Monday 25 October 2021

Where the weekend went. And old trainers!

On Saturday we had one of those big family confabs that you have to have once in a while, sorting out the lives and finances of the younger members - the ones old enough to be independent but young enough to need a little support and guidance. At the end of that the 18-year-old and I decided we wanted a trip to Marks and Spencer, to buy underwear and tights and sleepwear, and coincidentally socks for Phil. It was too late to consider it then so we organised to meet on Sunday morning.


So yesterday I got up and caught a bus to her house. In the end it was me, the teenager, my daughter and the two small people who set off on a Sunday shopping trip - M&S and Sainsbury’s in the end. We were doing quite well until we got to the till in Sainsbury’s, where the cashier managed to press a series of wrong buttons, necessitating putting my purchases through her scanner not twice but three times, with a wait while she sought assistance from a superior and all sorts of rigmarole. The poor chap who had loaded his stuff onto the belt behind my daughter’s gave up, removed his purchases back into his trolley and went to a different till! Poor chap! He must have looked at the smallish amount my daughter was buying and though he was on a fast track till. Mistake! However, we got a £10 gift card from the store to compensate for the inconvenience caused. Not all bad!


After that my daughter dropped the teenager and me back at my house and she went off to take the small people to birthday party. The teenager and I proceeded to prepare a meal for the family for later in the day. Well, mostly me, but it was nice to have some extra company. My daughter collected her older daughter en route and we had a splendid family meal and chat and laugh. The teenage son was a no show however. His games console was calling him urgently! This was the last chance for him to show his face before Phil and I set off for a trip to Portugal and Spain. Hopefully we’ll see him when we do a bigger family gathering at Christmas. We shall see! 


So that was pretty much my weekend taken up with family matters. Exercise and blogging yesterday went out of the window. Incidentally, in the middle of all that a printed copy of my Covid vaccination certificate turned up in the post on Saturday. So long as Portugal does not decide to ban flights from the UK. We seem to be good to go. 


In the process of preparing food for the family yesterday I managed to spill gravy onto my light coloured canvas pumps. Today they’ll have to go in the washing machine. It’s a good job they were not expensive trainers!


I read today that a second- or possibly third-hand pair of trainers sold at Sotheby’s for almost one and half million dollars:-


“A pair of trainers worn by NBA superstar Michael Jordan early in his career have sold for nearly $1.5m, setting a record price at auction for game-worn footwear.

The white leather shoes with the red Nike swoosh and soles were worn by the iconic player in the fifth game of his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, when Nike’s Jordan-affiliated brand was only just taking off as a sensation both on and off the court.


“The most valuable sneakers ever offered at auction – Michael Jordan’s regular season game-worn Nike Air Ships from 1984 – have just sold at $1,472,000 in our luxury sale in Las Vegas,” auction house Sotheby’s said.

The astronomical price easily beat the record held by a pair of Nike Air Jordans which sold for $615,000 in August 2020 at a Christie’s auction.

A pair of Nike Air Yeezy 1s worn by rapper Kanye West sold for $1.8m in April, triple the previous record for trainers – although that was a private sale.

Jordan’s autographed size-13 lace-ups were in good overall condition, with signs of court wear and tear, Sotheby’s said. The pair was a gift from the player to Tommie Tim III Lewis, who was a ball boy for the Denver Nuggets during the 1984-85 season.”


I still find it odd that people buy the clothes and shoes of the rich and famous, especially the shoes. Where and how do you display these trophies? Surely worn trainers are a bit smelly! The whole thing is like to modern day equivalent of collecting religious relics - bits of the “true cross”, scraps of Mary’s clothing and the like. Perhaps bits of holiness, and nowadays fame, are supposed to rub off on the purchaser. 


Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!

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