I have to stop and rearrange my shopping in the panniers before I set off for home. There is always the possibility that unbalanced panniers might tip me over sideways as I go round a corner! And then there is the question of the bread I have bought. I usually buy enough loaves to be able to put some in the freezer and thus have fresh bread during the rest of the week and not just on Wednesdays. The first time I carried the bread in the panniers we ended up with flat bread. Okay, I exaggerate a a little but it had certainly lost some of it’s rounded form.
Stopping in the park to rearrange the shopping I snapped some pictures of the river, looking picturesque.
And the horse chestnut tree appears to have conkers already. I ask again, is autumn coming early this year? I have already spotted blackberries ripening when I am sure they should still be green until the end of August. I usually pick them in the first half of September.
Strange times!
Mask wearing is still not 100% in the shops and market at Uppermill. Interesting phenomena can be observed. Macho blokes stop and tie scarves around their faces, something which on a sunny morning like today must be much more uncomfortable than a mask. And since the advice is to wash your mask after a shopping trip, does the same apply to scarves tied round the face? Some ladies appear to be coordinating their masks with their outfits. Very nice, if a little over the top. A stall has popped up on the market selling fans, the handheld variety, presumably in the hope that we will have a heatwave, and masks in a range of patterned fabrics. Having a fabric mask to match each outfit might perhaps deter people from using one-time disposable masks and throwing them away at the side of the road or bridle path after use!
On the subject of coordination, how about this from a house just up the road from ours. Not everyone can match their garden to their front door!
We seem to have a food “tsar”, appointed by the government to lead a landmark review of Britain’s food system to determine a national strategy. He’s Henry Dimbleby - yes, he appears to be one of those famous Dimblebys. They must have a finger in every pie. He was co-founder of the restaurant chain Leon and his other was a cookery writer, which I suppose makes him as qualified as any other restaurateur to advise us on what to eat. I do wonder, however, how being Eton-educated and reading Physics and Philosophy at Oxford equips you for such a role. Might it not be better to go to someone who has studied or taught cookery and catering and nutrition? Just a thought.
In an interview he said:
“Basically, we have been putting on weight since the 50s so our will power hasn’t had a sudden collapse, we’ve just gradually put on weight consistently since the 50s, and I think it’s (my note: there seems to be a word missing here - necessary? hard?) for us to lose weight but the government can make it much easier. We have a tendency to want to eat foods that are high in fat and sugar and those foods are everywhere and marketed at us.”
Quite so. Thinking back to growing up in the fifties, I can remember the normality of having breakfast, elevenses, lunch, an afternoon snack, tea (or dinner depending on where and how you lived) and maybe some supper before going to bed. What we didn’t do, however, was eat constantly on the bus, walking down the street, sitting at our desks and so on.
Asked if he has diet advice for Boris Johnson, Henry Dimbleby replied:
“I met him when I was doing the school food plan a while ago [it was published in 2013] and he told me then he was on ‘project whippet’, which was his attempt to lose weight at that point. I’m not sure what he’s calling this attempt but I wouldn’t want to give the PM particular advice on his diet. I’m sure he’s got people far more qualified than me to do that.”
There you go.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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