Saturday 3 OCOTBER 2009
THE FLORAL FLOOSIES GO TO
LYMINGTON BY MINI-BUS
As usual I was faffing about with only minutes to spare before being picked up and – big mistake – at the last moment decided to wear my purple killer-boots because I wanted to look smartly co-ordinated for my fellow Floosies; Anne, Carolyne, Georgie, Janet, Maureen, Mavis and Polly. The mini-bus, ably driven by Janet, collected me from my front door – how civilised – and as I was the last to be picked up we proceeded to Lymington where we were to visit St Thomas’s Church Hall - a table-top sale is held there every six weeks through the year and this was our goal. It was also Saturday Market in Lymington so the High Street was really bustling with people.
Janet drove to the first car park we encountered in Lymington, on my advice (mistake no. 2). Carolyne had thoughtfully brought her Disabled Driver’s badge and we used this to park in the only remaining space. We had to walk much further than I had intended but at least we gave the local yokels a chance to eyeball our outlandish garb en route. A pleasant surprise was in store at the hall as there was no charge to go in to the sale room. A second pleasant surprise awaited us in the form of a whole table full of jewellery and pretty gift items at unbelievably reasonable prices and we descended on the gewgaws without further ado! We proceeded around the small hall, enjoying our perusal of all the pretty or useful or edible items on sale, buying here and there as we went and explaining – oh, so patiently – over and over again why we were dressed as we were and that, no, we weren’t going to a wedding, and no Easter had not come early etc., but as always actually enjoying the attention which was only ever complimentary.
We bumped into former Floosie, Judy, in the sale room and stopped to say hello and have a quick chat before gathering ourselves up and heading out into the hat-holding windy morning to choose a venue for coffee/lunch. Giving me far more consideration than my stupidity and vanity deserved, the group decided not to head further down the High Street but to choose a restaurant just across the road (thus saving my poor feet in their silly boots from having to suffer any more than absolutely necessary). Hence we found ourselves upstairs in Elliott’s department store’s small tea room where we decided to have a light lunch. During this time Polly proceeded to accuse us of all sorts of preposterous infractions of “The Rules” and bombard us with demands for “only silver money, no coppers – June says”; all in fun (but with menaces, as always!) After a so-so lunch which wasn’t particularly good value (e.g. tomato and basil soup with bread £5.00 and a pot of tea £1.70) the Tea Teazel job was dealt with and then the raffle and then two or three Floosies took themselves off to do a spot of super-fast shopping along the High Street where the market was in full swing, the rest of us remaining to chat and rest our bones.
The eight of us reassembled with only ten or so minutes to spare to return to the mini-bus which we duly did (with minor forays into one or two charity shops en route) and thence back to dear old Totton-on-the-Mud to drop me off and allow me to hobble painfully to my front door, happy with the outing – but even happier to be home and able to take my wretched boots off!
Buddy Karen Breach
– aka Hyacinth Kerria Karen
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