Plastic? Oh No...Banned!
New ´óÏó´«Ã½ rules on mean I have to begin this particular blog entry with the most boring incident from my day. It involves a trip to the and a stop-off at a late-night grocery store in Avoch. You see, I've been making the most of these lovely summer evenings by taking the Zedettes on post-homework drives to places of historic interest. They'll thank me for it when they're older. Well, once they're through therapy they will.
As you might imagine, these vaguely educational trips come with the added incentive of in-car snacking. That's why we called in at a shop in Avoch. We had to replenish our stock of crisps, milk-shakes and extra strong mints. Necessities, we call them. We stripped the shelves and bundled our booty on the counter. I handed over the cash, collected my change and then stared at the man on the till. He blinked first.
"Do you want a carrier bag?"
"Yes please."
"Hmmm...they're phasing these out, you know."
"Really? Well then I'll just have to give up shopping."
"Hmmm. No, we'll just have to go back to the old ways."
The old ways? What can he be talking about? The old ways before plastic carrier bags or the old ways before late night mini-supermarkets? Are we going to bring back bartering? I mean, for goodness sake, why do I have to put up with these episodes of self-righteousness every time I pop out to the shops without a wicker basket strung on my back? I mean, they lecture you about plastic bags but they still sell shrink-wrapped apples!
Sorry, got carried away there. Let me get back on track and tell you that tonight's destination was actually the just outside Munlochy. It really is one of the creepiest places we've been. The idea, as most of you know, is that you can cure a sick friend or relative by dipping a piece of their clothing into the well and then hanging it from a nearby tree. As a result, the surrounding trees are festooned with rags and desperate messages of prayer and hope. Many have been there for years.
The origins of the Clootie Well are explained in a helpful notice erected by the Forestry Commission who manage the site. Yet even here, the work of the plastic police is evident. The notice explains that only environmentally friendly materials should be hung from the branches because - and I kid you not - "the Celtic spirits might not know what to do with nylon, polyester and plastic."
I wonder if ghosts go shopping.
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