I’m writing a blog today to let off a little steam due to all the negativity and incompetence there seems to be around the world lately and by doing this it might just raise the spirits and that of others at the same time. I did promise myself to stop watching the mainstream media news but alas old habits die hard, usually to listen to the political absurdity so that I can have a good old grumpy old man moment, Bah-Humbug, and all that jazz. That’s before we get to the just-stop-oil mob who seem to have reverted back to walking down streets slowly to frustrate ordinary folk trying to go about their daily lives.
Anyway, It never rains but it usually pours, this just about sums up July and the beginning of August here in the UK, which is in essence a usual summer. Go figure how the new trend of ‘Global burning’ which was probably started by eco arsonists has now become the new eco buzz phrase.
I guess we are all in the same boat, talking to our friends about what the media propaganda machine says. Maybe the world wide web provides too much information and it’s started a madness pandemic by overloading less capable minds.
So what does this have to do with Tarting up old vintage tools I hear you ask?
I’ve been working around the clock to take a few days off from the workshop, to have a cancerous growth removed from my back, this has resulted in being at home to handle a few calls. It’s amazing how Joanne politely deals with sellers of tools who have little understanding of what they have in their possession. Unfortunately, many sellers find a few semi-new DIY tools in a shed that should have been skipped after use.
However, the best call of the week came from a chap who had little knowledge of old tools and undertook some online research which is always dangerous. As you can appreciate he was sitting on a small fortune and somehow worked out he could sell his tools to me at higher prices than I would charge after all the work and effort we undertake here with refurbishment.
To add insult to injury this chap insisted I should charge more for our tools as “I do a good job of Tarting them up”. A Derogatory Compliment of the highest order was my first thought.
It was, as you say, ‘like raising a red flag to a bull’ where I had to politely explain the process of some of our user-grade tools receive to ensure they are ready for use. Needless to say, I made my excuses and no deal was offered or made. However, after getting off the phone and visibly stressed by the presence of a deep red rash that had come up on my chest and neck area I thought to myself ‘Is madness infectious’ and if so ‘how is it being transmitted’?
My mother once said to me when I was a youngster “Always remember there is always someone out there who’s having a worse time of it than you”! I remember at the time thinking to myself are you serious? but I guess there is always some truth in what she said.
With this in mind, someone out there, somewhere, receives more of these absurd calls than Joanne does on a daily basis. I hope this just gives a little insight into some of the unseen work that makes this operation what it is.
I leave you with a quote to ponder, especially in this context of the madness that surrounds us, driving many of us insane.
“In a mad world, only the mad are sane.”
―
It’s amazing how concentrating on something you enjoy doing is good for your health and well-being. Keep on a crafting folks, especially now the sun is finally shining upon us again!
Regards Steve
