Unexpected Extras

Whilst I buy many books from Waterstones, Daunts, various indie bookshops and, yes, Amazon, I do also buy from sites like Biblio UK and World of Books. Secondhand; Pre- Loved. And then there are, sometimes, the unexpected extras. I use bookshop bookmarks and postcards to mark my place in a book but the options are many and varied … and sometimes things are left inside when the book is discarded. I have had a shopping list on more than one occasion, a letter that had not been posted, postcards received from around the world and once a £5 note. In that case I was monetarily in credit. The book that I have just bought had within it a beautifully painted watercolour postcard. A Grecian type pot, on a stone wall surrounded by plants and flowers, very skillfully executed. Had the owner of the book painted this or was it a gift that had been received? I will never know but I will add it to my cache of bookmarks on my bedside table.