I went into the butcher’s shop in Raglan searching for something to barbeque. The butcher added ‘bro’ onto the end of every sentence during our short exchange, and after selecting and bagging a couple of rissoles for me, proceeded to wrap them in newspaper. After a cheery ‘See you, bro.’ I left the shop with my little parcel, trying to remember the last time I have seen anything wrapped in newspaper.
I unpacked my bag of goodies at the barbeque in the foreshore park. A big family were ripping into dinner at a nearby table, and a lady came over and gave me a few tips on maximising the performance of the council barby. Apparently it was a temperamental bastard, requiring near constant manipulation of the ‘start’ button. I thanked her for her advice, ‘Sweet as’ she replied, and returned to her boisterous table. After getting my onions onto the reluctant hotplate, I unwrapped my rissoles.
Presumably someone had bought and read the newspaper that insulated my dinner (use one). I noticed that the crossword had been completed (let’s assume that someone else in the household completed it with their blobby blue pen: use two). The paper then conveyed my rissoles (use three), and I read the two sheets whilst the barbeque grudgingly cooked my dinner (use four). After finally getting to eat, I used the newspaper to clean the hotplate (use five).
Ok, so maybe talk of ‘milk in glass bottles’ and ‘goods wrapped in newspaper’ is usually accompanied by the phrase ‘during the war years…’ However a shift back to a mindset where we don’t throw things away (or even recycle them) after a single use would be a positive change. Raglan is a fine example of when ‘backwards thinking’ is a good thing.
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