Day 50 – Sunday 18th November 2007
Only 34 days to go. It is madness to see Xmas and my finishing date approach so quickly. Will I revert? I do not think so. The market has become the way I will always shop now. There is a security about seeing the same faces every week, there is a wholesomeness about seeing the boxes of fresh herbs on the counter. This week I bought sage and thyme. They are hanging in my kitchen, symbols of a house full of love and nurturing. To see people look at you and smile when you arrive on their doorstep to me if far superior to passing through a checkout, paying your money and the person chatting to the worker on the next till not knowing if you are animal vegetable or mineral as you pass out the other end of the process. Smiling faces mean well being and I have a secret called the answering smile, where you look at someone and in that instant of looking you know if you are welcomed. I am welcomed at the market, I am a person, no a nonentity. Each of us needs recognition, you do not get it in the supermarket unless you meet someone you know on the way around. The Xmas decorations will go up on the stalls soon. I cannot wait for the atmosphere, but it is not yet, it is too early, although the jars of mincemeat have crept on to the shelves in there. I went to get some to take to my daughters last week, they had sold out. It has to be one of the best mincemeats you will ever taste. People have been in the marley this week searching for gravy browning which apparently has disappeared off the supermarket shelves. The bacon stall has gallons. Sage too is in short supply, everywhere, but in the market. I can buy about 95% of my needs in the market. I discovered this week that if I wanted to I could go to MacDonalds as all their packaging is paper. I can go to the fish shop, no thank you I do not want a carrier bag, just the paper. The world is not restricted when one does not produce waste, the world is cleaner, fresher and you will feel a sense of control which you will only get if you shop locally. I adore the town of Neath, it is where I grew up. I remember the wooden floor boards in Woolworths and the bacon and cheese counters in there. But the market has not changed an awful lot. That is the beauty of it, that is the tradition which must carry on in Neath as it does in other famous market towns. The only way to ensure that is to use it and use it well. Today was a traditional day, as Sunday always is, James returned to Newport and his college week, my daughter was here yesterday with my grandchildren and tomorrow off to Cardiff on the train. My bin? Pardon? A bin? Sorry, I do not own one J
