Strictly Come Browsing

I am not someone who begins their Christmas preparations in January, or who shops for their Christmas presents in sales throughout the year. Christmas in our house starts about the week before the big day, with two notable exceptions.

The first is that the younger children write their letter to Santa on December the 1st, in order for it to reach the North Pole in time (especially with the postal service these days).

The second is the lovely Malcolm Sargent Christmas Fair, which comes to Dumfries each November. It's held at the Easterbrook Hall at the Crichton, and it's basically individual stalls of independent, and very individual, retailers, artisans and craftspeople. With every sale made, 10% of the purchase price goes to the charity CLICSargent, who provide care to children with cancer and leukaemia, and to their families. You also pay to get in, and the entry fees all go to CLICSargent too.

The Fair is wonderful. I was there today, so do come browse with me.

Christmas-y bits

Provisions

Designer Dressmakers

Tried this wool/cashmere jacket on. Very nice. Very expensive.

Embroidered Jackets (sorry, out of focus)

The black ones are hand-embroidered, the coloured ones are machine-embroidered.Huntin', Shootin' and Fishin' stuff Children's clothes - Girls...and boysKnits

Artists ("Always banging on about the ancestors")

Alcohol (Grapefruit Vodka, Damson Gin, Rhubarb Gin, Gooseberry Vodka etc.)

And oh, loads of stuff

This is isn't even the half of it, and there was a luncheon room too (for the necessary coffee and cakes in between browsing and trying on).

I left with two fleeces for the boys, chocolate and a substantial quantity of rhubarb gin, plus the necklace, book and apple jelly I won on the tombola. And we are going mob-handed (one of our tight-knit bunch is recovering from an operation at the moment) to "Utterly Bespoke" whose shop is in Edinburgh, to have some clothes made for us. I really do fancy that jacket.