Hustle and bustle ...

Hmmn, I'm thinking this blog makeover will take some getting used to.  The header seems enormous, but if I make it any smaller it doesn't centre properly ... I spent ages yesterday trying to resolve that particular conundrum, hunting for answers and cut 'n pasting CSS script into a Blogger thingummy over and over again, to no avail.  Sometimes computers are entirely frustrating, don't you think?!

Speaking of which, I probably spend way too many precious hours sat at my computer, but without them I swear I'd go stir crazy.  It's hard to remember how I ever coped without the World Wide Wide at my fingertips.  One thing's for sure, I spent far more time traipsing round shops back then, which meant fresh air, exercise, faces, hustle, bustle and so many more pairs of lovely shoes ...

High Street, Maidstone, on a very cold November afternoon

These days I do all I can to avoid said town; after all, in this age of internet shopping, who needs it?  But when I ponder beyond the end of my oh-so-convenient, time-saving keyboard, I reach the conclusion it's all a bit sad,  I mean, how many times do we wander dejectedly round our home town, only to complain about a rash of tatty fronted, budget shops dominating the High Street?  I for one, plead guilty to the crime of preferring to purchase online from my favourite websites ... yes, I am that lazy shopper responsible for the demise of the High Street. 

On the rare occasion I am forced to venture into town, I store up every concievable town-based task, to delay the prospect of having to return for as long as possible.  I hate queueing, grumpy shop assistants, loutish youths smokin' and cussin', chewing gum on pavements, having my ankles rammed by unwieldy pushchairs, fighting for parking spaces, tiny overheated changing rooms ... the town shopping experience is no joy for this 'Mrs Meldrew'.

But sometimes, despite everything, I miss it.  There's no rhyme or practical reason for this, I just occasionally crave a little hustle and bustle, the choking taste of diesel, the glitz and glitter window displays, that special smell of bookshops, the myriad of faces ...

So maybe today, I will resist the WWW's wonderful world of websites and take myself into town for the real interactive deal instead; after all, Christmas is a-coming and just this once the computer can't compete with a town dressed in tinsel!