Went into the card shop to look for a birthday card, felt a bit lazy about making one myself which is what I usually do. I pick up the plainest looking card I can find (since any additional frills are usually expensive). It is a picture of a bear with a tiny fabric flower attached, saying “Happy Birthday”. Price is €6.20. Yes, €6.20. For a piece of folded, flimsy cardboard. That could buy you three magnum ice creams. A flash of anger went over my face, and then I neatly put the card back and walked out. The ice cream cones that you can buy at the little stall on the bottom floor are sort of sickening, I think I want one but then usually feel ill afterwards. The best place to get ice cream cones is in little country shops where they pile so much on that it slopes to one side. Does anyone actually go in to that little weight loss kiosk that is nestled in the middle of the ground floor? In Dunne’s Stores you can buy mussels packaged in a vacuum seal. They look disgusting, congealed and exuding briny water. I have tasted them before and nearly retched. I don’t see the appeal, I think they look like preserved tongues.

Why does nothing in Benetton have price stickers attached? Not that I can afford it anyway. I just go in and look at the colourful clothes. I did see a very nice bag that would come in handy for someone like me who usually carries about a kilogram of rubbish around, including but not limited to food, water, laptop, mp3 player, phone, notepad, and associated miscellany. This is probably the cause of the red mark on my right shoulder. The bag was nice, soft and big. When I look at a bag I think about capacity rather than get excited about the design or label. I saw one girl wearing rubber wellies, the ones that became fashionable for music festivals, with flowers and motifs. They don’t work outside of that environment. Ugg count was quite high today, they seem to be mutating at a fast rate, some have big poofy bits attached, and others a variety of textures and colours.