Trolley 116

I demonstrated admirable devotion to trolley duty yesterday by returning this wheel-locked trolley from East Street to the Kiln Lane depot, despite the wind and the rain. Which meant that I had my unfurled umbrella in the one hand while towing the tipped-up trolley behind me with the other. Easier, I should say, than it sounds, although I had had enough by the time that I reached the special needs alcove.

The trolley jockey working there, himself probably from somewhere some hundreds of miles to the east of here, looked at me like I was some kind of alien when I suggested that he might like to unlock the wheel lock.

I don't think the problem was that I was taking the bread out of his mouth, as I do not suppose that Sainsbury's pays the jockeys to tour the surrounding streets to recover strays. Perhaps it was the concept of doing something without pay or reward that was alien to him. Hadn't read that bit of the good book which explains that charity is its own reward.

PS 1: the OED reminds me that the Latin word from which our word charity is derived started out much closer to the modern French 'cher', that is to say dear both as in 'my dear chap' or 'my dear friend' (at the head of a letter) and 'that was a dear meal'. A word which was appropriated by the parsons of the early church for rather different purposes.

PS 2: notice the line of water board covers, bottom right. One wonders, not for the first time, that they could not come up with something neater. Previously noticed at Brading on the Isle of Wight, and with luck I will turn up the reference later today.