I have to be honest with you, I hate shopping! With a capital H!  Shopping for essentials that is, like for groceries, vegetables, things that got broken and need replacing, that sort of shopping. In fact I do get a bit frazzled on days like that, since I find it such a waste of time and energy to drive a long way into town, when I could spend valuable hours at my computer writing. But once I have reached my destination on the other hand, I do enjoy having a quick banter with some of the sales staff, always friendly and ready to help, in my favourite supermarket and to see the genuine smiles greeting me everywhere.

One lady in fact knows my shopping list better than I do at times and she is able to remind me to stock up on certain staples which I had forgotten. And before you comment, yes, I invariably make a shopping list before I leave home but more often than not somehow it gets lost in the depth of my bag.

But there is something which really makes me calm down – a quick hop into my own little heaven in thiscity, a very private little courtyard, which is stocked with a beautiful array of orchids and other shrubs. And, time permitting, I like to sit for a few minutes on the cool low walls and just take in the sound of the birds chirping, the perfume of some of the orchids and my ‘faithful companion’ – my NIKON  – happy to take yet some more pictures for our archive.

Driving back home now, the ever heavy traffic, the noise and pollution, suddenly seem to be bearable, I simply close my eyes and can but smile in memory.

(Text and photos: CS/Manningtree Archive)