Funding the challenge part one

Friends and family members have been making some interesting suggestions for new things I might try during this year of seventy new things before my 70th birthday. I was realistic enough to know that fullfilling the challenge would be costly, so I saved some money, but perhaps I didn't realise quite how expensive things are. In theory I will try anything, as long as it does not put me in danger (I would like to live until my 70th birthday!) if I can afford it. There are tickets bought and appointments booked for, to me, some exciting stuff in the not-too-distant future. But that is for a later post.

The immediate challenge was to try to raise some funds. I sorted through my jewellery - not a large collection - and pulled out some necklaces which nowadays I find rather heavy to wear. What's the best way to sell jewellery in 2024? Ten years ago, while I was working as a domestic declutterer, running Home Freed my own business, I would have known the answer to that question. However, retirement and moving house left me needing to look it up. The wisdom of the Internet told me I would need to take it to a pawnbroker for the fastest turnaround. That was a surprise, certainly something I've never done before.

The establishment I chose to visit, in a respectable shopping street in Chester, for all the sparkle on display in the windows, nevertheless managed to look as though it's trying to hide in the shadow of the city wall. Still, I ventured in, placed my necklaces on the counter and said, "I was wondering how this works."

Behind the glass counter an enthusiastic young man in a smart suit fondled the jewellery. His long sleeves did not quite cover all the tattoos which stretched down to his fingers, tipped with remnants of sugar-pink nail polish. He took one of the necklaces to show to his manager, cradling it like a Faberge egg. It turned out to be worth a good deal less than a Faberge egg. There were several suggestions of other places I might take my necklaces but, they were sorry, this would not be the right place to realise their value, how ever small that may be.

The necklaces left the shop with me. There was no cash in my pocket. Let's say: it was an experience.

#7 of 70