Wiggly Wigglers goat socks
I have just got back from three weeks in Switzerland; the first thing that happened there was that our big suitcase was stolen from the train between Geneva and Fribourg. Obviously a real pain, but it did at least give me an opportunity to think about which items absolutely had to be replaced immediately and which I could do without. This was particularly important with clothes. I just had the clothes I was wearing so it was quite fun to see what was the minimum I could manage on for three weeks. You may be shocked that I managed to keep going with the same trousers for the whole time, but I felt quite pleased with myself. I also managed without pyjamas by sleeping in a T-shirt and leggings. (I did have to buy 4 T-shirts, however – organic cotton (lower carbon) is easy to find in Switzerland and the Swiss Coop sells T-shirts that claim to be carbon-neutral, but this seems to be because of off-setting, so not really carbon-neutral.
Lack of charity shops
We couldn’t find any charity shops in Fribourg – we were told there was a flea-market once a month. We are so lucky to have so many in England, but in the circumstances this actually made things easier, as we just went out and bought what we needed new – my most expensive purchases were
• a pair of trainers (which I have to have for my bad knees – the high-gel in the soles helps me, which means I have to get the big brand ones (Asics Nimbus for trainer connoisseurs)
- super new rain jacket
• a rain jacket (the one I lost was one I bought 11 years ago and was losing its rainprooofness, so I was quite pleased to get a new one)
Three cheers for Wiggly Wigglers goat socks
I also had to buy several pairs of cotton knickers. Otherwise I managed on the socks and bras our daughter got us from our house and sent on to us, although I have now had to treat myself to some more pairs of the famous Wiggly Wigglers Welsh goat socks, which are absolutely the most comfortable and long-lasting socks ever and don’t give you a bad conscience. Some of the ones I lost I’d only had a few months.
And that was it – I didn’t need to replace my one posh outfit (brought because we got invited out to dinner after a couple of Dave’s public lectures) although it was really annoying to lose it. (I’ll have to wait until I have another posh occasion to see if I need to replace it or can just manage without.) And I didn’t replace my extra sweaters, as I was (amazingly luckily) wearing two sweaters, a jacket and what Dave calls my Tea-cosy (a thick lined woollen jacket) on the journey.
The lap-top, of course, is another story – I’ve now got Dave’s and he’s got a new one. I never realised how totally dependent I am on it until I lost it…