What Are You Doing Now?

[Moonraker]

I must admit I'm not a fan of takeaway food of any kind - and the only type I've ever eaten is fish and chips!!

You haven't lived! Of course, if you don't use take-aways (apart from F&C shops) much of your post doesn't apply to you. Nothing to do with being lazy!

[Rob Houghton]

Its mainly because I'm seriously allergic to shellfish - and so I need to know exactly what I'm eating and that there hasn't somehow been any contamination by certain fish products. That's only part of the reason - I also don't like Chinese or Indian food, and I can't eat too much pizza because I can't eat too much melted cheese due to migraines.

[IceMaiden]

I think that some people would rather pay through the nose on the Internet, than go trawling around second-hand bookshops, etc. It's too much trouble for some to actually go into the outside World to shop around for a bargain! It's easier to do it all on line. Maybe I'm being rather mean, but I do hear of people doing more or less everything via their computers. I even know a few folk who wouldn't be seen dead in a charity shop! Their loss, I feel.

I would absolutely love to go trawling around second hand book shops (and hopefully find a few bargains!) but in fortunately there are none around here anymore, and the ones that are further away I can't get to as I can't drive . If I couldn't buy online I wouldn't have most of the things I've got as the things I buy tend to be things that can't be bought new in shops, old books, old rare films/TV programmes, jigsaws, bargains off eBay and various things they don't sell in our tiny collection of shops. We still have some charity shops but sadly only two sell books, neither of them hardback Blyton's. Those who are too snobby to step foot in a charity shop remind me of those who will happily do their shopping in Lidl or Aldi but put it all in Waitrose shopping bags to carry it out so they don't look as if they've been shopping in a 'lesser' place!

[Katharine]

I do understand why people would buy books from places like E-Bay. I only have easy access to two second hand books shops locally, and obviously they don't renew their stock that regularly. So even if internet prices are slightly higher, and postage has to be included, it may still be cheaper than the petrol or train fare to visit bookshops or fairs. Also there's time to consider, I'm not in a position to leave my family umpteen times a year to go hunting for books.

My comment really meant examples such as a Dean version of the Children of Cherry Tree Farm. One copy is listed as £1,343.44. Why would someone list it for that price, are they greedy and hoping to con someone poor innocent into spending far more than it's worth? There are four copies available for around the £10 mark, which in my opinion is still too much, but a more realistic price, especially if someone is trying to make a living from selling books. There are another 11 copies priced at £5 or less, I haven't looked in detail at all of them, so the quality may vary a little, but surely no one would log onto E-Bay, looking for a copy of that book and buy the most expensive copy without checking out other copies as well. I could just about understand someone spending that much if it was a pristine first edition, signed by Enid. What's more, I've just seen that the seller has 5 copies of the book to sell - surely that would sound alarm bells to any potential buyer?

[IceMaiden]

My comment really meant examples such as a Dean version of the Children of Cherry Tree Farm. One copy is listed as £1,343.44. Why would someone list it for that price, are they greedy and hoping to con someone poor innocent into spending far more than it's worth?

How much?!?!? Is that for real?! Surely nobody is going to even look at let alone buy that for such an eye watering price! If they are, I'm seriously missing out here as I have that version and the Willow Farm one too, so that's £2, 686.88 I'm sitting on then .

[Rob Houghton]

Well...just to blow my own trumpet...I'm selling the Collins version of 'Adventures on Willow Farm' (1971) for £4.99...

...Maybe I should add another three figures...

[Courtenay]

Blimey, she's right — look: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Children-of-C ... Swo4pYLyD7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; But hey, at least they have the generosity to offer free P&P...

I have that edition myself back at home (in England) — gosh, I could be sitting on a fortune here!!

As for the buying online vs buying in person kerfuffle, I also shop online at Amazon and eBay and occasionally other sellers, mainly for books and things that I might not be able to find in the shops. I've never done my supermarket shopping online, but for those who find it more convenient (especially if they're elderly, housebound or have other reasons for not being able to go to the shops in person and physically carry all the items), well, why not?

And as for what I'm doing now... enjoying a nice warm sunny morning in Inverloch, my old home town in Australia, after a far-too-hot day yesterday. It's lovely being back, but I'm glad I'll be returning to England before the next heatwave is due next week. I never liked the really hot weather anyway, and even less now I'm not used to it!!

Well...just to blow my own trumpet...I'm selling the Collins version of 'Adventures on Willow Farm' (1971) for £4.99...

...Maybe I should add another three figures...

Yep.

[IceMaiden]

Well...just to blow my own trumpet...I'm selling the Collins version of 'Adventures on Willow Farm' (1971) for £4.99...

...Maybe I should add another three figures...

Definitely, put 'rare' in front of the title, guaranteed sale .

I've got Deans versions of the Faraway Tree and Folk of the Faraway Tree too, I suppose I could ask more for them, what with the Faraway Tree books commanding such a high price and all. I don't see why I should let them go for the same price the Cherry Tree Farm ones are worth .

[Rob Houghton]

I think I would probably sell Dean versions of The Faraway Tree etc for around £8 - £10 if in good condition - but many sell them for far more!

[Chrissie777]

I even know a few folk who wouldn't be seen dead in a charity shop! Their loss, I feel.

Just imagine what you might find there!

[number 6]

Exactly! You never know what treasures are waiting to be discovered. As they say round my area, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure!

[Machupicchu14]

Just had a terrible time at the dentist's.

[Rob Houghton]

In my 30's I had frequent visits to the dentist, and I can remember one time when I'd had two teeth out, felt sore and bleeding and couldn't drink anything except through a straw, I read The Castle of Adventure for the first time. It really cheered me up!

[number 6]

Sorry to hear your experience at the dentist, Maria Esther. Hope you're feeling 100% again soon!

[Chrissie777]

In my 30's I had frequent visits to the dentist, and I can remember one time when I'd had two teeth out, felt sore and bleeding and couldn't drink anything except through a straw, I read The Castle of Adventure for the first time. It really cheered me up!

I hope you'll feel better soon, Maria Esther!

Yes, Rob, nothing cheers up more than a suspenseful EB book and "Castle" sure is one of her best.
I had a tooth pulled out in early December 2015 which caused tooth pains for several weeks ahead of the pulling in late November. My dentist told me that now once he pulled it out the pain would stop immediately, but I kept being in pain and still was forced to take pain killers after Christmas.

One thing at the dentist's office is a lot better today than when I was a child: they give you novocain (sp?) ahead of any painful dental procedures which they didn't when I was 8 or 9 years old and thus very afraid of going to the dentist.