Round 10

10.

(missing from ALL early editions - sorry, the Ed.)

You probably haven’t realised – in which case you are really lucky that I am here to point it out – that if you type/paste the words ‘best thing on this blog’ into the search function over there on the left, you will get taken to what I can only imagine is a total random selection of previous postings here on Bitsnbobs.

The blog with a past.

A past that the editorial staff occasionally look back into.

Yes the blog has an editorial staff too.

It also has a waste paper basket, three cats and a cricket ball - but that’s another story.

Which we will come to quite soon.

It starts here; last year a few nearest and dearests asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I answered – in all seriousness – a cricket ball.

There were three nearest and dearests involved.

They were NOT the cats.

Though my cats are near, and certainly dear.

And talking of cats – where I live, here, they sell a packet of cat granules that claims to possibly contain a JUMBO granule that if I find will win me 10, 000 euro.

I could do with 10, 000 euro.

So over the last 20 years or so I have spent about 10, 000 euro buying the stuff and hoping to find the JUMBO granule.

I haven’t.

I am assuming that JUMBO means so jumbo that a cat won’t eat it by mistake when I’m not looking.

Because sometimes they get to the packet before I do.

And they wouldn’t mention it.

We don’t communicate in that way.

Words.

So they don’t ask me what I want for Christmas and I don’t tell them.

Anyway – to recap – three nearest and dearest asked.

And i told them.

How many Cricket Balls do you think I received?

Correct – none.

So I went to London.

Not specifically for this, but to watch my daughter graduate.

And I ended up in Portobello market.

Not, I should add, because she graduated in the market – though that would have saved me a few bob*.

*Bob – old money. Five shillings.

The university CHARGED parents – who had hocked live and soul to help their children go to the place – to watch the ceremony.

Luckily I was able to organise the trip to coincide with a free Friday – the best day in the market, so, one day, I ended up alone in the market.

With a few left over bob in my pocket.

By the way – I had a friend, since lost touch with – called Bob.

Nothing to do with shillings.

You can read about him here.

He played cricket.

Anyway – in the market – Portobello – Friday – I saw a cricket ball sitting on a stall that was selling vintage cigarette cards, original vinyl and circus posters.

Portobello Market is good for this.

And cricket balls.

“How much do you want for the cricket ball?.”

“I was thinking of five pounds.”

“I was thinking of three.”

“Ok.”

The market is good for this too.

Another year I anticipated that a nearest and dearest, only one, would ask me what I wanted for Christmas so I posted this.

A few weeks later she told me that she had read this.

You will, if you followed those two links, realise that ‘posted this’ and ‘had read this’ are the same place.

So she read that.

(that = posted this+this)

She said that she liked this/posted this/that, and I thought  - good.

She knows what I want for Christmas.

A few weeks later after this/that/posted this, she asked;

“What would you like for Christmas?”

“I thought you read this/that/posted this?”

“I did.”

So.

I’m off to Portobello Market.

  (ALL ABOUT ROUNDS)