Once a year the Hopeful Hearts charity has a garage sale. It generally happens at this time of year as people are leaving the country and having a clear out. Lynn persauded me to go and have a look although I kept saying I didn’t want to accumulate stuff but like a good friend Iwent.
I had already told her that I would take a big bag full of winter clothes which I was going to give to another charity. She said that would be great and so I got up earlier than normal and left the flat buckling under the weight of my big back of clothes. As I left the compound I found a little old man squatting by a huge pile of builders rubble. He had been going through all the rubbish looking for things he could sell to the recyclers.
He was selling a few pairs of very old dirty shoes he had found in the rubbish. He was jolly and smiled and waved as I passed. I could not imagine that anyone would be tempted by what he had to offer.
As I passed I stopped, looked back at him and looked down at my bag of clothes. I thought for a moment then walked back to him and explained that I was about to give all these clothes away and if he wanted them he was welcome to take them. He seemed very happy and took them gratefully.
I got on the metro and travelled the length of the city and I arrived at Royal Family Gardens expat compound at 10am. I could easily see where the sale was – there were loads of people coming and going out of the upstairs of a restaurant.
When I went in all I could see was piles and piles of clothes and toys and books and DVDs and all sorts of old games and kitchen stuff. And wading through all this were lots of Chinese people along with a handful of foreigners. Lynn said that when the doors had first opened at 8am there was a huge queue of Chinese outside who pushed to come in and were like locusts picking and tugging and pushing and grabbing at everything.It was like the first day at Harrod’s sale.
I bought a few books and DVDs and a new large jar of Coffeemate all for £2. I looked around for Sarah and Lynn but they had inadvertently gone and left me! Feelign terrible, they got Sarah’s driver, Michael, to turn around and come and pick me up. Red faces for Lynn and Sarah. But they made up for it and we all went to Dairy Queen where they feasted on ice-cream and me, trying to be less fat, had a smoothie.
After a session in the swimming pool I went for a massage (number 28 – he’s my favourite) and then home. By the time I got home the little old man was still scrounging around the builders rubble and had got quite a pile of useful things onhis cart including my bag of clothes. He smiled and shouted “Thank you” as a passed.