Sunday 1 July 2012

Storytelling Sunday - An unwanted passenger.

It's September 1979.  My niece, Kirsty, is coming up for four and knows exactly what she wants for her birthday.  A shopping bag on wheels.  Like Nanny has.  It has to have 2 wheels at the back and it has to have a cover that comes right up over the top to make a lid.  And it has to have plenty of room in it to put all the kind of shopping that a four year old needs to buy. 

Aunty Deb sets off to the shops with one aim in mind.  To locate that toy trolley and buy it.  1979 Britain does not have Toys r Us.  It doesn't have Early Learning Centre.  It doesn't have internet shopping.  Tracking down a shopping trolley demands much walking around and searching.  If I'd chosen the easier option of a Barbie doll there would have been no problem.  I tried Woolworths, Debenhams and the toy section of a smaller department store.  Nothing.  I went off the main shopping trail and ended up on the outskirts of town where there was a really old fashioned toy shop.  It was musty and dusty and the shelves were full to overflowing so that you were scared to look round too much in case you knocked something over and an avalanche would begin.  Still no sign of the shopping bag.  When the shopkeeper asked if he could help, I sighed and said 'I don't suppose you have a toy shopping bag on wheels do you?' and he sighed and gave me a thoughtful look.  'I think I might have one, not on the shop floor but in the stock room' and off he went.  He was gone some time.
But when he returned he had just the thing I had been searching for, it was even the same colour as Nanny's.  I think he was surprised by how happy I was, clearly this had been in the stock room for some time and he must have thought he would never sell it!  I carried it back to the car, put it on the back seat and happily returned home.  Took it out of the car, and left it in the hallway while I went to have my dinner.  After dinner I went to go upstairs to get ready to go out and noticed the bag had been knocked over and the dog was playing with something in the hallway.  Something, small.  Something furry.  Something that was squeaking. 
It would appear that I had inadvertently been given a free gift with the bag, and that a little mouse had stowed away inside it.  Can you imagine what would have happened if that little creature had escaped in the inside of my car?  I still get shivers when I try to imagine what I would have done if I had suddenly had a mouse crawl over me while driving!  Moral to this story.  Always put your shopping in the boot - just in case!

21 comments:

helena said...

funny - yes a mice when driving would not be pretty

Missus Wookie said...

ooh - poor mouse wondering where it had ended up! Glad that it didn't cause an accident though. Hope the trolley was well loved.

Lou said...

oh my!! your shopping trolley may have been his home for a while x

Kirsty.A said...

Hee hee! Lovely story

Irene said...

Great story, though I too couldn't bear to think of the consequences if the mouse had escaped while you were driving home. What a lovely Aunt to go to such enormous lengths to find that shopping trolley and a surprise gift.

scrappyjacky said...

Thank goodness it didn't come out in the car,Deb!!

Abi said...

Lovely story. You told it really well! How sweet that she wanted a shopping trolley! oooh the mouse though, I think I would have screamed!

Melissa said...

Oh my goodness, I'm so glad it didn't get loose in the car. How wonderful, though, that you did find just the perfect gift!

Becky said...

This did make me smile! Yes, putting the shopping in the boot sounds like a good idea!

Anonymous said...

I hardly ever put my shopping in the boot - will think twice about that now. Fab story Deb.

furrypig said...

that is a great story, how lucky to find the bag on wheels but not so lucky to get the mouse!

Beverly said...

You are a wonderful aunt, Deb! So glad he waited to make an appearance but because of the sweet mouse photo I am picturing her opening the present and him shyly popping up to say "happy birthday" and her being delighted...kinda Stuart Little train of thought lol

Ifa said...

uuuh, uh, lucky indeed! What a find! and the trolley bag to go with it.

Cheri said...

I would be glad it didn't make an appearance when the niece opened the gift... that would have been quite a scene!

Scrappi Sandi said...

How lovely! I love mice so have no problem with this story...in fact Mum & Dad-in-Law once delivered a carpet to us from my sister & unknown to them they had a little stowaway too! It came out of hiding in our spare bedroom & before I could intervene had beome supper for one of our cats!! Mum-In-Law had nightmares about what might have happened in the car for weeks! ;D

Anonymous said...

Oh dear - that would have totally freaked me out - hmmm, maybe when I'm shopping I'll take the car that has a trunk and not what I normally drive. :) Good going on getting that shopping cart.

Jennifer Grace said...

Oh, goodness me, that's not the kind of free gift you want is it?! I hope the present was appreciated to make it worth the trial of finding it, and having to rid your house of a mouse! x

Unknown said...

hehehehehe ... It could always have been worse. My brother once lost a snake in his car ... it took 4 months before it emerged again. Can you imagine his surprise????

Gem's Crafts said...

How lovely that you were able to find the perfect shopping trolley for your niece :) I hope that you were able to get rid of the mouse easily though!

Alison said...

Great story Deb...I would have freaked out at the mouse though!
Alison xx

Sian said...

Now this is a story worth the wait! I was loving it and then I got to the nd and I had to laugh out loud too! You have a real talent for conjuring up a tale - it brought back such happy memories of a shopping trolley I had when I was about four. I felt so grown up. Thanks Deb - this one is a cracker.