My Life That Happened In… #6 Part 3
… March 2024 Part 3
Sunday 24th
We are still aching from yesterday. We woke up a little later than expected. Setting about our day of relaxing, healing, and I wanted to install the new dash cam.
I purchased my Dashcam from Aliexpress. I bought an Azdome M550 Pro. There are loads to choose from. I looked at some of the best ones around, then checked if it was cheaper to buy from China, hence Aliexpress.
I know, I said I would install the hardwire kit that I paid extra for. But I have no confidence in myself to do that. So I just decided to install it without.
Taking about an hour, I think, to work out how everything fits together and with some help from the wife to align the rear camera. But, all in all, I think I did a good job.
Goodbye Dear Friend
Tuesday 26th.
A sad morning has arrived. It is time to say goodbye to Tiffany. I had spent our savings on Buddi. The money is meant to be used elsewhere, decorating the flat. The money had to be returned. So the only way to do this is to sell Tiffany.
I managed to get her ready before he arrived. And we took some goodbye photos with me and the missus.
I could have sold her privately. But. I needed to sell her as soon as possible. And I could have got a little more than what I got. But. As long as I got my money back, which I did. And a little more. I can live with that.
I went to We Buy Any Bike. Com. They offered a reasonable price which went down a little after a check. It turns out I had a little oil leak even though, I had her serviced, a couple of days ago. I wasn’t happy but the price was still okay. The bloke who turned up was, well-presented and knew what he was doing.
What pissed me off though was the fact I still had to pay next month’s insurance payment and a cancellation fee. What a scam.
Wednesday 27th.
There is nothing much happening today. I hadn’t shown off my new car to my brother, and I needed to give him some stuff he wanted. He was planning on going out so this was a good excuse to give him a lift. And also show off at the same time. I wasn’t expecting much except for what I got, an insult, and I think he liked Buddi.
As we were a little early. We popped into the garden centre we went to a few days ago. Of course, the wife said she wouldn’t get any more plants. So here is our new addition.
The Book Crawl
Thursday 28th
I have wanted to do this for a while. And I was going to do it on the 24th. But my body said no. The wife after I gave her plenty of time to decide. She decided not to come with me down to Charing Cross Road.
So, I met up with my brother, at the Station and headed to London. Coming out of Embankment we walked up the hill to Charing Cross Station. This was when our journey officially started. We walked toward Trafalgar Square and turned right. And we stayed on this road until the end.
A Little Tip
If you are planning to travel around London by train or bus. Use your bank card, if it has NFC. It turns out it’s cheaper than buying a travel card. I don’t know the comparison with the oyster card. My brother used his disability card to purchase travel cards. Even with his discount, it was £2 more expensive than if I used my debit card. Imagine how much it would be without the discount. It’s normally around £12 for a day’s travel. And we live just outside London.
Book Alley
The first bookshops we came across were on a side street. It’s just before Leicester Square station. Most of them were antique bookshops. There was nothing that caught our eye. Although, one shop had a full-size Dalek hanging from the ceiling.
I forgot to mention the rain was non-stop during our trip. It didn’t bother me that much. I didn’t want to get my books wet if I bought any.
We continued with our walk. The next stop was a shop I was looking forward to looking at Any Amount Of Books. The shops along this part of the trip were covered in scaffolding. So I could get a decent picture of the shop so here’s one without.
This shop is crammed with supposedly twenty thousand books. Set up on two levels. It is also on the small side but you can manoeuvre about okay. As long as it’s not too busy and luckily for us, it wasn’t. After looking around for a while, I managed to find a couple of books I thought I would never buy.
The book on the left is about a story written by a journalist in the Ukraine and on the right, two essays, written by a doctor experimenting with hallucinogens. I also got a free bookmark. That’s one more to the collection.
I would recommend this shop. Go in and something might call to you. And maybe… Not what you were expecting.
After leaving we found another bookshop. But this was a properly antique bookdealing shop and all the staff were kind and friendly, but, there was nothing I could find that appealed to me. This shop was called Henry Bordes Books.
Not a Book Shop
Walking a little further we found a shop called House of Spells. This isn’t a bookshop, although they do sell books. This a shop for the fans of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, anime and other fandoms. The stuff in the shop was amazing. But of course, expensive. I contacted the wife through video chat and showed her the shop. In the end, I bought her something she asked for, a plush Hedwig pencil case.
We stop for something to eat at McDonalds before hitting the final stop on our book crawl, Foyles.
Foyles
I didn’t know this until after I had paid for my books: Foyles is owned by Waterstones. There may not be anything wrong with that. But, it is an annoying fact. Any bookshop you want to visit. It may be a Waterstones, in disguise. The only reason Foyles is still Foyles is because part of the contract when purchasing the company is that they have to keep the name.
Anyway, after that revelation. The shop itself is very impressive. There are many levels that everyone would find something to their liking. You can’t help but smile when you see this through the main entrance.
We went our separate ways and roamed through the many levels of the bookstore. They don’t just sell books. They have a variety of DVDs, CDs, toys and games for all ages.
My Books
But after a while. I found a selection to add to the mountain I already have.
After all these years, I still want it back.
As we had come to the end of our book crawl. It was a bit shorter than expected but we had reached Tottenham Court Road. And so, we headed home. We had spent enough.
Friday 29th
Finally, I have finished the book I have been trying to get through. I am happy. I have now started a new book. Hopefully, it will be less intense than the previous book.
Saturday 30th
We were only supposed to collect our shopping and then pick up, a couple of things, the shop left off the list. But of course, the wife found a new friend.
The holiday is at an end. I have had a decent, restful time off work. And sadly I have to go back to work.
But, we have a trip planned on the 6th of April to Book 66. More books. Come and join us, if you are able.
Until next time.
