Another one that got away

I thought about, consulted on even, a rather handsome silk rug, about 6 feet by 8 feet, not quite the size that we are presently in the market for.

The seller, who did not strike me as being new to the business of selling such stuff, said that his daughter had paid £1,000 for it the year previous, had got tired of it and had wanted to sell it for £500. He said that he had told her that people did not pay that sort of money at car booters and that she had better try her luck at £200 for a quick sale. Which was what he offered it to me for.

Well maybe. But had it been nearer the size we were after I would have been even more tempted than I was and it was perhaps just as well that I do not walk around with £200 in my pocket, especially at car booters where you are apt to come across all kinds of people.

Declined.