An Afternoon Out

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Yes, I had an afternoon out recently. To be fair, it was more like 20 minutes but in the present circumstances every excursion is exciting and can form the highlight of the day. It certainly beats waiting to watch your dustbins being emptied.

On this occasion, it was a trip to our pop-up Post Office. Every Friday afternoon the Postmaster arrives in the village and sets up his computer terminal in the community hall enabling all manner of transactions to take place. I had a cheque to pay in and rather than a 10 mile journey to town to the nearest ATM, thought I would make use of this rural service. I was inevitably concerned at the prospect of meeting a queue of people jostling for position but based on a population of less than 500  the chances of meeting more than 2 people in the hall are always pretty slim. There was no need to worry anyway as I was the only customer. There was a reason for this when it transpired that the computer was having an "off day," although I was assured that it was not as a result of any virus that might be doing the rounds virtually.

I had to comfort myself with a visit to our village shop, staffed and run by volunteers, instead. As ever there was an opportunity for a lovely socially distanced conversation and what a treat, it even had a supply of plain flour; well I hadn't seen that since lockdown began and with rhubarb crumble season now in full swing it felt like winning the jackpot.

Time and time again it is the smaller shops that are proving themselves to be the most reliable in this crisis. Hopefully, we shall remember this once everything returns to normal and continue to patronise them with our custom.

Back at home there was another pleasant surprise. I discovered that the County Library Service not only has provision for borrowing e-books online but also access to newspapers and magazines.  Believe me, I thought I'd travelled to Paradise!

So not only was it a big win and a blissful journey, but I also get to undertake essential travel tomorrow when I must now make the drive to town to bank that cheque. Let's hope I haven't forgotten how to drive; it's been a long time!



Comments

Jennyff said…
I'd forgotten about the library providing e reading, thanks for that. I too hope we learn from this lock down and look after our local suppliers much more, butchers and bakers et al.
20 April 2020 at 11:19
Caree Risover said…
We have been fortunate in finding local organic farmers who not only continue to provide wonderful produce but also deliver to the village. Our shopping pattern has definitely altered for the better and we are planning to keep it that way.
20 April 2020 at 17:36
Stephanie Jane said…
Proper flour!!
We can only get the cheapy white flour at the moment which, admittedly, is ok, but I'm so looking forward to a nice homebaked wholemeal loaf again!
This week's triumph was a Chocolate & Beetroot Cake. I'd not baked with beetroot before so was a little wary, but it was delicious
23 April 2020 at 20:43
Caree Risover said…
We hit lucky with wholemeal and strong white bread flour at the speciality and local produce shop on the high street of our nearest town. We had to be a little more patient to buy yeast and, despite scouring our regular supermarkets, hadn’t seen plain flour since early March. Curiously I have just been looking at various beetroot recipes after our organic sack arrived today with some splendid ones inside but I have to admit chocolate and beetroot cake does sound rather good.
23 April 2020 at 21:33
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