Lockdown from Bridport - Part 3 - Day 15

 

'The Undertaker' manages to lose his phone under the seat of the ambulance last night. He arrives home thoroughly fed up and in need of a nice hot slap up meal. I nod in sympathy as he recounts his plight. He decides to use my phone which emits the sound of a chicken clucking rather than a normal ring tone or a hideous rendition of The Four Seasons. For reasons I can neither explain or wish to go into the clucking chicken suits my needs admirably. Fortunately he wasn't called out.

He thunders down the stairs this morning in a buoyant manner. 'Fantastic news' he says and looks at me, face wreathed in smiles. My spirits soared immediately, I felt my heart miss a beat. We had won the lottery? we had come unexpectantly into vast sums of money? Perhaps we need never work again, the rest of our lives stretching before us as we indulge in an obscene display of materialistic wealth, just like so many others on Instagram. 'There's one long tailed tit and five sparrows on the bird table' he says happily. It's a long time since I've come back down to earth so quickly. I know there is nothing more he would like than a fry up but instead I say we're having porage. There's a limit to my generous nature.

I go to the shop where I bag up all the winter clothes I shan't be selling. I can't really see the shop opening before the end of March. The purple swirly window is dismantled and in its place the brightest possible yellow clothes are displayed. A jug of tulips draws the eye further to the window. Because I am a new business I am not entitled to any financial aid from the government, nor am I the recipient of any furlough aid as I am self employed. I guess if you choose to go it alone just as the worst pandemic in living memory hits the planet you must learn to ride out the storm. Going to my shop and interacting with people on my South Street Sally  Facebook page gives me a purpose and a goal to keep going. Do please pop over and say 'Hi' if you are passionate about Preloved clothing and recycling. 

Storm Christoph is currently battering Bridport, the wind picking up speed and strength as the afternoon draws to a close. After placing the jug of  tulips in the window I scurry home. A student phones who is writing a thesis on fast fashion and the implications on the environment of people who simply throw their clothes away. I let it slip that I have a weakness for coats, 15 at the last count I admit. We laugh and come to the conclusion that however large a part the internet plays in peoples spending habits there's nothing like visiting a shop and seeing the goods in person. It's the interaction and the whole experience of shopping that people are missing at the present time.

I think it will be awhile before we go on a holiday, perhaps even longer before we pack up our bags and put the worries and cares of the world behind us. Until that day make everyday count if you can. 

There's a loud clucking sound coming from the sitting room. 'The Undertaker' rolls his eyes. 'No wonder the birds are being frightened off' he says.