumn by John Clare (1793-1864)

 I love the fitful gust that shakes

The casement all the day,

And from the mossy elm-tree takes

The faded leaf away,

Twirling it by the window pane

With thousand others down the lane.

I love to see the shaking twig

Dance till the shut of eve

The sparrow on the cottage rig

Whose chirp would make believe

That spring was just now flirting by

In summer lap with flowers to lie

I love to see the cottage smoke

Curl upwards through the trees,

The pigeons nestled round the cote

On November days like these,

The cock upon the dunghill crowing,

The mill sails on the heath agoing

The feather from the ravens breast

Falls on the stubble lea

The acorns near the old crows nest

Fall pattering down the tree

The grunting pigs that wait for all

Scramble and hurry where they fall

November can be a grey month with fog and rain which is probably why Thomas Hood (1799 - 1845) wrote his well known November poem which starts

No sun, no moon,

No morn, no noon

No dawn, no dusk, no proper time of day;

No sky, no earthly view,

No distance looking blue.

And ends with

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no trees.

November!

Thomas Hood was at that time a well known poet, publisher and humourist so I think his November poem was written very tongue-in-cheek, as surely November isn't that bad!

Spending Money ..............

 and then spending more money, it's been a very spendy month. (understatement!)

Income was the usual State pension and County council spouses pension and interest on savings (something that will more or less vanish after I move as I'm up-sizing after regretting downsizing for the last five years. At least I'll be paying less tax on savings interest!) The known outgoings were for direct debits for phones, broadband, council tax and charity, diesel for the car and birthday gifts for the family birthdays and the monthly electric bill, they all added up to £455.

Apart from paying some of the solicitors fees I also got around to getting a new mattress although it's not being delivered for 4 weeks. Blimey, decent mattresses are expensive now - the equivalent of two months state pension!! When I was in Ipswich for dentist back in June I went to the bed shop but it was the day after Ipswich had suffered from a torrential downpour and all the stores on that trading estate were flooded. Four months later the Dreams bed store still has part of their area roped off, waiting for replacement carpeting and ceiling. He said Halfords next door had their whole ceiling collapse.  That was the one rain event of the whole summer! My mattress in use is ten years old and getting a bit uncomfortable in places so I really needed new to see me out.

Another chunk of money went for getting the wood-burner flue swept and a new carbon monoxide detector to get certificates for new owner. The chimney sweep man put the new sensor in a completely different place to the other one which the wood burner installer said was the right place. Sweep man said "No! wrong place and anyway it's too old!" Ho Hum.

There were many, many other expenses this month but thankfully some were small and I even got new underwear cheap. The bra type I've been buying online for years are no longer available I discovered, and anyway had gone up in price a lot since the time they used to be available in the Co-op clothes department - something that hasn't existed for about 25 years! I found something suitable/comfortable for half the price of the other design and knickers from Morrisons are only £5 for 4 pairs - I'm sorted!

Food shopping - see yesterday, and apologies to those people who Hate With A Vengeance pictures of shopping! but I'm just not doing much here .......except tidying and packing........ to write about. I suppose it would be better to just blog less!

All in all it was an expensive month and November and December will be even more expensive in the house move column of the accounts book. In fact I'd better not spend on anything other than what I really have to for the rest of the year. 

Christmas is cancelled!! - That will shock the family! 😀