Next Trade On!
The next trade is shaping up to happen this weekend... hopefully we'll do it, probably on Sunday, in Ireland. All I'll say about it right now is... "Speedy".
Then... the following Friday I'll go to meet someone here in England, and we'll try to work out another great trade - I'm pretty optimistic we'll get a result.
There's other trades bubbling too - I even just got an offer today which has a good chance to happen - but for now, I want to send some Teddy Bears on a World Tour.
But I'll need a few collaborators to help make it reality. More on that soon. Maybe even tomorrow!
And I want a haircut like this...
Who wouldn't?
Posted by Andrew @ 11:08pm
. (Trade 29)
Nope, I still can't think of a good heading for this post. That'll just have to do.
Kate's offer came in via the form on September 2nd...
"I am offering a 5/6 page brochure website, value @ £...* "
* sorry, we just don't do money values here at tradingnothing.com!
There was even this hypnotic logo accompanying the offer...
... as well as an invitation to check out Kate's ideas page.
And from me, Kate wanted these ten little guys.
Except I didn't have ten any more... but that's another story** .
So I took a look at Kate's Your Business Is My Business website, and knew straight away I wanted to do this trade, because I could see Kate could build someone a great website, and with real passion.
I asked Kate if she could maybe throw in something else for fun, that she wouldn't miss, and she came back with Puter Bear, her companion at the computer.
A nerdy teddy bear - just the job!
We set a time and place to do the trade - 8pm on Wednesday September 10th, at The Land Oak in Kidderminster. And Kate's son Dan would be coming along too.
I set off in good time, after work and a bite to eat, across the M42 and... and missed my turn off.
To the next junction, and back again... past my missed turn off... again... because that's how this brilliant road system works ... to the next junction, and back again... and I was back in business!
Behind an incredibly slow truck. Or was it a cart horse.
So I showed up half an hour late, expecting to find either no Kate and no Dan or an angry Kate and an angry Dan. But I found neither of those, but I did find smiles, and Dan even sorted me with quite a posh coffee.
Kate was delighted with the nine little guys, and I was delighted with the special certificate Kate produced, not to mention Puter Bear, who nearly fell into his drink...
I don't know how he had room either.
Then followed a couple of hours setting up the official trading nothing Trade 29 photo. Technical considerations were discussed and arguments were put forward and so forth...
...and it all got very animated, but at the same time stayed civilised.
And the result was no accident, trust me. Dan had a Plan all along...
Kate's now looking forward to finding out who she'll be making a website for, and so am I!
For some excellent additional coverage of this trade - where you can see the little guys in their new home and more! - why not check out Kate's Trading Nothing page!
Other news briefly... another trade is ready to happen, I'm hoping we can do it in person in Ireland, and more trades are shaping up to happen in the near future - as always, watch this space.
** OK OK, I own up, I lost the green little guy in Poland. I'm sure he's in a good Polish home being well looked after now.
So... two cool items added to the mix and now up for a trade:
You can check out my current offerings below, and feel free to make me an offer of any number of your things for any number of mine. (Or, if you prefer, give me a shout).
I'm always interested in offers of anything, and I really do mean anything...
Posted by Andrew @ 11:04pm
Trade On...
... tomorrow evening!
All being well.
Posted by Andrew @ 11:04pm
Ela Jest Cool! (Trades 27 & 28)
Two and a half hours on a plane from Birmingham to Warsaw...
... followed by another two and a half east in a train from Warsaw to the city of Bialystok, which I still can't pronounce...
... and finally half an hour in a car through wooded land, to close to a village... and we were there!
Somewhere in the sticks in eastern Poland, about thirty miles from Belarus, which was not so long ago part of the USSR.
I travelled to Poland with Kate, who was once my land lady. She charged me wayyy too much rent back then, come to think of it.
Never mind.
Anyway, Kate is Polish, and for her this was a trip home. But for me, this was my first time in Poland.
On arriving Kate's mum treated me to beetroot soup, and other excellent food...
... and her father helped me and himself to just a few refills of excellent Polish vodka.
Kate's cool sister Ela was there too. She couldn't wait to see me...
... but she couldn't "under any circumstances" shake my hand - doctor's strict orders.
The next evening I went along with Kate and her Dad to visit their friends the Pilczuk family, right on the outskirts of Bialystok.
Three of us went for a walk through the woods, but only one of us got bitten by mosquitoes, or more like half-consumed. Now I'm not suggesting there was something sinister going on here, but the fact is the only non-Pole amongst us was targetted.
So I suspect those mosquitoes may have been Government trained.
Anyway, once back in the house Mrs. Pilczuk applied a magic ointment all over my head, neck, arms and legs, and I was all better.
Excellent food was served, and more excellent Polish vodka was downed. And I think at some point Kate explained this trading nothing thing, in Polish, and I pointed to the bird house on the floor when asked what would be a good thing to swap...
Some time later, When we were saying goodbye, Mrs. Pilczuk presented me with the said bird house to take with me. I tried to explain I had nothing with me to swap for it, but I wasn't going to be allowed to leave without it.
Kate organised the taking of a photo, which is now the official trading nothing Trade 27 photo. We just didn't know we were doing Trade 27 at the time, or the beginning of it at least...
That's Kate's Dad on the left, and I'm sure you can figure out the rest.
The next few days we spent just hanging out, with a couple of excursions into the city.
Some of the graffiti on view...
... was more impressive than other graffiti...
I did bring a few small items along to Poland (these, these and this), just in case...
Too bad I didn't have these with me to trade...
Ah well, you live and learn.
"So what does Kate look like?" did you ask? Oh, she already appeared in the Trade 6 report, but here she is yet again on the left, and that's her cool sister Ela on the right...
Kate sorted a Bialystok to Warsaw bus ticket for me, in Polish of course, and the ticket guy punched in my name...
... in Polish of course.
Very funny.
I suddenly felt exceptionally enterprising and super efficient, and went about my business here...
... and there...
... but even with all that going on, I still wanted to do a trade before my return to England.
Ela wanted the turtle, one of Mairi Stone's "Little Animals", because it reminded here of her boyfriend, Pavel. I think I got that right. And she also wanted the snake.
That left five little animals. Kate wanted one for herself, and the remaining four were put aside to be handed over on my behalf to the Pilczuk family, to complete Trade 27. These four in fact...
So Trade 27 was taken care of, but what would I get from Ela and Kate?
I was taken to a room used for storage, and was pretty much told to take what I wanted. So I picked out four things I liked, that I thought I could trade on, find new homes for. I also accepted one item that was being used in the house.
We did Trade 28 proper on the evening before I returned to England. Two of the Pilczuk family's little animals wanted in on the photo (see them in the background?), and Kate again did the honours...
Oh, I hope Ela's doctor never sees that photo.
The next morning I was driven into the city to take the early morning Bialystok to Warsaw bus. I travelled back alone, Kate was staying for a while longer.
We arrived in Warsaw, but I thought we were in Manhattan...
I also thought the air traffic control procedures at Warsaw Airport were somewhat unusual...
So, I came back with six new interesting items, now added to the mix and up for a trade:
You can check out my current offerings below, and feel free to make me an offer of any number of your things for any number of mine. (Or, if you prefer, give me a shout).
I'm always interested in offers of anything, and I really do mean anything...
Posted by Andrew @ 7:20pm
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