An outing

The weather continued good, so I did cycle down to Epsom, as advertised in the previous post, to have my INR checked - and to see the sites.

Some people about, a few of them wearing masks of various shapes and sizes.

Surgery gearing up for social distancing. Masks and visors on all the staff. Much talk of masks generally - it seems that they are rather hot when worn continuously - which is the idea - and one way systems for the customers. Which last is all a bit difficult in small premises with narrow stairs, not laid out with this in mind. The good news is that I passed the INR check.

Walked straight into Waitrose. No kippers and no flour, but I did get a spot of Spanish red for a change, on which I shall report in due course. Plus the free Guardian which comes with a purchase of that size. But what is it about the flour millers that they can't put out more retail-sized bags of flour - after getting on for two months of panic buying? Do we not carry strategic stockpiles of wheat any more? Are the grain ships from Canada getting diverted to China?

Grape Tree open, so I was able to stock up on block dates. Much cheaper than mail order.

Some of the expensive new trees outside Wetherspoon's were looking a bit sickly, particularly the two on the far left in the snap above. Maybe the council will get a refund from the Civic Trees people. See references 1 and 2. To think that the trees were planted last October and they still haven't finished fiddling about: we can only hope that the same people are not responsible for medical supplies.

The water tanker of East Street had reappeared, albeit only a small one. There were also some signs of building action. At least three months now. See reference 3.

Manor Green Road butchers open, with three butchers busily processing orders large and small. One white pudding to go and one rib of beef to collect in a few days.

Manor Green Road itself closed at one point, possibly for Kelly Communications, but not so closed that a bicycle couldn't get through.

Altogether, a successful outing. Made a nice change to see a few places and to see a few people. Even to exchange the odd word.

PS: didn't notice any trolleys - and gave no thought to whether I would have captured one if I had. Probably not. In any event, the last trolley remains No.417 from mid-March. See reference 4.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/10/trolley-319.html.

Reference 2: https://www.civictrees.co.uk/.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/01/waterworks.html.

Reference 4: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/03/trolley-417.html.