Tuesday, November 07, 2006

I WANT NEVER GETS

I WANT NEVER GETS

  1. William can we get the dining room suite on Saturday?

  2. What dining room suite?

  3. You know the one I showed you in Cole’s window; a Welsh dresser and a refectory table and the chairs were covered in a lovely Jacobean print.  Oh and one of them was a carver.  Remember?

  4. Oh yes!  Well we certainly can’t get it now.

  5. Why not?
W. Because we’re going back to Manchester – we haven’t got anywhere to live and the chances are we’ll have to settle for another furnished flat – and then what will we do with all that  furniture.  You have to think these things through.
P.  But William I have thought it through.  For a start I am not going to settle for a furnished flat and the store have said once we’ve bought it they’ll keep it for us until we’re ready for it.
W.  We can do all these things in good time.  You may find something you like better when we get to Manchester.  There’s no rush.
P.  You don’t understand.  I know I won’t see anything I like better.  This is exactly what I want.  You aren’t interested in décor but it’s really important to me.  I don’t mind leaving the practical things to you – you’re so much better at it but please let me get on with the home-making.  We’ve got the money.  Honestly William I really don’t want to lose it.
W.  Well I can’t talk about it now – I’ll be late for work.

Frustration!  Our time in Sheffield was coming to an end and I had to face up to an uncertain future and uncertainty was a state I found most difficult to cope with.  I needed to count our blessings.  William was near the end of his apprenticeship, had a secure job and excellent prospects.  We both had reasonable health and I should be able to get a job in the Manchester area but we had nowhere to live.  And some of the areas round Manchester were really dismal and depressing.

That night William came bounding up the stairs with a big grin on his face.
‘We can’t get that dining room suite this week-end…’
‘Well don’t think I’m giving up on it because…’
‘Just listen for a minute!’

William had had a phone call at work from a Mr Cooper he had worked for at the Manchester branch.  It seemed his mother-in-law had a hat shop in Altrincham and over it was a two-bed-roomed flat.  This had been occupied by his daughter and her husband but now they had bought a house and the flat was empty.  The thing was that to get to the flat you had to go through the shop so it was vital that the old lady (she was 90) had someone she felt she could trust.  Mr Cooper had obviously put in a good word for William but he didn’t know me and Mrs Barber (his M in L) wanted to meet both of us.

I knew Altrincham – it was a pleasant leafy town with good shops and the flat. which was on one of the shopping streets was unfurnished.  We just had to make a good impression.  The week-end couldn’t come quickly enough and then we put on our best bibs and tuckers and set of to be interviewed.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I note no reply to my last
comment - where you thoroughly ashamed of yourself Mrs ? LOL
I also note tis a WELSH dresser !
We do have a lovely way of getting what we want don't we - I managed to get the bedroom suite I wanted by having half of it as a wedding present. Determination.

Pat said...

Polly: the thought did cross my mind when I wrote it but I decided you would take it in good part and you have my permission to make as many cracks as you like about 'oop north '- as long as you don't confuse Lancashire with Yorkshire. The truth is I have Welsh, Scottish and Irish blood - am proud of it and feel entitled to
poke family fun. And if it irritates the PC police I am devastated - NOT. But I wouldn't offend you for the world!
I'm still fighting the same battle - presently over nn extra bathroom. 'you can't rush these things!' Considering it is seven years since we had two sculleries knocked into one for the space - I don't call that rushing!

Anonymous said...

You would be hard put to offend me - and don't forget 'my lot' were all Lancashire too. Your comment about your ashes just made me LOL and I was just waiting to see what your reply would be.

Zinnia Cyclamen said...

So have you got any better at dealing with uncertainty since then? And if so, how? I'm not good at it either; is there any hope for me?

Pat said...

Polly: when I first went south I was sure that anyone who was nice to me must be from Lancashire.

Zinnia: if anything I'm worse and it is par for the course that MTL uses 'Probably' 'I can't promise'
'we'll see how things turn out' when I want a definite yes or no. I sometimes I think he does it just to wind me up!

Anonymous said...

I must confess, I've said something similar to "just let me finish" a time or two. It always works out.

Cheers.

Pat said...

You see Randall our brains work so much faster - not necessarily more efficient but faster!