Remember Neighbours? The Aussie soap?
If you were a child of the 80's you might have followed when Kylie Minogue was Charlene Ramsay and Jason Donavon was Scott Robinson, and their neighbours were Des and Daphne. Daphne owned a coffee shop they all hung out in called - Daphne's.
Daphne, like all good characters in soap operas, died a tragic death after laying in a coma several days. Des was heartbroken. This former stripper turned suburbanite meant everything to him.
Now, I was not meaning to go plant shopping today. But I knew I had to get out and do something after several days of being cooped up indoors with wind and rain. And I was looking for Daphne. Daphne, according to NZ Gardener, was a flowering shrub that no garden could be without. The virtues of this plant were even more exalted than lilac, which, unfortunately does not grow well in Auckland climes. I had no idea. I had never smelled the scent of Daphne before. I didn't even know it was a plant, just a tragic soap character with a heart of gold.
So, I was wandering around the mall, as I do when after a weeks bed rest and nowhere to walk around in the cold and wet, I thought would be safe....I had this feeling I ought to go to the Warehouse. I had been to Whitcoulls and the only had a handful of gardening books. Wrong season?
I noticed that, more than half of their store had been given over to toys and stationery but the pickings were slim. I was thinking what a sorry state for booksellers in this country when you can't even find a decent read in the only bookstore in town. Even the Warehouse it seems has more books than Whitcoulls.
The selection at Warehouse was pretty dire too, but at least they had a few. Yates Garden Problem solver. 100 New Zealand Plants to plant in your garden. Salads. Tui Garden Book.
I wandered down the aisles. DVDs. Toys. Onesies. I really don't know what the deal is with onesies right now. They are horrid, and honestly why would anyone go to bed as Pink Panther? That just totally defeats the purpose of sleep. I kept walking, past the panel heaters, and rows of sistema plastic ware. My feet took me to see the bulbs. I bought them all last month, thank you, with my birthday money. I walked past and out to the plants area.
I guess you can tell what happened next. Let me tell you. I saved $3.
