All that glitters

Waitrose has turned its cafeteria into a shrine to the Golden Bunny. I passed through on my way to the loos. To get to the loo you have to go down a steep staircase (hard luck on people with disabilities), yet there is a sign requesting that people do not attempt to take their shopping trolley into the toilets. Now, would that be the empty trolley or the full one? My mind's eye conjures up an avalanche of steel wheels and Brussels sprouts; blood in the bathrooms, carnage in the corridors.

Friend A and I went for a long walk today, along the canal from Stroud to Stonehouse. The weather started out dreich and drizzly, but brightened somewhat, and as a plus there weren't many other walkers about. By St Cyr's church two people got out paddle boards from a store , climbed on board, and disappeared upstream. Stonehouse Court hotel was getting its grounds ready for the grand reopening of the terrace in April, subject to CoVid regulations.

We wandered up past the old farm site and mews house to the main Bristol road, crossed over and found a footpath to Stonehouse town centre. Found a pastie shop that might have sold takeaway teas, but decided to try another one. Bad move. There wasn't one. One shop had a coffee machine, but A muttered something about soya milk and sounded defeated. I needed to go to the Co-op, so I said I'd meet her at the bus stop, but ended up missing the bus because the cashier and her customer were talking for so long about their carpal tunnel surgery! I thought I'd got stuck in a soap opera from a distant decade.

Caught the next bus back to Stroud (A had gone already) and realised I hadn't been on a bus since, ooh, November last year. It hadn't changed much. Empty for the most part.

In Stroud, I went to the small co-op, then over to the other side of town to Waitrose, where I found the yoghurt I was looking for, at last. Collapsed on to the sofa when I got home. Completely done in. Carrying leeks and bananas uphill in my rucksack from Stonehouse had almost finished me. CleanSteve announced, by and by, that he was going to Aldi. I decided to go with him. Got a few more things I need for my new food regime. Otherwise it was an uneventful trip, by car this time.

For supper I made walnut pesto from scratch. Delicious with pasta. I don't know why I ever bother to buy the stuff in jars. Spent the evening trying to sort out customer orders for cards. More Get Wells to send, two more acquaintances in hospital, fortunately not with CoVid. Yesterday in Gloucestershire there were No CoVid patients in Critical Care. None at all, for the the first time in four months.