What did you buy today?

[Dan00001]

Got given some more stuff. Some railway signal lamps, unfortunately missing the glass, maybe I can find a makeshift, but apart from that I think I can get them up and running.

 

[Tengu]

Oh, that looks fun.

 

[Pattree]

I remember porters cleaning and filling those. The porter at Delamere station had arthritic hips so I used to climb up the signals and replace the home signal lamps while waiting for the train home.

 

[Dan00001]

Found some job lot bargains on ebay that I couldn't pass on. 4x pairs of Dutch army mittens for £9.99 and what was advertised as an unknown amount of British Army Goretex outer mittens for £9.99. There's 14 pairs and as far as I can tell they look unissued. I was looking for a pair of BA Goretex outer mittens and they sell for £8~ a pair so when this job lot popped up it was a no brainer.

The ebay store is raidsupplyuk, in case anybody wants to check them out for other job lot bargains. I know they still have more 4x Dutch Army Mittens job lots for £9.99

 

[oldtimer]

At the market, yesterday morning, I bought three green ormers. The fishmonger had four out on ice on his stall; I told him that there would be three of us for supper so I'd want either three or six, but he didn't have another two so I came away with three and he was left with just one lonely ormer.

This is, I think, the only time I've ever seen them for sale. The fishmonger told me that there are strict rules concerning the size, the season and the numbers that can be harvested, so while they're not excessively expensive they are still somewhat rare.

I read this with interest. Every summer for the last 26 years, I've collected dead ormer shells during my snorkelling expeditions from the seabed in the bay of Collioure on the Mediterranean coast. They have never been common but I used to collect half a dozen or so every trip which we used for decorative purposes. It became a joke with Madame that I could not return from a dive without presenting her with a bright ormer. In recent years, however, they have been hard to find.I noticed too, that sea urchins, an indicator of water health, are also declining in numbers. It seems to me that our stretch of the Mediterranean is becoming an underwater desert despite the efforts of the Authorities who have established an marine reserve just down the coast. I guess it's a sad illustration of how the natural world has suffered over the course of my lifetime.

Incidentally, I have ever seen a live ormer, even at the fish market at Port Vendre, let alone eaten one. Even on the shore of the Mediterranean most of the fish in the market is imported.