Furniture

In late 1977, or maybe early 1978, I bought a Utility table from a second-hand furniture shop in Newhaven. I remember it as costing £12 but that would be the equivalent of £92 now and I certainly didn't have that sort of money to throw around so my memory must be wrong. It moved with me from the house-sit in the smallest village in Sussex (I hated living there) to a hard-to-let council flat (imagine that now!) at the top of Brixton Hill, then to a flat in Balham then to a house in Brixton then to our family house in Oxford. Family and friends have sat round it for countless meals. Drinks have been spilled on it, children have painted on it, birthday candles have been lit and blown out on it and the veneer has got very worn.

When we replaced it with something bigger, it went to live with Firstborn in Bristol. Then he got something less battered and it went to his partner's brother. It came back to me in April.

I've owned it for more than half its life and for two-thirds of mine but there's nowhere it fits sensibly in my new house.

I took a very deep breath and offered it to Emmaus who refused it because it was too tatty. I stuck it on Freegle and this afternoon a young couple who have just moved with others into an unfurnished house came to see it. We assembled it in the front room, I showed them how the leaves work, we agreed that a tablecloth would solve most of its problems and they decided to take it with them.

Across Oxford on the bus! That made them very worthy recipients, I reckon.


Edit: they've sent me a photo of them on the bus with it. What sweethearts! They definitely deserve it.