Tell Me Something............Anything!

[Barry]

I'm not really into portraits of people, so I'll stick with Louis Wain

Marco.

Which of his works do you prefer Marco: Wain's realist cat portraits, or his anthropomorphic "Beatrix Potter" cat drawings and paintings?

[Marco]

I like both, but the latter is what I like most.

Marco.

[Macca]

I certainly like his 'informal' portraits of women going about their domestic duties, rather than commissioned portraits of sitters.

I don't know. This one is mint and was probably commissioned although no-one knows:

[Barry]

Most authorities say the portrait was not a commission, rather it was a study by Vermeer. It certainly doesn't follow the usual rules of the time for formal commissioned portraits: the direct gaze and slightly parted lips being an example.

It is one of my favourite Vermeer portraits.

[Barry]

Today we spent a full four hours shopping for food.

Why? - well my partner is a very good judge of meat and vegetables, and not only that she has a good memory of the shops and supermarkets that sell products that meet her approval, as well those that charge the least.

She also sends certain dry goods to Africa as they are both more expensive and of inferior quality there, than here. So we visited five separate supermarkets as well as three small shops. Spent a small fortune, but we have enough for ourselves for a month, as well as a lot to send to Africa.

Can easily think of better ways of spending a Saturday: such as listening to music, but at least SHMBO is happy.

[Pigmy Pony]

Today we spent a full four hours shopping for food.

Why? - well my partner is a very good judge of meat and vegetables, and not only that she has a good memory of the shops and supermarkets that sell products that meet her approval, as well those that charge the least.

She also sends certain dry goods to Africa as they are both more expensive and of inferior quality there, than here. So we visited five separate supermarkets as well as three small shops. Spent a small fortune, but we have enough for ourselves for a month, as well as a lot to send to Africa.

Can easily think of better ways of spending a Saturday: such as listening to music, but at least SHMBO is happy.

Well that will have earned you some brownie points and really, giving up half of your weekend isn't such a big deal when you're retired. This is what I tell myself whenever I'm called upon to do stuff I don't wanna do.

Surely postage to Africa must be a killer though?

[Marco]

Sounds like my (and Del's) idea of hell, Barry, as we're the 'run in and get shopping done, ASAP' types, so the idea of trudging around 5 supermarkets, with all the faff that entails, is a total anathema.

However, if Happy's happy then that's cool, and regardless, it's good doing things together and spending time with each other as a couple, as it builds relationships.

Do you have a butcher's near you, or do you rely on supermarkets for meat? We always use our local butcher, both for quality and price, as it's surprising how much you can save without all the packaging

Marco.

[Barry]

Well that will have earned you some brownie points and really, giving up half of your weekend isn't such a big deal when you're retired. This is what I tell myself whenever I'm called upon to do stuff I don't wanna do.

Surely postage to Africa must be a killer though?

It is not just dry goods she sends, there is other stuff such as clothes, shoes (especially trainers), electrical goods: irons, hair dryers, curling tongs etc. that is also sent, even children's dolls. Essentially anything that is either unobtainable, costs less here than there, and is of much better quality than what is available locally.

You would be surprised the amount of rubbish the Chinese send to Africa: we get the best stuff, but they don't.

As regards postage, all the stuff to be sent is carefully packed, either in shrink-wrapped bundles for the clothes, in stout cardboard boxes for the dry goods, or in strong suitcases for the more vulnerable items. We know someone in the shipping business, so it is all collected and packed in a shipping container. So shipping costs are by volume not weight, and we always get a good rate.
It takes about four months to sail to Cameroon, and on arrival it is unloaded to be restored in another container near our home there for subsequent sale.
Happy has been doing this for years, it's her business. I don't have any part of it, apart from doing some driving.

[Barry]

Sounds like my (and Del's) idea of hell, Barry, as we're the 'run in and get shopping done, ASAP' types, so the idea of trudging around 5 supermarkets, with all the faff that entails, is a total anathema.

However, if Happy's happy then that's cool, and regardless, it's good doing things together and spending time with each other as a couple, as it builds relationships.

Do you have a butcher's near you, or do you rely on supermarkets for meat? We always use our local butcher, both for quality and price, as it's surprising how much you can save without all the packaging

Marco.

Yes we have a local butcher but we don't use it regularly. Happy is very choosey about the meat she buys. If for example we need minced beef, I would buy the ready minced beef they have for sale, but not her. She will pick out a portion of beef, tell them the weight she wants, and have them mince it up for her. The extra effort probably annoys them, but they never show it.

The only other time I shop there is to buy venison or wild boar sausages, which I like.

[Marco]

Del's pretty much the same in that respect, and at the butcher nothing is pre-packaged, so it's always the case of getting the butcher to weigh out how much meat you want in advance of buying it.

Being discerning is always a good trait

So how often does Happy cook? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the pics you post are of meals you've made. We could do with a pic of something Happy's created from scratch [like a nice African curry], with the meat and/or veg she's bought

Marco.