Not buying new stuff in Alton

On Wednesday, TR, Mr and Mrs Gramps and I ventured to the self-proclaimed 'friendliest town in the Hampshire countryside,' Alton. And what a pleasant little place it is! We travelled there by train. This was TR's idea and he was richly rewarded with a glimpse of some steam engines at Alton Station. From there we walked to Lantern Foods; in part because Mrs Gramps and I are suckers for nice little organic-type shops, but also because both she and TR have to follow a gluten-free diet and Lantern Foods has a good selection of suitable foods. I think whoever came up with the 'friendliest town' tagline might have been here, as its proprietors, John and Mary-Anne Barber, are two of the friendliest shop-keepers around. Not only that, but they are just about the south-east's only stockists of Teff flour, with which I am hoping to make TR some gluten-free breadsticks.

After stocking up on food (and Ecover dishwasher rinse aid, but Mrs Gramps says that's OK because it is a consumable), we went for coffee in the excellent Botega dei Sapori, Italian shop and delicatessen, where Mrs Gramps enjoyed a generous slice of gluten-free polenta cake. Unfortunately for TR, he fell asleep in Lantern Foods (he has a man's approach to shopping) and so missed out on the cake.

We then made our way up the High Street to explore the charity shops. Alton seems to be a good place to do this, as it has enough reasonably wealthy people to ensure that the goods passed onto to charity shops are of pretty good quality in the first place. I emerged with a T-shirt, a long-sleeved top and a pair of curtains for TR's bedroom. TR did well, having fleeced Mrs Gramps for a Buckaroo-style Bob the Builder game ('Barrow Up Bob', which sounds a tad uncomfortable for Bob, now I come to think of it) and a Thomas the Tank Engine book.

I am very pleased with my not-new purchases and TR and the Mouse are delighted with Bob and his unfortunately placed barrow.