Basement Bargain and Weather Woes

I do love a good bargain. I was in the city centre yesterday to having a mooch around the shops to see what goodies I could find when I walked past one of those bookshops that just draw you in – you know the ones. They have a big sign up saying DISCOUNT BOOKSHOP. I wandered in more to kill time than with any expectations of finding a book worth buying. I was in for a pleasant surprise.

Scoring the shelves with a faint air of disinterest I stumbled upon a gem (I think) of a book – Uzodinma Iwela’s Beasts of no Nation. It was such an unexpected find that I leapt on it without even thinking. There was no price on it so I strolled up to the till with baited breath. You’ll never believe what it cost - £1.00!! Yep, you read right ONE POUND. Now if that isn’t a bargain then I don’t know what is. But Iwela will have to wait as I have just begun reading Ben Okri’s Dangerous Love.

Birmingham ground to a halt yesterday as its inhabitants woke up to 10 centimeters of snow that paralysed the City. It snowed overnight and then started again by 11:30 am and lasted through till about 9:00pm. People were being chucked off buses and being told to walk the rest of the way to their destinations as the buses couldn’t make it up the hilly roads. The tailbacks went on for miles and miles. Some people aborted all attempts of driving home and checked into hotels instead.

Needless to say, I took advantage of the situation and didn’t go in to work. Teeheehee. It was thoroughly enjoyed by my daughter though who took every opportunity to pelt her dad with snow balls. Even now in my old age, the sight of snow turns me into a little kid again – bursting with excitement at the thought of running outside and building snowmen and making snow angels. Ahhh. And to think that my parents are being cooked slowly by the harmattan heat back in Nigeria.