Blogging and shopping

Lynn popped in and gave me more help with blogging. I seem to have got the hang of attaching photos now - although I don't have a photo for today. The profile photo that is now on my blog is a photo of me on the RMS with the island of St Helena coming into view in the background.

After lunch time I took myself off on my daily walk. It takes me about 10 mins walking downhill to get to the shops and about 15 mins walking uphill and carrying my shopping, to get home again. For those who don’t know me personally, I am a chronic asthmatic and I also suffered permanent nerve and tendon damage to my feet and have pinched nerves in my spine due to a car accident nearly 10 years ago. The result – I walk funny and breathe noisily. My daily walk has 2 objectives – to try and strengthen my lungs and feet, and to get the hang of shopping on St Helena.

Before I came to the island, I followed Lynn Clevely (the outgoing pastor’s wife) blog to try and get an idea about what life is like on St Helena. I wondered why shopping and what they ate formed such an important part of her blogs. Now I know. Each day is a new challenge trying to find the food you want, at a price you can afford. You usually have to look in at about 3 or 4 of the shops in order to find a few items for the day. Most times you then have to improvise and adjust the recipes you usually use, in order to produce your meals for the day. You need to be in the shops when new produce is unpacked, otherwise the other shoppers will clear the shelf – only a few items are unpacked at a time.

Anyway, I am sure it is all a matter of working the system. I am making a game of it. Last night I made a seafood soup by combining 2 recipes, and using only 4 of the recommended 8 ingredients. I was most chuffed with myself when Graeme asked for seconds.