….Got some time out on my own today. Yesterday, me & B went to Dumfries for shopping and stuff. Along the way, we popped into M&S and bought a pair of smart trousers for B for next month’s Big Wedding. Once we were home, B discovered he’d somehow got the wrong size. Since the return bus fare to Dumfries is cheaper (way cheaper at the moment) than driving there (and the bus picks up and drops right outside our house), I went on the bus this morning to exchange the pants, alone so that B could get on with some work of his own.
I like going shopping on my own. B hates shopping and always rushes me along. But I like strolling and browsing. This morning, I went looking in every charity shop along Friars Vennel, all five of them. Mainly, I was looking for something that I might be able to wear myself to the Big Wedding – my trusty old LBD that I keep for weddings, funerals and “smart casual please” is getting somewhat ancient. However, I refuse to spend a huge amount on something that I’ll wear perhaps once a year, and I always prefer to reuse and recycle anyway, which is why I went to the charity shops (though I must confess to lingering quite a while in the womenswear section of M&S…). I didn’t find a dress, but I seeing all the hats made me realise that I really need a hat as well – after all, I am the Bride’s Mother. I didn’t buy a hat either (though I will at some point), but I did find a good stout pair of walking shoes – I really have to get back into walking regularly these days; I’ll never be able to manage any five-mile hikes any more, but I really should be able to walk into the village and back without having to stop for a breather.
On the bus to Dumfries, me and the other oldies had been accompanied by a group of giggly young teenage girls; they were on the return journey as well. Having evidently spent the morning enjoyably mall-ratting, they were even more loud and giggly, screeching and singing at the back of the bus. They weren’t at all annoying – but they did prompt me to somewhat gloomy thoughts about my own distant youth. I felt like turning round and telling them to enjoy it while it lasted.
But instead, I gazed out over the fields, where the spring lambs were tumbling and running…..