The Pursuit of Shiny

Since reading His Dark Materials, I’ve invested a significant amount of thought into what the nature of my daemon might be. Everyone, I imagine, would like to think that they’d have an impressive physical manifestation of their true self but the truth is that some people are wormy. Or froggy. Or platypus like. As much as I’d like to think that my soul is cuddly and warm, the truth is that I believe that my daemon would probably be a magpie. I don’t mean to imply that I have a Sex in the City type obsession with the material, whether it be shoes, clothes or designer men, but I love beautiful things, colorful language and shiny ideas and want to gather them around me.

I got my chance to cast my beady eyes around a glut of shiny this weekend at a rock and gem fair near Kingston, where I spent far too much on things that didn’t take up all that much room in my purse.

Part of my motivation for going was obviously to pick up some much needed supplies. Ordering stones on-line, while convenient, is a little bit of a crap shoot; you can never be sure of what fire or lustre that you’ll end up with. Being able to pick up a stone or strand of beads and watch what happens when the light hits it is a real luxury.

The other incentive to make the trek was to meet the lovely 3’s of Etsy fame who’s equally beady of eye when it comes to stones and beads.

After meeting up with 3’s , The Rock Star (who is actually a living saint in the getting-dragged-around-to-boring-shit department) generously became Prawn Bitch for the afternoon and toddled off after our daughter and tried to make sure she didn’t either steal or destroy anything, leaving 3’s and I free to peruse the staggering mountain of shiny glinting seductively, “come-and-buy” at all and sundry.

The people watching at an event such as this is always a good time. A gem show can draw professionals, enthusiastic amateurs and those that fit into the category of “other”. (I realized, while standing at a booth, that the woman next to me was holding a crystal in each hand while chanting and swaying. People watching is always slightly more interesting when minor celebrity enters the mix, so we were kind of surprised when a voice from behind us informed us that we “couldn’t get out” of the door that we were determinedly pushing on that we were face to face with none other than Rolf Harris.

US readers most likely would not know the inimitable Mr. Harris from a hole in the ground, but he’s a minor legend here in the UK for just being one of those guys who’s just always been a nice guy on TV for as long as anyone can remember. He was reclining on a couch, apparently taking a break from the show floor. He told 3’s that she looked “dramatic”. (3’s is a very tall, lovely girl with bright orange hair, so he wasn’t too far off in his assessment.)

Peppering this post are pictures of the shiny that I brought home with me. I’m looking very much forward to playing with all of the beautiful cabs and beads that have taken their place in my collection!