The other half

I'm kind of grateful the joints in my upper half have been so painful the last couple of days because it spurred me on to go out today and wear out the ones below the waist! Rachel had kindly lent me a book which I realised after getting it home I'd already bought in a charity shop a while back. It had been languishing unread and forgotten on my bookshelf for many a moon and will be the next new book I start now I realise how keen it is to be read...but as I had to go for some blood tests returning her copy was something to do afterwards. A ride on the top deck of the bus along the pretty coast road to where she lives is always a delight, as is having a natter with her, and I managed to fit in a few other pleasures such as spotting clusters of giant pine cones and tiny yellow primroses, meeting three separate people I used to know and someone I'd heard a lot about but hadn't - Rachel's husband, enjoying the hazy afternoon light above Oddicombe, managing to stay awake on the bus home and grabbing a bag of bargains at the Co-op afterwards

My shopping bag was rather weighty and after I'd heaved it onto my shoulder I was all ready to stagger to a cab...and then I saw something I've been trawling the internet for information on for ages. No, not a must-have grocery item, but a place to put them...a donation point for the local food bank. The local charities that organise these could really do with the donation of some web page construction/maintenance it seems and I'd been thinking of doing a recce by phone or bus to check out the nearby stores...and suddenly there was just what I'd been looking for right in front of me. The idea is that if everyone just added an item or two to their shopping it would help keep the places stocked up, but I don't do supermarket shopping that often and had been wanting to donate for so long I went back round the store and filled two carriers with tins, packets and toiletries. As you might have surmised it is something I feel very strongly about! I hear some people don't believe poverty and hunger actually exist in this day and age in this country, and maybe some others think it must all be the sufferers' own or someone else's fault and easily preventable by a bit forward planning etc. I hope no reader of this thinks like this, but even more so I hope none of you have personally found out how easy it is to fall on hard times, fall between all the stools that might support you and fall out of favour with friends and family who might have helped. I have known what it's like to wonder where the next meal is coming from and it's something you never forget...but because I know that the meal has to take priority if you are skint, I included some tampons and toothpaste and soap in my donation too!