absent without leave

It's been a week since I last posted for one reason and another. I've felt pretty ropey for the last few days and so have had to do a double shuffle to get the things done that needed to be done. 

I don't think last Saturday helped much! It was such a cold day...the railway station platforms had been scattered with grit in case of snow but, yep, you guessed it, there was no heat on the trains! I had a very early start to get to Brighouse, stopping off at Hebden Bridge with a half hour wait for my connection. Bbbbrrrr, it was freezing! There were no refreshments on the trains or stations either, so I was very happy to find the cafe at the garden centre was open when I arrived early for my demonstration at Samuel Taylors. A coffee and some egg and bacon perked me up and it was a lovely busy day in the shop. Hello to everyone who came along and hope to see some of you again on the 27th.

The trip home was cold too and, unfortunately, the second train leg was marred when three "men" boarded and began being loud and obnoxious. They weren't the usual, yobby types, but looked smartly dressed and more mature. However, when one of them made a phone call at the top of his voice, plonked himself in the luggage bay behind me and then started using the most offensive language, my switch went on. I do sometimes turn a deaf ear, but this was too much. I told him to watch his language and pointed out that there were ladies present and was, of course, greeted with a fresh tirade of choice words spat in my direction. Even one of his mates told him to calm it down a bit, but he just carried on talking into his phone with sarcastic references to bleep bleep ladies being present.

At this point I just ignored them and settled into my seat. Nobody in the carriage said a word, although I'd seen some raised eyebrows when the language had started. They got off in Bolton and as the train set off again, the guy in front of me turned round and said "good for you, well done". I thanked him and added that it was a shame nobody thought it might have been nice to back me up at the time. I got a mumbled response and a few other passengers faces turned back to the train windows. Normal reactions in my experience.

It's very sad though. I wasn't expecting someone to challenge those idiots to a duel, or to pull the emergency cord and manhandle them off the train (though I'd have paid to see that!) but is it really too much to ask that when someone does stand up to them a few more people say "yes, quite right, pack it in"? I know that people are generally scared to get involved for fear of what might happen, but there is safety in numbers and the more people stand together against anti social behaviour the likelier we are to stamp it out. That's the end of my soapbox moment.

I've been sparkling for England since the new Ranger dry glitters arrived! They're really fine and the colours are lovely. I'll be using them this weekend along with, on Sunday, the new sticky embossing powder - more on that next week.

I'm all set for another trip away from home...my last full weekend away before Christmas. I'm off to Darlington and Chester-Le-Street in the north east, so I'm expecting a chilly few days. Here in the north west we've had hailstones, wind and driving rain, all making for a very cold day - the heating's been on and I'll worry about the bills when they come! Anyway, I have my gloves, scarf, warm jacket, cardigan, rain hat, socks and boots ready, so I'm all set. 

I'll be at the Art Shop in Darlington on Saturday and Dainty Supplies in Washington on Sunday so hope to see some of you over the weekend. I'[ve got ink sprays and stamps, stencils and glitters...all sorts of goodies really, so there will be plenty of tips and techniques to share.

Thanks for all the comments, phone calls and emails about both my guest artist stint on the Darkroom Door blog and my encounter with the postman. I'm glad I gave you all a good laugh!

Well, time for me to wind down now before an early night. Have a good weekend everyone (I know I'm a bit previous).