Helena Handbasket

By Tivoli

Buy & Large

The small botanic life form from WALL-E continues to thrive and I have been wanting to find a larger pot for it, but without non-essential shops that has been impossible, until today.

Only one of Chatham's charity shops was open today, and it did have in its possession a very nice 2nd hand small pot on sale for a pound. I took the pot and my pound to the gloved and masked cashier sitting behind his sneeze-screen hoping to exchange one for the other.
He told me that they were not accepting cash, only contactless card payments
“is that a problem?” he asked,
“Well actually yes it is, I am awaiting delivery of a replacement card following an attempted fraudulent purchase on my old one”
“Sorry, there's nothing I can do” he told me. So I left him to return the pot to its shelf himself.
I ask you! is a second-hand coin any more contagious than any other second-hand good for sale in a charity shop?

So out of frustration and a warped sense of retribution I joined the very long queue for TK Maxx where I found an artificial plant in a gorgeous pot and some bargain new clothes. I bought three tops, two of which were dramatically reduced because they were in unpopular sizes, one size 10 and one size 20. The size 14 was a couple of quid more. I then went to the 2nd hand DVD shop and got myself a couple of films (including the one starring Street Cat Bob). The entire haul came to under £35

I brought my booty home. None of the tops require any alteration because I am blessed with shoulders the same width as a standard clothes hanger, and I used my Winnie-the-Pooh electric drill to add a drainage hole to the base of the pot.
I'm not sure what to do with the now pot-less artificial plant.
I then wrote a note to the occupant of the only flat in the block who has an outdoor space.

He has always kept himself very much to himself, but during lockdown he has been working from home and has transformed his tiny garden into something really rather zen, including pots and real plants in compost. I have asked him in the note if he will let me buy a litre of compost from him because I really cannot cope with a locally available 50L bag.

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