Another Dress for C!
Perhaps not in C’s later years, but this was very like a summer dress she wore, when the kids were young.
A Dress With Pockets
In the 1960’s and early 1970’s pushchairs were very simple, with no place to store anything, so any dress with pockets, was where she put small toys and tissues. We never used disposable nappies, except in an emergency, so it was generally only a short walk to Regent’s Park or round the corner to a friend’s garden, so there wasn’t much need for storage space.
In fact, a couple of years before she died, I remember going shopping with her and specifically looking for a summer dress with pockets, so she could leave her handbag in the hotel.
I think in some ways, I’m getting more like C, as I now have a summer coat with big pockets, that can carry all I need on my travels. It’ll even hold a long-life shopping bag in the inside pocket.
Sainsburys in High Holborn
I ventured into the Sainsburys Local at High Holborn today to get a paper. I left empty-handed as I couldn’t find them, as the shop had a maze-like quality and the staff seemed incapable of giving me clear directions.
I think it’s the last time I visit a shop without a full recci first!
The Queen Is Not Amused
She might be, as I have no special access. But who would wear this jumper.
A Ghastly Jumper
Not any woman I know!
The Flags Are Up In Oxford Street
Because of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Oxford Street has put up the flags, as these pictures show.
At the launch they even had some corgies there.
The Waitrose Obstacle Race
Last night I decided to do a bigger shop at Waitrose. My local one at Upper Street is a bit small and doesn’t stock half the things I need. So I decided to go to the shop in the old Jones Brothers store on the Holloway Road.
Unfortunately, it is a two bus trip and I had to change from the 277 to a 271 at Highbury and Islington to complete the journey. The 271 is one of those routes that desperately needs some new buses, as like last night, some of them are a bit tired, like the Plaxton President I was on, to say the least.
But I got there about 19:30 and then spent a frustrating half-an-hour getting what I needed. The only bread was thick-sliced, there was no gluten-free beer, I couldn’t find the smoked salmon, but there were two packets of the breakfast cereal I like. I’ve had more successful trips.
Coming back, it was another 271 followed by a 277. I would have preferred a 393 for the first leg, as it means less walking at the change. But the bus decided to charge straight past the stop on the Holloway Road.
A Clever Name
I took this picture of a van from a bus, as I went towards the Angel.
damselinadress.co.uk
It always helps to have a good name for a business. www.damselinadress.co.uk is a good one!
The Waitrose Self-Service Tills
I have used self-service tills in Marks & Spencer, B & Q and I think Sainsburys for some time and it has only been in the last month or so, that they’ve installed them in my closest branch of Waitrose at Upper Street.
At this point, I should say I’ve had a stroke and although unrelated, my left hand is not the best, as my arm was broken fifty years ago, by the school bully.
Consequently, I find Waitrose’s system of bags on the self-service tills to be totally unacceptable, as it is impossible to put goods into the bags with one hand. The Marks system is very much superior and I have no problem. The bags Waitrose use seem to be much more difficult to separate than those of other shops. But it has always been thus!
Thinking about it, the Marks system is much more right-handed than the Waitrose one, although both feed goods from left to right.
I now find, I’m shopping much more in Marks on a daily basis, because I prefer to use a self-service machine, so that I’m on my way quickly. As sometimes at Upper Street, the self-service tills are completely free with long queues at the manned check-outs, others might think as I do about the new tills.
I could shop at another branch and frequently do, if I travel across London, but Upper Street, is the only branch that does Home Delivery for me and it is the only branch on a single bus ride from my house.
The Waitrose-Go-Round
I know that sometimes I buy some odd food, as many coeliacs do, but I’m finding getting what I need seems to be getting more and more difficult.
On Friday, I went to Upper Street, Islington to get most of my shopping, but yesterday, I had to go Holloway Road, or as I say, Jones Brothers, to get some of the rest. At other times, I find myself in Bloomsbury and Eastfield.
Currently, the products I find difficult to get are the St. Helen’s Farm Goats Milk Yoghurt and the Eat Natural Breakfast Toasted Muesli with Vine Fruits. I can get the latter in Sainsbury’s next door to my usual Waitrose. I’m not sure, but they may undercut Waitrose and shoppers have been ignoring it in the more expensive store, so the computer says they shouldn’t stock it.
But it all goes to make my shopping difficult.
Uncovering The Tiles
The shop opposite me used to be a dairy or something similar and it is being restored.
I suspect that the crass idiot who overpainted the tiles was a relation of the Gerry, who built my house.
It’s proving to be a hard job removing the paint. But it’s one of those jobs, that when it’s finished will be worth it.
Mice in Tesco Was Plague From God
This article in the Standard, entitled, Mice plague ‘God’s reply’ to gay gift, is about a religious zealot, who claims that God got back at Tesco because they backed London’s Gay Pride march.
How ridiculous! Did God ring him up and tell him? Or does God have a Facebook or Twitter account?
Has anybody asked God, if he or she is gay and got an answer that can be proven? After all, if there is only one God, they could be gay, straight or bi-sexual and probably wouldn’t know. But if they are the only one, they are definitely lonely.
The Anonymous Widower 