An extraordinary day

Two extraordinary things happened to us today.

We arrived in Leominster bent on a second go at the antique shops of which there are many.  At the Pay and Display machine we realised we had no change between us.  I fussed about a bit with my phone in order to pay by credit card....but gave up when I was sent on a journey round the keyboard in order to choose options and set up an account.  We made way for a young woman who was waiting to pay:

She: Do you need some change?
Peter: Yes, do you have change for £5?
She:  How much do you need?
Peter: Well, we're going to park for £3 hours so that's £1.20 (Ed. it was ridiculously cheap!)
She: Oh, is that all...here you are...it's only just over a £1...

And with a smile, she gives us the money!  What kindness from a stranger!  I wish I had taken a photo of here to put here.

Oak desk in back bedroom

Liss Bros oak bureau

Off we go to a nearby coffee shop where Peter has a toasted tea-cake and I have carrot cake...then into several antique shops.  These are vast emporia on several floors so it takes a while to rummage.  I was looking for some interesting coat hooks for one of the bedrooms that doesn't have a wardrobe but none of them appealed.   Just as we were running out of steam we came face to face with an oak bureau.  We both looked hard at it and remarked on its similarity to the furniture in our newly refurbished back bedroom.  We both bent down and looked at the label..."Made in 1959 by Ellis Bros". Well!  We thought there was a good chance that this was in fact by Liss Bros - Peter's father's factory (he was a cabinet maker who also making contract furniture for the Ministry of Defence).  We asked one of the sales people why they though it was by Ellis Bros and she referred us to the stamp on the back.  The bureau was divested of the knick knacks on it and we turned it round.  Sure enough Liss Bros! They hadn't looked hard enough.   We got quite emotional, but not soft enough not to bargain.  They took quite a bit off the asking price and we will collect it at the end of our holiday and reunite it with other pieces from the factory.

Then off to nearby Croft Castle where we toured the house, the cellars and the walled garden.