Odds And Ends

Sonata:
A colleague is going to China this summer on a three week package tour with her husband . Peking , The Great Wall , the Clay Army , the works . When she was talking about it with a neighbour , the neighbour asked "And does that include a week on the beach ? ".

A new baker opened near my house , this week . Lovely bread , I must say , and the young assistant , probably recognising greed and repeat sales when she saw me , pressed an envelope into my hand . "It's our bonus scheme . Save your till receipts in here and when you've got €50's worth , you get a discount . " I must remember to do that .... the discount is a whole Euro .

Standing by the fish section in the supermarket , another woman and I were wondering about the prawns . "What makes these organic? Surely they come from the same sea ? ".
"Ah , but the organic ones are on offer this week . They're the cheapest . " Ah ......

And discovering John Burnside's poems .