Selling Encyclopaedias

I walked over to Jen and Pete's village today to take her birthday present for Tuesday and foist on her present to her a share of Herman the Friendship Cake Mix. Many moons ago, when I was looking for work following five years at home with the girls, I went along to a hotel for a day's introduction to what I thought would lead to a job working on educational books for children. As it turned out, it was a cleverly structured programme which concluded with the unwitting attendees signing up to sell children's encyclopaedias - but this was not apparent till the afternoon when we had all been made to feel very welcome, had a delicious lunch, been flattered, encouraged and basically were sitting ducks. I sat there for some time feeling very unhappy and trying to pluck up the courage to say thank you very much but no thankyou as I played with the strap of 'my' new briefcase containing 'my' documentation. The straw came when the very proficient leading lady suggested that we could begin our commission paid job with our friends and family........Okay cousin Ann you have two school aged children, how about parting with several hundred pounds for these wonderful encyclopaedias to help me out....you get the picture. Needless to say I did find the courage to apologetically leave the room and to leave the shiny new briefcase behind.

I hold up my hands now and say I never pass on chain e-mails which threaten all kinds of dire consequences to the dreadful person who breaks the chain, but I do like the idea of Herman the Friendship cake and I have dutifully looked after him it for ten days. However, when it has come to sharing him out, my friends are either on holiday, have had him before several times, or are diving for cover at the sight of me coming up the garden path with a bowl of cake mix! Jenny, being my daughter, is not so lucky. I can pull out all those years of toil during her upbringing to bear. One quarter down, two to go....I don't suppose there is anyone out there.........?

Today's blip is of the very beautiful Smudge in Jen's garden.