Toad in the Hole

As you can see from the picture there is an actual toad in a hole and the presence of said toad led to a downing of tools by a friend building an extension, because  he is absolutely petrified of toads. Which is more shocking when you know that he is a well built 6 foot 5 inches tall and I’m not sure how he could be more manly!  And it is called Ranidaphobia which is an intense, irrational fear of frogs and toads. But as we all know phobias are illogical and very personal.

My missus is not quite a pogonophobe, but it’s a close run thing. If you don’t know a pognophobia  it is a severe fear of beards, but can also include moustaches, goatees and any other type of facial hair. I certainly get no hugs when I haven’t shaved. And she is definitely an arachnophobe which means she has an unnatural fear of spiders, which means in the autumn I am very busy evicting our eight legged friends.

I have a friend who has a phobia about exposed brick walls  and raw wood and trees and can’t sleep in any room with visible bricks which is a shame as I once booked her into a room in a 14th century pub with exposed beams and lots of exposed brick. I don’t think she slept much that night. Sorry Magda.

And my phobia is water, or more specifically swimming in water. It has an origin in my youth. My dad took me to the local swimming baths when I was seven or eight and without warning my pa picked me up and threw me into the deep end. He was a tough guy and it was probably how he learned to swim, but I went straight to the bottom and stayed there; helped by some local laddies who kept me there. I was rescued by the lifeguard, but after that I have had a phobia of swimming, not water I like water, but being under water and breathing.  I am thinking about hypnotherapy to help me with this, as I am an avid kayaker and kayaking without swimming isn’t the cleverest thing.

And what you may ask is the relevance of phobias to James Pirie, well one thing is true is that we have a phobia about giving bad service. Established in 1890 we have always had a culture of customer service and the most important thing for us is customer satisfaction. And to that end you can always ask for gift wrapping at checkout and of course you get free despatch for orders over £50. If you want to take a gander at our website offering we’ll make sure that our phobia gets you a good deal and great service.  Yesterday was my wedding anniversary and this Daffodils Lily Vase in a lovely gift box by Royal Scot Crystal is on offer at half price and is, perfect for any anniversary. Daffodils is a delightful British hand cut intaglio design featuring 'a host of golden daffodils'. It’s a saving of £65 so I thoroughly recommend it.

 

https://www.jamespirie.com/gifts/wedding-anniversary-gifts/daffodils-lily-vase-gift-boxed.html