Becky Says...

May 2002

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May 21

I have a cold, and need to take care of some personal stuff tonight. I'll spare you the details!

May 20

I've waited a week to tell this one, to keep a surprise intact. But the surprised parties have been pleasantly gifted, and now I can tell about some fun I had.

This all started a year ago. Wendy and I learned that some friends of ours, J. and G., would be celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary today. They live in England, and we weren't quite sure if the custom there was the same as in the USA, of calling that a Silver Anniversary. So first off, I checked with Jackie, who lives in London and knows these things. She told me that it would be Silver, so we were golden (sorry).

I kept that note archived in a special place so I'd have the date handy. Earlier this month, Wendy and I had a discussion of how to commemorate the occasion. We decided to go with something that would not have to be kept, since our friends are in the midst of trying to sell a home and move.

Wendy, meanwhile, had found the website of a shop in Glastonbury which could help us quite nicely. Its specialty is balloons, which can be shipped almost anywhere in the UK. They already had a special balloon in stock for such occasions, and all we had to do was decide which sweets to send along with it. The shop, which I heartily recommend, is Just Balloons.

The shop does not take orders from e-mail or otherwise online, but they provided an order blank and a fax number. Wendy was getting ready to leave for her trip to see the in-laws, so she sent e-mail to Joy at the shop, telling her that an order would be faxed and that Joy should get in touch with me for any more information. Wendy also made sure I had Joy's e-mail address and the site's URL.

I sent a fax to the shop on Friday, May 10. In fact, I tried that fax several times, but it would not go through. I knew I had the number right, but I checked with the international telephone operator to make sure I was using all the right codes. I was. It was getting late in the day for me to keep trying, so I sent Joy e-mail and said I'd try again on Monday (the thirteenth).

When the Monday attempt failed, Joy and I decided a telephone call was the way to go. So we had a lovely chat, the order got placed, and I told her that I would recommend her shop to any of my readers who were contemplating sending gifts within the UK.

The balloon and chocolates arrived on Saturday. A bit early (thanks to the postal service there), but that just added to the element of surprise! Our friends were pleased, and last I heard, the balloon was still bobbing around being cheerful.