Diary of An Elderly English Woman:Day Two
“Apothecary”. What an evocative word! I was mulling over it awaiting my flu jab in the pharmacy in Ledbury yesterday.
Imagine a wizened fellow of indeterminate age, distilling belladonna for the beautiful ladies, and extracting mercury for the gentlemen with the pox that had succumbed to more than their charms. I picture Merlin, only crazy, as a consequence of the mercury fumes.
I came close to flirting with the handsome Nigerian pharmacist:: Twenty-third of October, 1950,” I purred as he inquired of my birthdate to fill in (out) the obligatory form.
“Yes! I know!I don’t look a day over thirty!”
This was so ridiculous we both laughed.
I enjoy making people laugh.
In, jabbed, out. Walk up the hill to the Sue Ryder Shop ( Thrift Store) for an item I’d spotted on the way down.
“I’ll take this off your hands, “ I said, handing over a gaudy insulated picnic tote, on wheels, to the volunteer womanning the till.
“£3 please,” she replies, handing over one of those second-generation cash machines that require a pin. Deja-vu kicked in with a moment of panic, but fortunately, this time, I remembered.
I am now the triumphant owner of a vital piece of kit that is an essential tool in my new regime.
Confused? I’ll explain. I am Doing My Bit ( as my grandparents would say during the Second World War) to Save the Planet. I am Walking To The Shops.
This is no great sacrifice, per se, as the Co-op is less than half a mile away, but my Noble Purpose on arrival, is to collect a pre-ordered bag full of discounted food that had reached its use-by and was headed for the bin. It’s now headed for my newly acquired picnic tote on wheels for the drag up the Hartpury Rd and supper.
Him Indoors and I are hooked. You don’t know what’s IN the bag until you open it, so every day it’s like winning the lottery! OK, so you might not, as a rule, buy a plant-based Cornish Pasty, but it tasted good, as did the apple pie, and the parsnips, so no complaints.
I got my steps in, fed us both for £3.39p AND according to the App, saved 1.7kg of CO2 :more if you count the walk.
Win-win-win.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/too-good-to-go-end-food-waste/id1060683933
