It never occurred to me years ago during my working days that shopping would prove to be so enviable a detour. Now, retired since 2014, no longer venturing to the beach for six months annually, having exchanged the bicycle for the tricycle and having confessed the implausibility of 20 Km hikes, it cannot be ignored that the once mundane enterprise of shopping is an unrivalled diversion. This confession is significantly a reflection of may increasing immobility, a limitation which has succeeded to extinguish my former habits (such as collecting groceries and household provisions) and peculiar indulgences (such as clothing or jewellery stores).

What makes the alteration piquant is not the deprivation of stuff (my partner routinely attends to those necessities; and what we don’t have, we don’t need); rather, it was evident to me today as I struggled through the aisles of Shoppers Drug Mart (where we were getting our COVID booster shots) that I missed seeing the array of things stored on the many counters and display cases. As an inveterate consumer I was quick to identify a myriad of possibilities. It then became apparent that just seeing the opportunity was a psychological boost.