Lockdown opened one mum’s eyes to the unexpected rewards of buying from the butcher, the grocer and the hardware store ownerI now have the same milkman I had when I was 10 years old. He was the very milkman who made possible my final cup of tea the day I left home. Sure, there was a 17-year gap in our relationship – while I sought my not-much-of-a-fortune in London. But now I’m back. And writing him notes, washing his bottles and occasionally catching his early morning cart has been one of the strangest pleasures of coming home. It’s not just nostalgia; having a milkman has made me feel part of a community I didn’t even realise I’d missed.In many ways, it might seem callous to talk about the silver linings of living through a pandemic. I have been lucky. Many others have not. And yet, it is human nature to look for respite and hope where we can. So I can say that since my family went into lockdown in March, six months after we moved here, it has been a pleasure to shop locally. I can’t drive and am avoiding public transport, so all my shopping now takes place within a few miles of my house. More than transactional, it has been my lifeline to the outside world, my only physical interaction with other people and a way to support those small businesses that we all say we want to survive. Continue reading...
https://www.theguardian.com/hit-refresh/2020/jun/29/i-have-the-same-milkman-i-had-when-i-was-10-years-old-how-the-pandemic-taught-me-to-shop-like-my-grandparents