Is yours a Bottom Feed ?

Selling things on ebay is harder than you ( or rather I ) think ...

For a few days , nothing happens . And with my short attention span - so short in fact that yesterday Nat asks me to drop her at her friends in a few minutes time and whilst she goes up to collect her bag I have forgotton and start to boil myself two of Auntie Laura's hens' lovely eggs for my breakfast , and Nat comes back down , sits down , looks at me and says , ok , right then , we can go later . And doesnt point out that it was me who asked her to get off to her friends earlier so that they would be back quicker and we could all get off to for the camping trip quicker ( so I could get back in time for the evening round of CatCalls ... one cat , but still ... one odesnt like to keep a cat waiting )

So , it is with some surprise that I read an e mail asking me " is it still working " .

Working ? I think ? Is what working and it takes a few minutes for the penny to drop .

But it gets worse .

A day later the questions become more insistent and altogether more complex . Beyond me , in fact .

" Is your bottom feed a reel or a shuttle ? "

I confess I looked at that one for a couple of minutes , shut it down , re opened .

No , it was still there .

I read it out to D . And as men do , on occasion , despite knowing as little as I do about bottom feeds , he tried to problem solve .

" Is it worth taking it apart and looking at the bottom feed and seeing if its a reel or a shuttle "

I gave him what I hoped he would recognise as a withering look .

" Thats a bit like saying " Shall I lift your bonnet and we will see if your bottom feed is a shuttle or a reel " I say . Neither of us would have a clue what we are looking for . We could be there all day . Frankly I'd rather not . "

He retreats with a slightly pained expression and googles Bottom Feed ( I expect ) .

Meanwhile I reflect back to the last time I used a sewing machine , to make several pairs of curtains in a Laura Ashley fabric , when I recall using Laura's electric sewing machine . I distinctly recall a loud bang and a blue flash and the power pack parting company from the machine but I cant remember where I went wrong . Laura was an excellent sewer . She was also very patient . I was neither .

I email her asking about Bottom Feeds and she sends a little email back explaining . Soon all is clear . It is that thing I would call the spool . So simple . Bottom Feed indeed .