thessalian (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thessalian) wrote2006-01-25 03:14 pm
thessalian) wrote2006-01-25 03:14 pm
If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?
My work e-mail is wonked. My work e-mail has been wonked all day. It keeps throwing up error messages for no. Damn. Reason. Rrrrrrrrgh.
Not that lunch break was much better, mind you. Running around Covent Garden during lunch is not exactly advisable. Never mind the charity muggers and the Big Issue salespeople shouting in your ear (literally); my main problem is with the bloody tourists. I don't mind tourists as a general rule, but, as I think I've said before, I hate the fact that they seem to think that the fact that they're on vacation absolves them of anything remotely resembling common courtesy. They amble along at a snail's pace, taking up the entire pavement, utterly oblivious to the fact that there are people who have jobs to get to or a lunch break frittering away to nothing with each passing moment walking right behind them, desperately wishing they could speed up and / or get past you. Or worse, they stand slap bang in the middle of the pavement and unfold a huge map, then stand there and gawk at the street signs and then peer myopically at their maps again. Lather, rinse, repeat for about ten minutes.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
leopard_lady calls them "meanderthals". I call them an obnoxious pain in the arse. Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-toe...
On the other hand, I did get to Neal's Yard in the end. I felt sorry for the lady who was getting me the herbs; there were about a dozen herbs on my list and it took ages to get it all weighed out. She was very nice, though, and took pains to make me feel like I wasn't imposing or anything. I think I will probably become a fairly regular customer over there, given the good service, the good selection and the relative convenience. I mean, okay, I had to chase down a bus to get back to work even remotely on time this afternoon, but that's only because of a side trip I had to make to the bank. Without that, I'd have been fine for time. Getting to Watkins from work on time might be pushing it a bit (though not if I take the Tube, possibly), but Neal's Yard is doable.
The focus of today's shopping excursion was threefold -- remedies for insomnia, headaches and digestive upsets. Therefore, mostly teas and infusions for internal use. I also picked up a couple of mixing bottles and a bottle of base bath and shower gel, which can also be used as a bath foam. Next time I go (probably within the next couple of days), I will pick up some of the other bases they had on offer (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, ointment) and a few more mixing bottles and do some work on home cosmetics. I'll probably pick up some herbs for rheumatism and muscle spasms as well -- start work on salves and poultices -- but I want to do some further reading on that. Mastering Herbalism is all very well, but it's not as comprehensive on remedies as I'd like. I'm thinking I should pick up Culpeper's Complete Herbal and / or The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy. Foyles and Blackwell's should still be open by the time I get out of work. The question is, can I really be bothered to go all the way out there, given that there is now moderate neck and back pain?
Time will tell.
Not that lunch break was much better, mind you. Running around Covent Garden during lunch is not exactly advisable. Never mind the charity muggers and the Big Issue salespeople shouting in your ear (literally); my main problem is with the bloody tourists. I don't mind tourists as a general rule, but, as I think I've said before, I hate the fact that they seem to think that the fact that they're on vacation absolves them of anything remotely resembling common courtesy. They amble along at a snail's pace, taking up the entire pavement, utterly oblivious to the fact that there are people who have jobs to get to or a lunch break frittering away to nothing with each passing moment walking right behind them, desperately wishing they could speed up and / or get past you. Or worse, they stand slap bang in the middle of the pavement and unfold a huge map, then stand there and gawk at the street signs and then peer myopically at their maps again. Lather, rinse, repeat for about ten minutes.
leopard_lady calls them "meanderthals". I call them an obnoxious pain in the arse. Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-toe...On the other hand, I did get to Neal's Yard in the end. I felt sorry for the lady who was getting me the herbs; there were about a dozen herbs on my list and it took ages to get it all weighed out. She was very nice, though, and took pains to make me feel like I wasn't imposing or anything. I think I will probably become a fairly regular customer over there, given the good service, the good selection and the relative convenience. I mean, okay, I had to chase down a bus to get back to work even remotely on time this afternoon, but that's only because of a side trip I had to make to the bank. Without that, I'd have been fine for time. Getting to Watkins from work on time might be pushing it a bit (though not if I take the Tube, possibly), but Neal's Yard is doable.
The focus of today's shopping excursion was threefold -- remedies for insomnia, headaches and digestive upsets. Therefore, mostly teas and infusions for internal use. I also picked up a couple of mixing bottles and a bottle of base bath and shower gel, which can also be used as a bath foam. Next time I go (probably within the next couple of days), I will pick up some of the other bases they had on offer (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, ointment) and a few more mixing bottles and do some work on home cosmetics. I'll probably pick up some herbs for rheumatism and muscle spasms as well -- start work on salves and poultices -- but I want to do some further reading on that. Mastering Herbalism is all very well, but it's not as comprehensive on remedies as I'd like. I'm thinking I should pick up Culpeper's Complete Herbal and / or The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy. Foyles and Blackwell's should still be open by the time I get out of work. The question is, can I really be bothered to go all the way out there, given that there is now moderate neck and back pain?
Time will tell.