These invariably get forgotten in the day-to-day hullabaloo of rushing around here and there, (the studs, not the ears - she hears EVERYTHING,), but the little metal butterflies which hold the things in usually end up on the carpet, or inside a pullover, or anywhere in fact! They're tiny, just a bit of metal which folds round a stem, and probably cost about .01 pence to make per dozen.
So while we had a few spare minutes in Hastings last week (seeing opticians for ages and ages, and eventually glasses), we popped into F. Hinds to get a dozen or so butterflies for spares.
It went something like this...
Mrs S. - "Hello, do you sell the butterflies which go on ear studs please"?
Miss Crone - "Can you be more precise on the type of studs, do you have them with you"?
Mrs S. - "Well, they go on the back of the stud, and keep them from falling out, I've lost one or two, and need some replacements, and no they're not here, they're at home"!
Miss Crone - "Oh Nooo, NOOO, we don't do anything like that, you have to bring them for us to evaluate them and provide a perfect match"!
Mrs S. - "But surely you sell them by the packet, I only want them to go on the b....., oh don't bother, thank you"!
Exit swiftly...
Into H. Samuel...
Mrs S. - "Hello, do you sell the butterflies which go on ear studs please"?
Young lady - "Yes we do madam"!
Mrs S - "Oh good, I'd like to buy some please, how much are they"?
Young lady - "They're £15.00 a pair, and you need to bring them in for us to fit them for you madam"!
Mrs S. - "What! They're only tiny little butte...oh forget it, we'll get them on the internet"!
-------------------------------------
So that is why the High Street just dies away, leaving second-hand shops, crusties on Tennants, nasty smelly junk food pads, empty buildings, and ugly old bank buildings (which used to have ugly bankers within - couldn't resist that one)!
Post script...
Ebay - £1.50, plus .40p postage, for three pairs...
I try to buy my earrings from a little jewellery stall at The Glades in Bromley, and usually sweet-talk the lovely owner into throwing in a spare pair of butterflies. She always gets out a small sack of them and we have a giggle about how easy they are to lose, and I leave with a warm glow having done my bit for the independent retailer.
ReplyDeleteYou should ask Elias to get a few gross in - just in case...
ReplyDeletePS: ALL husbands go through this hunt the butterfly game quite regularly. Don't know why the ladies can't use a bit of plasticine or Blutack for the evening...
Welly's Mum!
ReplyDeleteSo nice to hear from you again!
I agree about The Glades, there's a great shopping experience there, and the Priory in Hastings just doesn't hold a candle to it, especially as it was built on the only County Cricket ground that I ever played on in 1974, which is a year I seem to remember rather well...;0)
You too Reevers...
ReplyDeleteWe have regular 'Carpet Crawlers' for the damn things!
Ask Wellington's Mum what that refers to, she's probably not far from you as we speak, you may even be able to shout...!
That is astonishing. Do they think you were born yesterday? Our local bead shop sell packets of the things for pennies. I used to have this problem all the time (until I stopped wearing earrings :-)! )
ReplyDeleteWatch out Scrobs, Calfy's Dad is moving to your locale...
Fifteen squid?! Good grief. And I liked the insistence to fit them for you, is that what most of the money is for? Can you imagine if Supadrug started doing that?
ReplyDeleteBut the perfume was £10.99 last week?!
Yes modom we have changed our policy and now offer a fitting and application service.
But I don't want the perfume 'fitted' I want to apply it myself.
Our perfume is applied by properly trained assistants, modom and costs £10.99.
Yes but for a tenth of the volume of product. I JUST WANT A BOTTLE OF PERFUME!
We do sell the 30ml bottle you normally buy, modom - it's £57.99, and fitting *is* free.
Never mind I'll get it on the internet.
Said Pip
Scrobsta, during your Carpet Crawlers for butterflies, do you use a magnet? They are pulled up by the magnet, you see.
ReplyDelete1974 was a v significant year, although I have no memory of it...
Hi from Singapore, btw.
Lils, I have to confess to a yearning for a quick nibble at your ears, but you are special, so I have to ensure decorum is maintained at all times...;0(
ReplyDeleteThese guys in the shops were gasted by my - our - flabbers...!
Pips, I'd drive a thousand miles to dribble expensive perfume all over you, one drip at a time...
ReplyDeleteMrs S would moan a bit, but hell-fire, it would be a great trip to the midlands...;0)
Welley's Mum, I sincerely hope that life is happy over there - magnets are us of course, never thought of that...!
ReplyDeleteMust be someone like us...
Haha this one's for you :-)
ReplyDeleteScrobs, When I was about 6, my great aunt Mildred told me in her fiercest tones that shouting was very rude indeed and to be avoided at all costs, a terrifying lesson I have never forgotten!
ReplyDeleteIn this household, it is invariably the butterfly that we have; it's the expensive bit that goes on the front end that is always missing and I don't think compressed carbon is magnetic nowadays what with all this wet global warming around these parts.
Off topic, but back in the day I used to drive my mum all the way from London to Hastings (a) for the ride (b) to buy some fresh fish straight out of the sea from the little huts on the beach [are they still there?] and (c) for some of the best fish and chips in the country served by one of the f&s shops just across the main road from the huts. Regrettably, it seems from reports one reads that the old place has changed a bit recently. Pity...
An earring butterfly should always be made of the same metal that the earring is made of.
ReplyDeleteIf you put a stainless steel butterfly on a gold earring, the gold stem will soon wear down, being the softer metal.
Ladies - never,never,never wear gold plated earrings. You will almost certainly end up with an allergy to nickle (for which there is no cure.)
that'll be why I don't wear earrings Lakes.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff Lils!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the link!
Thanks Lakes - I see that TAT is getting a new lorry-load of earring studs in pure gold as we speak, they've just arrived...
ReplyDeleteI call that money laundering, but that's what we do isn't it...;0)
Also, it's a plumbing issue, as Thud will tell you if he's listening!
Chuck is great live, Scrobs if you ever get the chance. A crazy rock n'roller (and he plays tiny venues)
ReplyDelete