Coining it in...

Being worked into the ground at the museum today, two visitors, two plumbers and one donation, I have not had time to really appreciate what is happening in the real world.  However a quick look at the news and I realise I was in the real world after all, what was offered on TV and press was not.  
Elections here, elections in France, Elections in Scotland and forests of newsprint offering lies all on behalf of the Tory Party.  I switched off and spent a few minutes watching Tory voters on 'Top Gear' drive silly cars across foreign lands and being stopped on occasion by very unhappy police officers in Reno, wherever that is.  I used to like this programmes, one the BBC cannot make these days as its strength came from the banter between three blokes.  Today all BBC programmes must have the token girlie, and all too often they are just that, 'girlies.'  I will not ask how they got on any of the programmes.  Of course I have no love of rich guys in flash cars racing one another wherever they are, this is all somewhat boring to me, even if they do occasionally have more informative pieces and it is at times funny.  Moved on now of course but in reality it had gone as far as it could.  I expect it will be shown on the 'Dave' channel for years to come yet.

Coming home via Tesco I was to busy lugging my heavy shopping bag (£22:58) to look for pictures in the sunshine.  Had the wind chill not been Arctic I may have gone out for some later, but really I just canny be bothered!   One thing those longing for 'the good old days' forget is they drive to supermarkets, buy almost all they require in one go, drive home and fill the fridge and cupboards all in one go.  Trailing from one shop to another lugging a big bag, possibly two or three, is beyond their imagining these days.  Struggling up the road I could imagine that scenario easily.   I wouldn't complain but I only went in for milk.

The first two people through the door had come from a volunteer organisation for a chat with the boss.  On leaving they browsed the shop being amazed at how many items from their childhood were now considered 'historical!'  I know the feeling.  
One subject that arose was the comment concerning a 'Threepence piece' which she had used to her young family members.  None of them understood what she was talking about so she had to rake out old coins stored away upstairs and explain the difference between then and now.  It was only 1971 (15th February) when decimalisation arrived in the UK and our rather heavy old coins, including the threepence, were removed.  Such a fuss at the time, the 'Daily Mail' led a 'save our tanner' campaign to keep the silver sixpence that was being removed yet the public soon found it was not required and the campaign, like so many, ended in dust.  
Just thinking about the coins we used to know, large Victorian pennies, halfpennies and silver threepences (this visitor could not remember them), shillings, florins, half crowns, I am not old enough to remember 'crowns' themselves of 'Guinea's although guineas are still used when buying racehorses.  A guinea was worth One pound and one shilling, the shilling covering the costs of the sale apparently.  Today's coins are much smaller and cynics claim they are worth less.  Checking my pockets I note nothing is worth less than what is found there.