SPENDTHRIFT ROBINSONS No, it’s not a fly-paper. It’s a record of the first or second (equally horrific) spend at the Carrefour supermarket kicking off our recent holiday in France. Ninety-seven items – many of them multiples – totalling €655.87 ($715.87). Not forgetting, as I said, another day’s Carrefour visit where a similar sum was spent.
Some items may be rather exotic to those whom the French call Anglo-Saxons. Foie de veau (calf’s liver), for instance. Two oignons Lézignan (onions from the eponymous commune in Corbières). L’Equipe (daily newspaper devoted entirely to sport). Four 50 cl bottles of eau gazeuse (fizzy water). 130 gm of éminces soja (vegan stuff). Allumettes végétal (literally: vegetable safety matches).
Happy expensive days.
POSSIBLY AN ENGLISH TRAIT. Daughter PB, presently looking after us, tells the story. In London a middle-aged woman runs desperately to catch a bus. The driver notices her and slows. She reaches for the grab handle and, abruptly, her knickers drop round her ankles. A moment’s thought and she kicks the knickers under the bus. Then steps up on to the platform.
Some people fear humiliation more than pain. I rather like the thought that this quick-witted protagonist punched the sky triumphantly. A resolution we would all applaud.
How many people were being fed? I'm assuming there was wine on that list? Still, that was a lot of money, well spent I might add.
ReplyDeleteYes, I like the idea of her punching the sky triumphantly afterwards.
Colette: We were a party of eight, one a full vegan, another a sort of agnostic vegan. Wine/beer did form part of the list but at this stage only a holding order; the big order was yet to come.
DeleteHad I been on a downstairs seat on the bus I would have stood up and saluted her. Indicated I would have been prepared to go to war under her command.
Ha, on the knickers. My 'fine Dame' or how my grandmother would say..."Feen Dama" in Danish, figured herself the second incarnation of the Queen Mother, dropped her knickers while leaving the Ballet in full Feen Dama battle gear, only to walk away from them in a pile of snow and slush while exiting the theatre. Of course she was saved, as I was the only one who recognized the knickers...LOL and her 'majesty' was not tarnished one bit. I did wait until she passed to share...LOL ...one of my favorite stories of her.
ReplyDeleteSandi: In her later life the QM was mainly known as an enthusiastic consumer of gin. The point is emphasised in the TV series, The Crown. However this is a good imperial memory to have stored away.
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