They say that all bad things happen in three, well perhaps yesterday was an exception to the rule. Although I can look back today and have a giggle at my misfortune, yesterday I was not so light hearted.
It started like many a Sunday for me, waking at 5am to get ready for my markets at Burleigh and, although I don't usually mind the early start, I'd had very little sleep due to my "awesome" neighbours. They were having a party till 3am and intermittently setting off a fog horn through out the night, laughing hysterically and screaming as though someones leg had been severed. Joy of joys when one is trying to sleep, but anyway.
I popped my self and my bleary eyes in my little Hyundai and set off for what I thought would be a lovely market day. I copped a speeding fine on my way down, but brushed it off as I knew I was doing over the speed limit and it serves me right for doing so. Undeterred I continued on my way and eventually ended up at my market destination. It was my first time doing my markets completely solo and I thought I was doing OK, my neighbour lent a hand to help me prop up my tent and away I went. I noticed it was rather windy so I did my best to ensure my table cloths were secure, but nothing could stop the wind this day.
Everything ended up on the floor several times and after retrieving my wares from the grass several times over, I decided to pin everything to the tablecloth to stop it from floating away. All with the exception of my heads which I can't pin, but I attempted to sticky tape them down anyway, which never works but there's not much else that can be done.
I decided eventually to just stand up and hold everything whilst greeting and chatting with potential customers but the wind had better ideas. In one fowl gust of wind my tents leg collapsed on itself and snapped into three separate pieces (who knew wind could do that to metal?). My lovely neighbour once again lent me a hand and we decided to pop the leg back into place and then secure it with rope to my clothing rack. I admit, not the best looking idea, but it was sturdy and that's what I needed.
I continued the day holding my tents and collecting heads from the dewy grass for another hour or so but eventually I had to leave my tent to attend to the call of nature - terrible idea!
As I promptly walked back to my tent it looked as though I was walking through a tiny disaster zone, racks and clothes exploded onto the grass, marquees had come unvelcroed from their tresses and one had even blown onto its owners car!
I ran back to my tent to see my neighbour holding up my tent, she greeted me with "I'm so sorry, there was nothing I could do". My tent had admitted defeat to the wind and buckled in several places. The front tress had bent into the frame work and one of the main support struts had collapsed on itself. My marquee didn't make it.
Alas I was certainly upset but determined to sit through the next two hours with open optimism (as I still hadn't yet made a sale). Another neighbour had seen the wreckage and came over with rope and a cheery smile, offering to help prop up my disabled tent with twine. I declined the offer and decided to instead just use the lovely sunshine as my roof, we dismantled the limping tent over to the grass, where I attempted to stuff it back in its bag. Unfortunately it no longer fitted due to the twisted metal no longer neatly slotting into a folded down state.
Never mind I said as I packed it up and into the car. I'm sure today can't get worse.
Silly girl!
It then proceeded to rain so I packed up my clothes, as I decided I would really rather the accessories get wet than my clothes, and I decided to take shelter under my boot lid of my car. Then out of no where I get a sharp pain like a pin prick in my ankle, then another, and another! I whipped off my shoe to find a green ant in my shoe and his brothers and sisters preoccupying the land right beneath my feet!
So up I got again, by this time all my optimism had faded and all I wanted to do was go home, but thought I had an obligation to stay till the market was finished. Then came a sign from the universe, a green light to go home. One of the other marketeers came to speak to my neighbour and told us that she saw someones tent get ripped out of the ground so they left. I figured I had enough reason to leave at this stage so I packed all my accessories into my assorted boxes and left. I got stuck in traffic on the way home and it ended up taking me 2 hours to get back to my parents place, but I suppose you have to have days like these to appreciate the great ones. I'm taking a brake from markets for a month now due to other commitments, but I'll still be doing them in the future. Although it feels as though the Universe is trying to send me a sign to give up, I just see these hurdles as a test of my determination to succeed. sorry Universe, you're going to have to try harder than that to make me give up my dreams!
Hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend!
xx
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| A non-wind moment (rare but beautiful) |
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| My little store, trying to fight the wind. |
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| Our rope solution to support the broken leg. Yellow is so in right? |
