Tuesday, December 1, 2009

the women who never sit


Three days.
24 hours total of STANDING.
Not me, but my superhuman neighbours at Mag Square.



See.. no room for a chair in there.
Sure, there's a little bit of support from the clothes rack but come on now who could stand non-stop for 11 hours and feel okay about it? The truly amazing Georgina and Harriet from Dick and Dora, that's who.



Something in the Tassie water, perhaps? Me, I'm gobsmacked by this discovery - that anyone would even consider doing a market without one of those small pieces of furniture on which to rest your backside. Me, I want to sit down before I even stand up.

On the first day of the market I plonked myself straight onto my trusty little folding campers chair the minute I'd set up as I was so exhausted from having not slept at ALL the night before (late evening arrival, stayed with a friend I haven't seen for ages, chat chat chat, then lay awake all the remaining hours of the night in a state of anxiety). Must have had a premonition that my chair would collapse the minute I sat on it, broken, unrepairable without a staple gun.

Okay, the beginnings of distress. Wild-eyed, frantic, I wander from stall to stall. Does anyone have a staple gun? What? Nobody? Back at my stall, standing, forcing myself to think happy thoughts. Not happy. How am I going to get through 11 hours of standing? Not going to happen. Practise squatting. Hmmm. Maybe someone could lend me a box to sit on.

Then, less than 2 hours into the market, my stall collapses .. cushions fly everywhere. Did I remember to bring the two clamps that held my vertical structure in place? NO. I thought I could just wing it by propping the structure against the back wall. NO. It slipped between the gaps. Tired and internally hysterical all I want to do is run screaming from the beautiful Malvern Town Hall. Very tempting. Somehow I pull myself together.

The Scene a Few Hours Later -
I am sitting on a borrowed chair (Melanie you are a star!), eating a cupcake. My stall structure is securely gaffer tapped to the back wall (Georgina you are a star!). My lovely signage flutters to the floor for the second time.



I leave it there. Beyond caring. Cupcake is goooooood.
The divine comfort of being able to SIT is even better.
Will fix everything tomorrow when I've had a good night's sleep.

And I did.

5 comments:

inaluxe said...

ahhhhh ha ha ha ha. I know deep down it's not funny at all, but you make it sound hysterical! I cannot believe not one person there had a staple gun! How funny is that?! But your stall looks beautiful, and thank goodness for cupcakes, and nice people with tape and spare things to rest our weary bottoms on. :) xo K

ckillin said...

K.
so glad someone else is with me on the staple gun front. EVERYONE i asked looked at me as though i was MAD. (stay away from that feedthedog woman, she's nuts, she's desperate for a staple gun). Given that you weren't allowed to permanently secure anything to the walls I SUPPOSE it's not so unusual to NOT be in possession of a staple gun. My neighbours had gaffer tape and a cordless screwdriver and all many of tools. But alas no staple gun.

And the actual moment of breaking my chair by sitting on it WAS truly funny .. if only I'd seen it like everyone around me did. Love seeing people break chairs with their own weight, doesn't happen often enough I find.

Cathy said...

Your market sounds hilarious. I take my hat off to anyone who can stand for 11 hours. Superhuman I call it. Glad you managed to repair everything and have a cupcake into the bargain...love cupcakes.

mizu designs said...

That's a great tale Carmen! Made me giggle and only because I would be the same in that situation. I can't stand at markets either. I loved the cupcake interlude in the story. So fitting!

mizu designs said...

Ooops I meant Carmel. Sorry!