Sales Shopping

Today was my first trip to the sales! With Bill safely out of the way doing the food-shopping in Farnborough, I was free to go looking for clothes and other exciting stuff in Guildford! He he.
First stop was Blacks, as I fancied a trekking pole much like Bill's. I tried a few, and quite fancied the ergonomic Leki one, but at £40 it was too expensive. None of the poles were in the sale, and it was the same story at Millets. Not very successful so far.
Next stop was the huge Debenhams down by the river. The mission was to purchase 2 shirts for Bill, but I became distracted by the women's clothes sale. I tried on a fleece and some corduroy trousers from Maine, and decided to take the cords even though they're a horrendous colour - dark bluey-greeny. They'll come in handy for walking or train+cycling (can't wear lycras on the train as the men like them too much). The Warehouse and Bay sections had some nice stuff but no must-haves.
Down in menswear the sale's selection of shirts in XL wasn't great, but managed to find a grey lumberjack-style shirt and a white shirt with square grid design in grey, both suitable for casual wear. I hope Bill will like them.
I swung past one of my favourite shops, Apache Tears, but it has gone downhill recently with stupid staff. There was nothing that caught my eye. Opposite, the Nature Shop had a little sale on and I was tempted with a rattlesnake that squirted water for £3 - surely suitable for the Mexican-themed New Years Eve Party? I hummed and ha'ed, eventually settling for a salamander that poked its tongue out, only £1.
Had a look in Gap, again nothing caught my eye, the pastel colours this year not being great for me. By then I was famished, so it was into my favourite cafe in Guildford, Sunburst, for a pizza slice and a filter coffee.
Suitably refreshed, I headed into Marks and Spencer to get trousers for Bill, as requested. Once again I was distracted - by the 'Per Una' sale. Picked up a nice black corduroy skirt with fringes, very avant garde, but it may have to go back as it's too big (size 12 - thankyou Marks!). The Menswear sale was quite limited, but bought Bill a nice sweater and pair of dark chinos.
A quick look in East - used to be good but expensive, now just expensive, but the jewellery is still relatively cheap and a little bit different. I bought a wooden bangle for £2, which should also be suitable for the Mexican evening. A look in Free Spirit - I always like the waterfall in there - nothing that grabbed me. Jigsaw was still too expensive even with the sale on - I saw a beautiful grey dress with deep red roses - 'only' £400! Went into Accessorize looking for Mexican jewellery, and bought 2 Christmas decorations and some pyjamas in the sale.
The sun was starting to set so it was time to head for Party Poppers, the little party-shop up the alley next to Bradford and Bingley. Yes, they had another sombrero and Mexican moustache, so that was Steve sorted for New Year's Eve. Later, I noticed the shop had slipped in 2 sets of false eyelashes into my bag (they hadn't charged me for them) - I don't think I'll ever wear them though!
Time to head back to the station for the 4.13 train, by now heavily laden with bags, struggling through the gates. But with the great sense of satisfaction that only comes from a successful day's shopping :-)