Author: Margaret

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Ask about different stones

Sterling Silver Celtic Cross Brooch
Sterling silver Celtic brooch set with amethyst
Silver Celtic Cross Brooch set with Amethyst

You’d love to buy a Celtic brooch in gold or sterling silver, but you’re looking for one set with a different precious or semi-precious stone? How often do you say to yourself, “I’d love to buy this for Auntie M but she only wears silver and turquoise!” Well, you know what, our silver and goldsmiths are versatile and we can request a quotation for you to supply a special piece of jewellery which is set with the gemstone of your choice. Sure, it might cost a little more than the standard offering and it will certainly take a few extra days for us to get it made for you. However, challenges like this are our bread and butter – we love it when our customers say that they’re looking for something unusual and don’t know how to got about obtaining it!

Silver Celtic Brooch set with Ruby
Sterling silver Celtic Cross Brooch – set with Ruby this time!

Photo © https://twitter.com/Magsc61

Please just ask us 🙂 Don’t worry, we’ll be gentle with you and will let you know about costs and timescales as soon as possible.

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Treasures – a cozy offering today!

Have you ever watched the exuberant Anita Manning on the BBC – wearing a funky, bright lambswool scarf? We’ve been selling this one for some time now and this is your opportunity to snap one up!

As the nights get shorter, the days seem to be colder – dank November days, snow and frost just around the corner – this cosy scarf will keep you nice and toasty!

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Samarkand – inspiration for our Treasures special offer

We know you love a deal and we’re offering a 15% discount on this set of six Samarkand mugs.  Created by Dunoon, these geometric designs are enhanced with 22ct gold leaf.

Use the code Treasures at checkout to claim your mugs to save £15.75 on the price of this lovely set.  This price includes delivery in the UK.  Overseas orders still carry postage charges, I’m afraid.

set of six samarkand mugs
Samarkand Mugs by Dunoon

The ancient city of Samarkand seems to have been a crucible of cultures and religions. An archaeological reserve in the north-east of Samarkand, known as Afrasiab, the site of the ancient city, contains numerous indications of a diverse medieval society. Excavations have revealed brilliant murals, whose fragments seem to illustrate a number of exotic scenes: a wedding procession, ambassadors bearing gifts, a diplomatic ceremony, and scenes from the royal hunt. Another shows a Chinese princess being conveyed across a river in a boat.

https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/samarkand

 

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Steal another one! This time, it’s a pvc apron

Alex Clark PVC Apron - Canine Cleaning Services
Canine Cleaning Services PVC Apron

You can buy this adorable Canine Cleaning Services PVC Apron by Alex Clark at 15% off our usual price by using the code Treasures when you reach the checkout.  This offer expires on 14th November.  Only valid for this product and while stocks last.

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How do you use Instagram?

MacGillivray’s

I was slow to the Instagram party – and so, I’m now struggling to keep up before the millions of users switch to the next hot platform.  (Don’t know if there is one yet – but if you know of one, please pass on the info!)

It turns out that using each new social media platform has a learning curve – and then, of course, someone like Facebook will step in and buy the company so that they can plunder the best bits and sell advertising to a new tribe.  (Personal gripe!)

I wonder if I did anything right on my own IG account?  Someone mentioned that I should look at Sheila Flores – she’s got about 22K followers.  So, I wandered over to look at what I can see on her feed.

  • Well, on Sheila’s IG feed, the overall impression is that she’s using blue as the main theme colour.  Not all the time, of course, but in a significant number of images.
  • Sheila often stars in the images; thankfully, though, she’s a small figure in a much bigger landscape.  She doesn’t do the pouty, pert images that I see on a lot of other feeds and I feel that she really is more interested in the places than in being the centre of attention.  Sheila mostly is fully clothed – a plus!  Sometimes she’s not in the photo at all.
  • There are lots of comments on her photos.  While Sheila obviously doesn’t answer everyone, it’s impressive how often you see that she takes the time to respond to comments.
  • Descriptions of the places which Sheila features are written in Spanish and also in English.  That’s also clever.  Others may do the same but I haven’t encountered them yet.
  • I think that there’s a lot of humour in Sheila’s photos – and many make me smile.  Great idea.
  • Sheila’s Instagram is all about places she’s visited.  She seems to find something really quirky for several of her photos – and things which a lot of people will have seen but not everyone has taken the time to feature.  We all walk past places of interest every day – but I know I forget to really look and see what’s there ….  hmm.

So, that’s one Instagram account which has given me food for thought.   I will try and review another account tomorrow – I have spotted something else which I like and which might be equally inspirational.

 

 

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My pc is showing its age

There comes a time when stuff just wears out!  … and that’s about to happen to my computer equipment.  DUH!  I’ve had most of the bits and pieces I used to run my business for several years now and just about everything is showing signs of terminal decline 🙁   … pun intended, LOL.
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The last time I bought a pc, I used Novatech.  Their service and delivery was fantastic and the prices were really good.  I’m about to send some more money their way but I’m hoping that the computer will last into the New Year because we are about to have some dusty renovations done and I don’t want to subject new equipment to builder’s dust.

I’m really happy to recommend Novatech, though, and if you chose to buy something through my link, I’ll receive a little commission to help towards the costs of the renovations.  :O

 

Are there any bargains to be had when you’re buying ink for your printer?  I feel as if I’m paying for liquid gold sometimes – so I’m going to try out these people!



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Instagram or bust?

I could spend my whole life viewing photos on instagram – and, to be honest, I do probably spend more time than is healthy, sitting at my pc, surfing the web.  (I’ve just been doing it right now!

Margaret MacGillivray
Grumpy old woman

I’ll just bet there are millions of youngsters out there, right this minute, busily snapping away, taking selfies, exposing themselves in all sorts of ways, with a view to garnering some attention and maybe some money for sponsored posts.

Well, good luck to them is what I say to that.  If you’ve got the brass neck to expose yourself so blatantly, maybe you do deserve a reward.  But, from the perspective of someone who lived a life before Instagram, the same pouty, pert, photogenic photos become extremely boring after about … thirty seconds!  I’m obviously not your target audience.  On the other hand, if you had managed to be interesting I might just have stuck around for a few minutes more to see what you’re promoting.

For goodness sake – do you always have to be centre stage??  Do I always have to look at your breasts hanging out of a bikini?  Or your ripped muscles about an inch away from the camera lens.  Get a life – go show me something else; for instance you walking to work, catching the subway, flying a Lear jet, standing at Monument Valley or the Tour Eiffel.

Aaaargh!

 

 

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Oatmeal Soap

Scottish Fine Soaps Oatmeal Soap
Oatmeal Soap
Scottish Fine Soaps Oatmeal Soap

This is one of our best-selling products:  Scottish Fine Soaps Oatmeal Soap.   There are two different selections on our site;  a pack with three bars of soap and finally a pack with six bars of soap.  (Sometimes people do want to order more, so please contact us for further information.)

One of the most important features of the oatmeal soap is that it suits some people with sensitive skins – but, because of allergies, we do get asked quite frequently about the ingredients.  This is a list of the ingredients in the soap!

  • Sodium Palmate,
  • Sodium Cocoate,
  • Aqua (Water),
  • Avena Sativa Meal,
  • Glycerin,
  • Parfum (Fragrance),
  • Sodium Chloride,
  • Titanium Dioxide,
  • Sodium Gluconate,
  • Tetrasodium EDTA,
  • Tetrasodium Etidronate,
  • Eugenol,
  • Alpha Isomethyl Ionone,
  • Amyl Cinnamal,
  • Coumarin,
  • Linalool,
  • Hexyl,
  • Cinnamal,
  • Cinnamal Alcohol.
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All locked in!

Well, the other day we were investigating possible storage units for our household goods for when we do our renovations. We went to look at one container rental business fairly close to home.

security fence
Locked In

When we arrived, we parked in the industrial estate and walked to the storage area.  All fenced in with an open gate, the facility looked clean, neat and well organised. So far, so good. We decided to walk in and ask in the office if there were units available.

Big mistake!

As we walked round to the office, the gate shut behind us.

Although the lights were on in the office, it turned out that the office was locked – no-one there.  The obvious thing to do was to phone the support number which could be seen on the units; this was the moment that I discovered that the battery in my iphone was completely flat.

Fortunately someone walked by and very kindly offered to find someone with the code to open the gate again so we didn’t have to spend the night in the storage units.

That’s what you call a #Margaretmoment 😂❤️☺️😅🙃