Ace Jet 170

Staples

 

I've just found this saved as a draft. Not sure why I never published it, but here it is, a few years late…

If you dig deep into the Ace Jet Archive, practically back to the very beginning, you'll find mention of a previous trip to New York City.

Then, it was when roaming the Upper West Side that I stumbled across an old office supplies shop with amazing dusty old stationery treasure stashed at the back; old stock, unsuitable for the modern office, that hadn't moved for maybe decades.

That's where I found the small box of staples with 'Ace Jet 170’ printed on it.

Fast forward many years and a return to the city. This time the stationery shop was Midtown — Phil's Stationery. Hope it's still there. The guy in the shop claimed they were the people that supplied the staplers for Mad Men.

They're lovely…and they don't cost much.

Those ace people over at Herb Lester are now selling luggage tags. Printed onto what looks like Tyvek®, they're lightweight but robust. They're also lovely…and don't cost much.

The perfect accompaniment to…er…something else, this Christmas.

a) Eat. b) Don't Eat. (Delete as appropriate)

Last Saturday, and for the second weekend in a row, we found ourselves at Mount Stewart. Thankfully, unlike the previous week when there was a big thing on, it was quiet. Slightly over cast, quite still, not many people around. Lovely.

Their was only a small thing on. The NT Education Team had set up a kids TV nature show tie-in trail thing: a Deadly Scene Investigation. So the boys each adopted the persona of a Nature Detective. The crime: stolen blue tit eggs. The suspects: Fox, Sparrow Hawk, Squirrel, Stoat. We scoured the estate for the clues.

To cut a long story short, it was the stoat. The thieving fury bastard.

The trail took us in a direction we wouldn't normally go. To the left. Passed the walled garden and into the woods. It was cool. And damp. Perfect conditions for a little fungi growth. Now mushrooms fascinate me. And the idea of foraging them for a tasty lunch or supper is hugely appealing. Some (the slimy, turdy ones) you wouldn't touch with a forty foot pole. Others clearly shout, "Eat me and you die ignorant human fool!". But there are many that look quite appetising.

I, however, is ignorant. I don't know my edibles from my deadlies. And when I have researched these matters, I've found my findings inconclusive - quite unsatisfactory. But I'm determined to learn the ways of the mushroom. So I've ordered another book.

I'll let you know if I don't die.

 

 

 

Buses run daily on all routes unless otherwise stated

I have mixed feelings about buying things on ebay.

On one hand it's brilliant. All that stuff and some it is dead cheap. Because I like all sorts of stuff it's kind of perfect for me and I can go mooching (almost) whenever I like. But then, on the other hand, the element of chance has been considerably reduced. And it's that element of chance that makes finding something interesting in a secondhand bookshop or at a car boot sale so exciting.

Still, with limited time on my hands, the urge to mooch takes over and an-ebaying I go.
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