The Lair of the Emerald Serpent

Since the beginning of the Virus times, there are increasingly fewer ways of spending money. All the usual joints are long gone. Books at charity shops, lunch at Malaysian noodle joints and endless mugs of coffee. About the only thing left to buy these days is groceries


On Saturday I decided to leave the Lair and go on a reconnaissance mission to a new shopping centre
I still had a Spud shed voucher for a free 4 kilos of spuds acquired from a fabulous Fringe Show - Tony Galati - the Musical. I don't even LIKE the Spud Shed but I have to admit that Mr G is a marketing and Public Relations genius.
Even thinking about the show induced a sense of nostalgia for long gone days. There were at least 400 people at that show. It now seems like centuries ago. Also a reminder that in some paradoxical way, it is the most local that is truly universal. Mr Galati was the little David who took on the Goliath of the State Government backed Potato Marketing Board and won.

Tickets for the Musical were $30 full price but as a Fringe Friend, I got a 30% discount. At the end of the show, there were 2 men handing out flyers which turned out to be vouchers for a free 4 kilo bag of spuds 'picked by Tony Galati himself'
Of course this was marketing clap trap but it was a smart move giving such freebies to folks who were already favourably disposed to the company as witnessed by their willingness to spend both time and money on a show devoted to the store and its Underdog story

There is no point in actually redeeming such a voucher since a single serpent such as me would never get through 4 kilos of potatoes without half of them going mouldy. It makes far more sense to just lurk and give the voucher to some other random spud munching customer


Petunia had been complaining for years about the limited variety of potatoes available in this bit of Oz. Part of the reason she started growing her own. Being Irish, we take our spuds extremely seriously and insist on proper yellow floury potatoes and not the white waterlogged soapy stuff that the locals think are perfectly normal thank you very much.
For that reason I will only ever buy the red or purple varieties or the exotic stuff such as sapphire or Purple Congo that are purple the whole way through and are only available in oddball organic shops.



But the bus did not stop directly outside the Spud Shed. Instead the nearest shop near the stop was a Turkish grocery store. Curious creature that I am, I went inside. Aside from the usual yoghurt, cheese and tahini, the standout feature in the store was an enormous stash of dates. Dodgy stuff from Mohammed Bone Saw land as well as the much cheaper fat and juicy Iranian offerings

Another Turkish shop around the corner had more fruit and vegetables including the increasingly elusive fresh peaches which have become harder and harder to find since the season recently ended

They too had the giant piles of dates which can mean only one thing. Ramadan must be around the corner. New Moon is tomorrow so I guess that the hunger month must officially start on Thursday at the first sighting of the crescent moon. At least in Oz, it is coming in to winter. Sunrise is around 7am and sunset just before 6pm


I finally found my way to Spudshed. The place is enormous. While all the other shops close at 5pm on Saturday, this joint is open 24/7
The place was packed which was a bit of a worry from the point of spatial distancing

I made a point of finding the price of 4 kilo bags of potatoes. They were $4. I saved my voucher for another day and bought just four purple spuds which were $2.50 per kilo
But the bargain of the day was basil and coriander sold loose for $9.99 per kilo when everyone else charges at least $20
Also the cauliflowers which are $2.50 each or $4 for 2. These are much better specimens than the stuff on sale at the mainstream supermarkets at $7 each
I got some fresh ginger to make tea and some purple garlic for planting around the Lair. They only had Mexican imports which are apparently treated with methyl bromide to kill pests and prevent them growing but there were plenty of sprouting specimens to choose from. I picked those because planting is precisely what I have in mind for them

It is a huge place. There is no shortage of pasta and tomato sauce unlike the mainstream supermarkets and the fruit and veg is much cheaper mainly due to the fact that they grow so much of it themselves. I guess that explains why there were so many people there with young kids

It was an interesting adventure. Now that it is only 15 minutes away by bus on a straight run, I will definitely keep it in mind, but most likely only when I have a craving for potatoes, garlic, basil and cheap butter

I also need to suss out the off peak times because there were just too many people there for my liking.

Izzie’s got the munchies. The other week one of the local supermarkets had cauliflowers on sale for $1.70 when they usually sell for somewhere between $3 and $4. So this was just the excuse to indulge in something a bit healthier than cheese, bread or potatoes

They also had broccoli for $1 a head so added one of those to the basket too. Did get to thinking that anyone who has ever grown these critters knows how long it takes and how hard it is to get a half decent sized head. If the supermarket can sell them for $1.70 one can only imagine how little the grower is getting. But of course there is the age old problem of been torn between paying a fair price to the producer while having a limited stash of cash for food.

( serpent snacks )

Two days free of goblin enslavement and how different as chalk and cheese.
Thursday morning started on a seemingly bad note. Ever since applying for extra income protection cover through the superannuation fund insurance they have been pestering the Izzie with all sorts of nosy snooping questionses. The latest indignity would be a visit from one of their vampires at 10am.


Turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The long overdue Putz Blitz could no longer be put off indefinitely. Was too lazy to mop the floor and tidy the kitchen on Wednesday night but was amazed at how much it was possible to get done in less than 90 minutes on Thursday morning. In the end she did not come into the house but was happy to grab her serpent snack in the garden where Izzie was sitting when she arrived

But it proves yet again never to underestimate the power of an externally imposed deadline.
The next item on the schedule was to visit the newly opened grocery store just up the road. But that could wait a little longer. A certain Betty Windsor was on a quick visit just a bit further up the road and it would be interesting to watch the drama.

There was cops everywhere and folks on the street who all looked like they were returning to work or going home or whatever. So Izzie obviously just missed the motorcade and the green lightseses. But that was coming. She still had to return from her morning of munching on sultana scones and kangaroo stew

Was getting ever so nostalgic passing the very large chemistry centre with the enormous BHP logo on the top. Been wanting to sniff out that place for years and managed to get two visits in the space of a week back in August. It was absolutely fabulous even if it did not happen to be the bright shiny new state forensics lab amongst other things
Got to thinking not for the first time that the Izzie lives in an excellent location so near many interesting things and a lot of them within walking distance

There were a few stragglers at the entrance of the school grounds where Lizzie was lurking. A few news crew and camera people were still around hoping to get some happy snaps after the ceremonies
One of them said she would be leaving around 11.30. But it did not take that long. Suddenly a bunch of cops on bikes appeared out of nowhere like a bunch of worker bees leaving their hive on a serious mission. That was an unmistakeable sign that there would soon be a bit of action
Being opposite the entrance to the school proved to be the perfect snooping spot. It’s hard to speed when turning a corner. She was in the second car in the motorcade. A most undignified nasty black suburban assault vehicle. It was a royal Range Rover with only a red crown on the number plates. Guessing that she to be seen to support the British automobile industry even if it means being seen in clunky black crap rather than a more dignified and elegant black Mercedes Benz

Got a pretty good lingering glimpse of Her Royal Greenness. A pleasant change from that hideous glow in the dark pink she was wearing the day before which the usual groupies all adored - of course.
But it was the manouevres of the men in black and the countless cops that was really most fascinating. There's never been so many big wigs in downtown Dursleyville all at one time.

The day before they arrived at the airport in the middle of rush hour. It certainly would have been a spectacle to see the green light motorcade to the city. Amazing what the powers can be can turn on when the occasion demands it.

Pottered off back to the newly opened supermarket. Really it was most inconsiderate of the Queen not to drop in and cut the ribbon. After all it was on her way back to the city and any opposition to the evil Coles and Woolworths needs all the endorsement it can get.

( more meanderings and musings )