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Friday 3 July 2009

Wooler Adventures, and the Hound of the Baskervilles... er, the Cheviots...

Wooler Pictures, Images and Photos

I was up in the town of Wooler last weekend.

One of my favourite little shops, called Florin, sits perkily upon the high street there...

High Street in Wooler Pictures, Images and Photos

I was looking for some little bijoux, giftettes, for four ladies at work. Two of my dearest friends hit the Big 5-0 recently, and two colleagues are about to take early severance from the Civil Service, (the relentless march to get staff numbers down continues unabated), and I wanted to mark these special occasions with a little offering...

Florin is a little bit of an art gallery for local artisans, a pretty little gift shop and also mingles its shabby-chic wares with affordable bits and pieces from the antiques markets of the world, well from across the county, if not the world...

It is a while since I was able to visit Florin, owing to my back problems and inability to get oot and aboot, as we say here oop north!


wooler Pictures, Images and Photos
(Picture of Wooler during flood waters last year...)

So I stumbled into the shop doorway, while doing so almost falling on top of a lovely, sweet octagenarian kind of lady, who was seated, with a glass of water, by the door being soothed by the cool afternoon air...

The shop owner was at yer actual shop owner's usual spot, behind the counter, noticing customers and chatting away to another lady, her assistante I shall call her, who was frou-frouing the displays...

Getting over my almost-manslaughter of what turned out to be the assistante's mother, I wandered up two steps into to the back of the shop, where I gauged there was a little more room for manoeuvre, to look for the petites trinkettes that would make my journey worthwhile...

I was stood, standing, about to knock over a display of assorted kitchenalia, using only my voluminous, wrinkled, multi-coloured, swirling summer-skirt as ballast, when the shop owner waltzed past me out towards the back-yard portal...

"Oooooohhhhhh!", she exclaimed... "What is that smell?"

Fretting, as I usually do, that I'd overdone it on the Eau de Chatspiss, or trod in something cow-pat-shaped on my wander through fields, like the country lass-turned-Milkmaid that I am, I stopped and turned...

Dramatically, I thought...

"Ummmmmm?" I mumbled, meaningfully...

(Has Fhina told you yet, that her hearing is awful unless she can see your lips move?

I think I lip-read, although I've never officially been taught...

If I'm at the hairdresser's and, for some reason, I'm wearing my bins/geps/glasses, I cannot hear a word of what the coiffeuse is saying to me...

Sometimes life is full of treasure like that...)



"Your perfume, it's really lovely what is it?", she continued...

"Come and sniff this customer!", she called out to the front of the shop - To anybody listening...

I waited, as the retinue clambered through, nostrils flaring like Kenny Williams, or if you're of a more literary bent, Edward Rochester's horse.

"It's 'Jo Malone'", I stumbled... "Pomegranate Noir".

I then did a little poncy waftette of my body, so the attached lady could take a sniff of my pongeteria on the air, as it were... I was hoping at that point that I'd been liberal with my Dove deodorant that morning, for the day was warm, and that they could smell nothing more than the sainted scented parfum on my person...

"OOhhh, yes - Definitely Jo Malone", she said... "Don't worry about getting the customer to write the name down", she chided. "I know of it, and I'll look it up on t'Internet for you", she offered her manager... "They do lovely candles as well, don't they?", she chimed to me...

"But they're reeeaalllly expensive!", we both uttered simultaneously.

By now, I was feeling a little warm at all this attention from women...

La Fhina is a bit of a shrinking (and occasionally shrieking!) violet with strangers, I'll have you know... And she likes to pass unnoticed wheree'er she can.

I tried to make a joke of it,(as I do most things...), for my errands still had to be run, and GJ would be driving up at any moment, revving the engine like Jensen Button, and expecting me to be at the front of the shop, laden with my anticipated parcelettes, ready for our onward journey...

Time waits for no man, they say... Neither does my husband...

I explained..."...Only my husband said he'd be back in 15 minutes to pick me up, as there's so little parking nearby, and I'll have to tell him that I've been delayed, 'coz I've been too busy being sniffed by ladies...!"

How did that sound, my bloggy nose-gays...

Not good, I know. I could hear the merriment tinkling among the retinue as I slouched off down the street with my giftette-bags full of the great and the good...

jo malone Pictures, Images and Photos

15 comments:

Call Me Cate said...

While certainly better to be sniffed as "good" as opposed to "evil", I wouldn't be very comfy with people in my personal space like that either.

I stopped by to say thank you for following my blog. (I'm late getting around to folks). And I shall follow back so I don't miss any of your adventures. Plus, you smell nice.

Zuzana said...

Hehe, what a fun story! This could have happened to me; I hate attention and when I get it, I say something odd.;))
I recall you have mentioned this perfume before; it sure must smell heavenly on you.;))
Have a great weekend Fhina.
xo
Z

Cynthia L. H. said...

Love this story! Wonderfully told! :^)
Can't wait to go to the city and find that perfume!
:^) :^) :^)

Rob-bear said...

"I've been too busy being sniffed by ladies...!"

Yup, sounds like Fhina.

So, what what about the hound?

blognut said...

I love your perfume. Everytime you wrap me up in one of those Fhina hugs of yours, I smell it and all is right with the world.

XO, my lovely scented friend.

Love,
Bloggus Smellus
XXOOXX

Unknown said...

Speaking strictly as a man, the perfumes a woman wears is simply marvelous to smell.
I did not think women had the same reaction, but here I see they do.

Rosaria Williams said...

I hope you're pleased with all that unwanted attention there. I will have to hunt down the Malone's perfume, just so that I can fully understand the lure.

Au revoir.

Saz said...

If I'm at the hairdresser's and, for some reason, I'm wearing my bins/geps/glasses, I cannot hear a word of what the coiffeuse is saying to me...

yes yes oh YES!!! thank god l'm not the only weirdo!! ANge my haircoiffeurse laughs at me...Larry had to come to the bedroom to find my glasses after I came out the shower today, I couldnt see them at all!

He laughed, I said Its very sad not funny, I'm almost blind....

Jo Malone, have never smelt it.... very posh lovie....

angela recada said...

What a wonderful, atmospheric post! It reminded me of a scene from one of the British programs I love to watch on our Public Broadcasting System on American tv. Lovely!

Michelle said...

Hey lady - what up?

ArtistUnplugged said...

Could be the closest moment to simulating a canine greeting that I have read as of late! I loved reading of your outing....so funny....and once again, a commonality, (is that a word?) my hearing is horrendous! (tho, I must correct, had my ultrasound, all clear, no mention of a fatty liver......probably is tho) Please....gentle with the big 5-0 comments.....countdown for me is under two weeks - yikes!

Anonymous said...

Oh dear one! That is hilarious! Being sniffed by customers... Luckily you smell just gorgeous! :-)

san said...

With two babies under two that is a question I dread. What's that smell? Could be ANYTHING!!

Woman in a Window said...

You were taken by nose! At least they didn't want to feel your material...they were rather fresh. You too, for that matter.

Carma Sez said...

"come smell this customer" LOL

Something I wrote earlier...

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