Not suitable for people with irony deficiency and
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Saturday 19 June 2010

The Charge of the Light Brigade


I admit that a major reason for this post is the dreadful punny title. I am particularly pleased with the awfulness of this one!

But also I have to report that we seem to be having a Bedside Lamp Crisis here at Casa Blighty (I wanted to call our house Norfolk King Way, as that's what we should have said when the estate agent showed it to us, but Mr B won't let me).
I have always been lucky to have good eyesight, up until a couple of years ago when age caught up with me and I started holding things at arm's length to try to decipher writing on them - things like cooking instructions, telephone directories and small boys decorated with homemade tattoos (incidentally, I do feel "X is a poopoohead" lacks a certain finesse, particularly when written on the victim's forehead). I also started to complain about the light not being bright enough for reading in bed.
The result was the purchase of this. Apparently it's a design classic, which I think is shorthand for "been around for years and now we are charging a lot for it".
It does not look pretty but it does the trick and I have great fun fidgeting around with it to get the best angle.

Because I have got a smart new lamp, Mr B wants a lamp like that too (he was against the idea first but now he has seen the fun I am having with mine....).

A light went on in my head (no, stop now) and I had the brilliant idea of re-jigging our existing lamps and moving them to the guest room.

But in the lighting department I found myself in the midst of what can only be described as a terrible lampshade dilemma.
Two suitable shades; the one on the left costs £30, the one on the right £7.
£30 for a lampshade!! Has the world gone mad??? Or have I just turned into the sort of old biddy who walks around shops exclaiming "£2.50 for that! You must be joking!"?
Should I go for the cheap one, after all, a lampshade is a lampshade? But is the other one nicer and is it better quality? Or do I just want it because it's more expensive? Important questions. I stood there for ages, gawping at the shades, taking photos of them and generally mucking up the displays and getting in everyone's way.
No, I've decided, I'll get 2 of the cheap ones. There, job done!
OOOH, this is nice, maybe I should start all over again, ditch the old lamp bases and buy 2 of these instead??

I went round in circles, I really thought I was going to blow a fuse (Enough, for all our sakes!)
Finally, after hours of deliberations and because the security staff asked me to leave, I brilliantly (ha, I'm not stopping now, I'm feeling puntastic) solved my dilemma by buying 4 lampshades, 2 of each, to try at home.
That's it, perfect.

But then again, the complete lamp with base looked good, or maybe I should go with the blue and white ginger jar lamp ....or should I have bought a cream lampshade???

Enough, I am burnt out.
Ladies, care to shed some light on this matter?
[Post abruptly terminated due to arrest of blogger by the Committee for Restraint of Abusive Puns; blogger now also under investigation by the Commission for Restriction of Acronym Perversion; blogger now in deep ...trouble]

P.S. Guess who laughed at the safety notice (first picture above) and then promptly burnt her hand?

10 comments:

  1. hi blighty,

    i love the ginger jar lamps with the white shade. very, very pretty.

    ~janet

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  2. I have never figured out why shades are so expensive...and the custom made ones are ridiculous!
    I try to get most lamps at thrift shops and second hand stores and if the wiring is dodgy, have Mr. HB rewire them for peace of mind.
    I enjoyed the puns...do you us to need us to post bail?

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  3. Norfolk King Way- I'm dying here! Of course I had to say it aloud to get it. This has been a brilliant and illuminating post. Will Mr B post bail? Does he have to write a poem about it?

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  4. Hop you got hold of a good lawyer, or was Mr B free? (Kidding Mr B, you know I'm a fan)

    Meanwhile I like the ginger jar base a lot. I source lamps and shades from places like Kmart and Target because in fancy designer emporiums thta are likely to be $175 for base and $100 for a shade. And for those prices I want the lamp to action washing and ironing.

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  5. Blogland is wonderful, the realisation that I am not alone in battling these dilemmas.
    Lamp base and shades are rotated quite often in my home because I get bored. Can spend a jolly few hours rearranging only to have lamps finish right back where they started.
    Blighty the blue ginger jar base and shade are beautiful, a must for your home.
    Then again the expensive blue shade is divine, but far too nice for a guest bedroom, how can you enjoy it?
    Have tried the bedside spotlight on highbeam appliance too but it didn't gel so I succumbed to stronger reading glasses and the stongest globe allowable in my pretty lamp.
    Agree, cost of lamps and the ensuing decision process can mess with one's mind :|

    See I am absolutely no help whatsoever.
    xx

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  6. Hello Blighty,
    Even though this goes against embracing thrift...I love the blue and white ginger jar lamp with ivory shade.
    Go for it!

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  7. Another vote for the ginger jar lamps.

    Another pun supporter. We can raise bail amongst us. With readers in many countries, the currency is bound to be good somewhere at any given time.

    We just need a Swiss bank account.

    SSG xxx

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  8. Bighty I have a ginger jar lamp with a white shade and I find it very soothing (Acknowledgement of FF word 'soothing'.)
    I think though they might be a bit too OTT for a bedroom and like something a bit more delicate.
    Kate Bx

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  9. The 30 pound one ( where is pound symbol on my damn key board??)on your brass base.....and I assume you already had the base....so there- SAVING money.
    PS in answer to your question re moving- we are moving exactly 100m away.....as opposed to last move which was approx 10,000km.....off to action more packing, decluttering etc....

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