Oh what a happy birthday...

Not the best of days for she who directs all we owe money on.

Things went sort of OK this morning then off to the auctions.

Pretty disappointing, not much there to get oneself really excited about but a couple of little bits she fancied.

Some jugs that were a bit of a steal and some rather superb hats for her and the girls, one still having a price label of 90 pounds, with the whole lot costing less than a tenner.

The one thing she really wanted though, a very nice water colour fell victim to silly money.

Some auction newbies seemed to be over blessed with money and underesourced with sense, everything they wanted they bid on till they got it.

I noticed them early on, bidding on some stained glass, bidding steamed through cheap, flew through sensible, cruised into strong, before ending in daft.

They were obviously playing a game as they moved around the auction room a lot, an old ploy, so that their bid came in from changing angles all the time.

The auctioneer, a sly old fox joined in and they bought various things against bids which must have come from various bits of furniture, light bulbs and windows. He wasn't taking bids against them off people that's all I can say...

Then came the managements desired water colour, she piled in but it just soared away, she went to daft then gave up.

When confronted with these sorts you just spend their money (earns you huge bonus points with the auctioneer) run them up on everything they bid and eventually they either let other people have things or they go away.

But we came home, mid afternoon, frozen solid and a bit cheezed off.

I was of course dead romantic and bought the whole house a birthday celebration meal, well, OK, the chip shop was open when we went to pick up the Branwen from the bus.

Managment was seriously cold at the end of a day spent in a packed auction room where furniture stacked up against the walls means the heating must always be off and she has retired early to bed.

She has of course retired with a nice vin rouge, "how romantic", I thought, she though said she had "a headache" - the kind of warning look we romantic men do really well to note.

Still, the scafolding arrives next week, she will love it i am sure.

R