Not as clever as he thought!

We are moving into the last phase (I hope!) of extensive work in the house. ‘Not before time!’ exclaims the Lady of the House!

Last night we lifted the carpet and underlay in the living room, and hopefully today the carpet man will phone to say he is on his way to put down the new carpet.

However back to last night….sitting on the bare floorboards was a visiting card from the last carpet installer, proclaiming his expertise and obviously hoping for more work.

Did no-one tell him that one normally goes to the carpet-supplier, gets the room measured, agrees the design and price, arranges the installation date……..and only then is the old carpet lifted! So by the time  we find his card, all is organised! Unfortunately his marketing strategy can’t really succeed!

Do you know of any such ‘might have been’ marketing failures?

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Why go abroad?

 

Lady of the House, and I have just returned from a marvellous weekend …and under 3 hours by car! I have blogged before about Northumberland, the wonderful scenery, and the endless stretches of empty sands.

This time we stayed at the miniature port of Craster, with a tremendous view over the harbour both from the bedroom and dining-room of our lovely little Bed and Breakfast. ‘Harbour Lights’ looks over the port and is within sniffing distance of the famous Craster Kipper Smokehouse.

Mine host and hostess were in education and both retired to this little haven of tranquility…..so the kiddies’  loss is the tourists’ gain.

But with the wonderful weather we went off to see the massive National Trust property, Cragside House, Gardens and Grounds, with a seven-mile drive round. It had been built by a Lord Armstrong who was a very successful engineer, and who had put electricity into the house using water power. A full-day visit, which includes a labyrinth.

Barter Books is a great place for book-lovers. It is a second-hand bookshop par excellence, and is built in what had been the old railway station for Alnwick.

It’s amazing what you can do in a few days in one small corner of England!!

To relive our weekend, and get some more details about the above, click on…   www.harbourlights–craster.co.uk 

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-cragsidehousegardenandestate

www.barterbooks.co.uk/

www.kipper.co.uk 

In Service ….together

Last Sunday night we attended an Ordination at an Episcopal church where we used to attend. This is a service when someone who has been studying for the priesthood over a number of years, is admitted to what is curiously called the Order of Presbyters. This is a fancy word for minister, in the Episcopal Church, and in the New Testament it was a synonym for Bishop, meaning a local leader in the early Church. Curiously it also means a teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Whatever, the lady in question has been known by us for about 30 years, and in front of a packed Church made her vows.

The Bishop in his short talk indicated that this was not only important in the life of the local Church but in the whole local community, which was well-represented by all the local churches and clergy. So thank goodness that sectarianism is not a problem in this area.

On a broader spectrum is is very pleasing to see that the ‘Irish question’, if not solved in a truly-political way to some, seems at least to be lessening as an aggressive force for suffering and evil, and we may eventually see the genuine friendship and handshakes we witnessed last weekend, on a beautiful Summer evening, in a small church in the west of Scotland.

…….Now if we could only see it world-wide….