The Anonymous Widower

What Do They Mean By An Organic Pharmacy?

I passed this shop in Hampstead today.

The Organic Pharmacy

The Organic Pharmacy

But what do they mean by an organic pharmacy?

Does it mean that all products sold, have come from an organic agricultural or horticultural route?

Or does it mean that it only sells organic compounds? This is Wikipedia’s first paragraph.

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon (such as CO and CO2), and cyanides are considered inorganic.[1] The distinction between organic and inorganic carbon compounds, while “useful in organizing the vast subject of chemistry… is somewhat arbitrary.

So surely as some important things you buy in a pharmacy like soap are inorganic compounds, if it’s the second definition, you have a problem about what you can buy there. You could certainly buy Vaseline there, as it’s petroleum jelly and petrol is a hydrocarbon, which makes it organic.

I think I’ll march to Boots!

August 18, 2014 Posted by | World | | 1 Comment

An Interesting Take On Air Miles

I bought two of these little boxes in Waitrose, so I can use them for the second chop, burger, fish or steak, that I have to buy when creating a  delicious and nutritious meal for one. My freezer is half full with all this unused food.

The interesting thing is that they were made in New Zealand, so if I put them in the fridge upside down, they might save space as well.

I think it’s the first time, I’ve ever bought anything that was manufactured as opposed to grown in New Zealand.

Was it air-freighted from New Zealand with the lid closed?

If it was, it gives a whole new meaning to the subject of Air Miles!

And also when I opened it for the first time, did it release a whole container full of fresh Antipodean air into my house?

The latter might apply even if it came by sea!

A comedian could generate a whole routine around this simple container.

 

August 18, 2014 Posted by | Food, World | , , , | Leave a comment

J And C Reunited In My Kitchen

I needed a few more mugs and just had to buy these when I saw them in Marks and Spencer.

J And C Reunited In My Kitchen

J And C Reunited In My Kitchen

But I did have to buy them on-line, as they seem to be two of the rarer letters.

I’m reminded of a story from my past.

I was working for ICI at Runcorn and I’d designed and built an instrument to measure water in a particular chemical stream. It needed to be fitted and wired into the plant in their Rocksavage works. I was told to arrange the fitting with Charlie Akers, who was the senior electrician on the plant. I turned up one morning at the electrical workshop in the plant and Charlie gave me a tour, which showed me all the dangers and how to do basic things to avoid getting into trouble. To this day, when I’m climbing metal staircases and ladders, I still do it in the way that Charlie showed me, to avoid getting nasty chemicals or dirt on my hands.

Charlie then took me back to their workshop and then proceeded to pull a new white mug out of a box of about a couple of dozen and then with a small brush put my name on it. He then said that now, I’d had no excuse to not come here to have a cup of tea before going on the plant, as no-one wanted any accidents.

It was this attention to detail about Health and Safety that was the reason that Rocksavage Works had at the time, the best accident record in ICI.

A couple of years ago, when I went over SELCHP, one of the guides had noticed me climbing some metal stairs and asked if I’d ever worked in plants like that.

After all I’ve been through, Charlie’s lesson is still imprinted in my brain.

August 18, 2014 Posted by | World | , , , , | 2 Comments

The littleWaitrose In Kings Cross Station Opens On Tuesday

Kings Cross station is becoming the model of an upmarket food and shopping destination for a railway station.

On Tuesday, the new littleWaitrose opens, to join a good Marks and Spencer, a pretty good pub and a Leon, which probably does the best gluten-free fast food in Europe. The new shop is handy for the trains and the Underground.

So when I arrive back in London after a trip from the North East or Scotland, I’ll certainly be able to pick up supper at either the new shop or M&S. Competition must improve both stores.

I posted some time ago about Network Rail’s policy on stations and it looks like we’re seeing the fruits of that revolution.

August 17, 2014 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

Marks And Spencer Now Do Goats Milk

My food shopping, has got a bit easier, as I’ve now found that Marks and Spencer have been stocking goats’ milk for some time.

Marks And Spencer Now Do Goats Milk

Marks And Spencer Now Do Goats Milk

This now means that the only staple I buy that is a bit difficult to find is my preferred Breakfast Cereal, which I can get in most Sainsburys’ stores and the excellent Waitrose at Canary Wharf.

So now most of my shopping can be done in one place, either a good Marks and Spencer or a larger Waitrose.

They may be nice people in Waitrose at the Angel, but I shan’t be sad if I don’t visit again, with its difficult to use plastic bags on the self-service tills. If I need to shop at the Angel, there’s always the small Mark and Spencer there, with its gluten free quiches and scotch eggs and excellent bakery products.

August 7, 2014 Posted by | World | , , , , | Leave a comment

The First Off Licence In Frinton

Frinton had a reputation that it was a town, where the buying of alcohol was difficult and there were no pubs or shops selling the demon drink.

In the early 1980s, C was a pupil barrister in Ipswich and she was asked to do a case, where normally barristers would not be required.

She was asked to do an off-licence application for the Co-op, who were opening a small supermarket in the town. They thought that they wouldn’t get the licence, so that had approached her Chambers for some heavy weaponry to do the necessary.

When she met the man, who would actually hold the licence, she knew it would be a forgone conclusion.

He was a charming man, of Asian origin, who had been chosen well by the Co-op to knock down the barriers in the oh-so-genteel town of Frinton.

Whether she played the race card in Court, I do not know, but from fellow lawyers, who’d faced her in various cases, I know she had a subtle skill with words, that told those that matter, what she would do if she lost.

That was the last she ever heard of the case after the application for an off licence was approved.

August 5, 2014 Posted by | Food, World | , , | 2 Comments

An Aladdin’s Cave For Coeliacs

Marks and Spencer may have its problems, but the display for its gluten-free bread and cakes in Islington, is bigger than the whole gluten-free area in the Waitrose next door.

An Aladdin's Cave For Coeliacs

An Aladdin’s Cave For Coeliacs

I just bought a loaf and some cheese biscuits.

I have a feeling that despite the Islington M & S not being one of their bigger stores, I might find that in a few months time, I’ll go there first and then buy the things they don’t have in Waitrose.

I can only rarely buy clothes there, but I do use it as the delivery point from the web site. I don’t know about others, but I’ve had no problems with shopping on their web site.

July 9, 2014 Posted by | World | , , , | 1 Comment

Praise For Marks And Spencer In An Unlikely Place

Marks and Spencer may not be in the best of health these days, with even their boss saying the results aren’t good enough in this report on the BBC.

He might like this story.

I have a small waist, which needs a thirty-inch-belt. They are hard to find and for the last ten years or so, I’ve always bought them from Paul Smith. Usually at their flagship store in Covent Garden.

Yesterday, I went to get a new one and I found a nice one in brown. I got to talking to the stylish assistant, who came from Bordeaux. He felt I was wearing a very nice pair of chinos.

They were only from Marks and Spencer.

I did buy one of the three pairs I have in a store, but the others were from their web site and delivered to my local store at the Angel.

Their web site worked for me!

 

 

July 8, 2014 Posted by | Business, World | , , | Leave a comment

Two Knives From Sheffield At John Lewis

My kitchen knives are rather elderly and blunt, despite proper sharpening, so I thought I’d treat myself to some new ones from John Lewis.

Two Knives From Sheffield At John Lewis

Two Knives From Sheffield At John Lewis

Made in Sheffield, as knives should be! Just like my Sheba cutlery was in the 1960s

July 2, 2014 Posted by | World | , , , | Leave a comment

Signposts In John Lewis

I saw this set of signposts in the floor of John Lewis today.

Signposts In John Lewis

Signposts In John Lewis

It’s a good idea. But would a polished brass plate on the pavement attract the light-fingered with crowbars?

July 2, 2014 Posted by | World | , , | Leave a comment