This morning, fairly early, I went to Waitrose. Readers who have stayed with me since the first “lockdown” will know that I am a devotee of the store! Today was no exception – I went armed with a list determined not to buy items that didn’t feature. I almost succeeded. Because I am only shopping for me and I have quite a bit of food “in stock” the bill was much less than I am used too. Mostly fresh fruit and vegetables – my weakness when it comes to food. Very little “naughty” stuff – one bar of chocolate! Having stowed the goodies in the car I went back into the store determined to treat myself to a coffee in the cafe. What seems an age ago now that Himself and I used to do the weekly shop and then toddle into the cafe for a coffee and something to eat. He would have a pastry – most often an Almond Croissant and I would choose a cheese scone. We sat chatting and people watching, passing scurrilous comments on appearance etc until we decided it was time to go. The last time we did this – just before Christmas – Himself enjoyed himself being rather cheeky about some of what he called the “sights”. Today I ordered my coffee – no scone or anything to eat – and sat in a window seat to watch the world of Waitrose go by. Elegant but casually dressed older ladies, slim and well turned out, wearing a sort of uniform of shirt, jeans and understated trainers came and went. Some wore denim jackets, others a gilet or fleece top but all, almost without exception, wore shades of blue! I was no different! A little girl ran up the aisle of the coffee shop smiling and waving – then ran back to her mother with a broad smile on her face clapping her hands. When they left she waved goodbye to the diners. In one of the booths sat an older couple – he slightly dishevelled, she elegant in black and white with comfortable shoes. I listened in to their conversation. She related her experience at the latest funeral she had attended. “My first time at Barham. Very nice I thought”. Then she recalled an incident at home, I think, with a carpet that had unravelled but she had fixed it by melting the edge with a hairdryer!!
A little farther down the cafe sat two older gentleman – clad in shorts and tee shirts they were somewhat portly. It came as no surprise that they had a proper breakfast meal. An elderly couple made their way slowly from the counter with their coffee and cake. He walking with a stick, she carrying the tray. They smiled and chatted and then left. A lone middle-aged man sat eating and drinking, reading something on his phone. Then into the cafe came a mother and daughter. The mother found a table while the daughter ordered the drinks and food. Warning. This is sizest, critical and quite unkind probably. I have long wondered why some people appear to take no concrete steps to deal with their weight – perhaps they do and I am being unkind and lacking in understanding. The mother had to move a table to make room for herself and when the daughter arrived at the table she too was large – she had a “full fat” coke and the other drink was tea. Later two large bacon rolls arrived. They were a startling contrast to the three older ladies who sat and chatted and laughed over their coffees recounting stories of their “adventures” in their ordinary lives.
For a few minutes this group of people sat together in one place, most blissfully unaware of the others, and I suddenly recalled how we would all have wished to do this during Covid. How we suddenly missed these moments that we had always taken for granted. Coffee finished I left to take my groceries home.
Along the lane I was proceeded by Goldfinches, flashes of golden yellow and crimson as they bounced along in front of me. The verges are clothed in swathes of lace cow parsley, the reeds in the ditches rustling in the breeze, reed warblers twittering among them. Marsh frogs croaking and landing in the water with a distinct plop. As I came into the village a pair of swans were walking along the edge of the road. Padding slowly along on wide webbed feet they had lost much of the elegance that they have on water. They were moving location from one part of a ditch to another – the bridge under the lane was blocked by debris. It is warm now and the sun is shining. The roses are blooming and a gentle breeze is moving the trees. The garden needs weeding but that will have to wait until I come back from may visit to Himself. It is difficult to know if he realises that I go in everyday – I suspect that his understanding of time is quite confused. Equally it is quite difficult to decide if he knows it is me – I think he does but he might just be being polite. He was cheerful yesterday and as long as that continues I can rest assured that he is OK. It is difficult to know if I should talk about home because if I do he might want to come back here and get distressed when he can’t. I restrict my comments to generalisations about the weather, occasionally talking about the garden. I might mention the upcoming election but I am not sure if he will understand – he might.
Yesterday I made a vat of chicken, chickpea and veggie casserole. Slightly spicy and now all boxed up and in the freezer. My home made ready meals for when I can’t be bothered to cook. A treat today will be a malted, seeded roll with Quark and smoked salmon. A little salad on the side. Should it be lunch or supper? Maybe supper then I can anticipate the treat! I tried to pre order a book on Amazon today and very annoyingly it said that it couldn’t be sent to my address and I needed to choose “another address”. Why? I obviously won’t want it sent to another address. The address, my address, is where I live! It is doubly annoying because I have Amazon Prime. True I have it mainly so that I can watch Clarkson’s Farm. If you haven’t watched it give it a try – it is highly entertaining and more especially it gives a real insight into farming today. Warning – it does contain swearing and some very graphic stuff that some might find upsetting. (Why am I giving a “trigger warning” for Clarkson’s Farm??? I hate such things!).
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