Monday 21 June 2021

Two Towns and a Garden Centre

 It was so chilly here on Saturday completely different to last weekend and not sunbathing weather for sure............. at least is was fine for my morning out.

I had to take some ID to Jewsons  tool hire place for hiring a turf cutter thing this week and then went into town for a tour of the remaining charity shops. Stowmarket has lost four in the last year or so. I'd heard that the Hospice Charity Shop were going to run the coffee shop that was in the building next to their shop but it's not open yet, they are appealing for volunteers to run it. The new Aldi is also due to open next month this will be the second time they've tried to run a store in town.On the other hand Barclays Bank are about to close and Asda are having lots of building work done, not to expand as I assumed but actually to make room for the Pharmacy to move from is current position in a separate shop in the precinct into the main store, meaning the main shop will actually stock fewer lines.  It's certainly all change everywhere mostly due to Covid.

My next stop was the Garden Centre for a nice big pot and more compost ready for the Tulip bulbs which are due to arrive in August. Haven't got room for a cutting garden here but I so enjoyed the 'Florists Favourite' tulips I had at Clay Cottage that I've got some on order and will cram them in a big pot and bring a few indoors when they flower.

Thought I might as well go another mile into the next small town and visit the two charity shops there and at the Sue Ryder shop I found a few bits............
A magical book - heavens knows why - just curious to look at the spells! The little book "Five poems about teachers" is one of the Candlestick Press 'instead of a card' books. I'll put it away for when one of the grandchildren is old enough 

Next is a card from a painting of Crowfield Church. It's the only timber framed church in Suffolk and where, in normal years, I usually go for their Flower Festival and second hand book sale in May ......hopefully next year? I'll use it as a letter card and my final small purchase was a set of Jacks and a ball - hadn't seen these anywhere for years. Thought it would be fun to show the grandchildren when they are bigger.
 

These are my first charity shop finds for a while........... apart from the Persephone books in May. I still love looking around but don't often spend. 

And it was so cold on Saturday evening I had to put the heating on - not fun for June.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

 

17 comments:

  1. I haven't seen Jacks for donkey's years. I used to love playing with them. The grandchildren will enjoy that. xx

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  2. Good to see the Jacks. I wasn't much good at the game - but mostly I sewed little storage bags for them. Children enjoy these trad games (which are not on the screen) My granddaughter enjoys hopscotch - all she needs is a piece of chalk, a pebble and a pavement.

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    1. I drew a hopscotch game for Florence last time I was at their house while I was helping Youngest daughter with the garden. Florence knew what it was although she hasn't quite mastered hopping yet!

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  3. Loved Jacks as well, even as a young adult. We have had to have quick bursts of heating all weekend.

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  4. It's all change in our villages and towns now, and I'm not sure it can be blamed on Covid where I live as it started a few years ago. Summer seems to have forgotten her stage entrance.

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  5. We had heavy rain on Saturday and yes I had the heating on.
    Some nice bits from the charity shops, is Jacks the same as Five stones?
    I started on a new crochet blanket I have lots of odd wool.
    Hazel 🌈🌈

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  6. I used to love jacks when my girls were small, what a great find.

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  7. Gosh I haven't seen a set of Jacks for year, good find.

    So many businesses are having to re-evaluate how they do things after he last 18 months aren't they, both closing branches down or re-jigging how they do things. Our town is down from three banks to just one these days, but we have good news in our Aldi it is closing for a week from this Friday for a refit, so that's a good sign that it is one of the successful ones and won't close for the foreseeable future.

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  8. So good to hear that a granny is going to teach her grandchildren to play jacks, I recall sitting on the step and my grandmother teaching me to play, more than 60 years ago. Keep up the good work with the blog i read it every day

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  9. Your game of Jacks is quite different to what we use here in Australia. As a child we used the knuckle bones from the Sunday roast to play jacks. When my children were young we were able to buy plastic jacks in a similar shape to the knuckle bones, but nowhere near as heavy. A few years ago, they were sold in different shapes with faces on them.

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  10. Be careful with the Jacks ball! It might just be a modern "superball" that will bounce very high. Not like the REAL jacks ball, which would only bounce in a regular style. I loved playing jacks as a child. Can't find the right kind of ball nowadays, and playing with a superball means more chasing after the ball instead of picking up jacks.

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  11. Sad really to see places close. Let's hope new businesses open where vacant storefronts exist now. Your plan for tulips growing in a large pot sounds lovely. Spring tulips are always very welcomed. Children love magic and spells - your book should be a big hit with the grands.

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  12. I’ve loved the charity shops reopening.
    Two perfect M&S tee shirts for a £1 !

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  13. Haven't played or seen Jacks since I was at primary school! Used to love that game. I don't think my daughters ever played it.

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  14. Gosh, jacks - that takes me back to sitting on hot playground at 2ndary school. I was hopeless with them. We had the chalk "dibs" too. Again, hopeless! My favourite game was French skipping I think it was called, with a length of elastic round two girls' legs. Wonder we didn't fall in a heap but no! we seemed to always stay upright.

    Oooh, what spells have you done then! Interesting book.

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  15. It sounds like you had a nice day out. It is wonderful to see jacks again! It's hard to find those anymore and I think the kids today are missing out on some of the simple but fun toys of yesterday.

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  16. Lovely day out. I used to love playing Jacks as a young child. That and Pick up Sticks were my favourite games for a number of years.

    God bless.

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