Have you ever eaten a sandwich with just one hand? No, I haven’t either, but I saw it being done last week. On the most brutal of days, I was doing a two-hour stint for a Flag Day charity collection. My allocated spot was at the back entrance to a well-known supermarket.

I was totally underdressed, as I assumed that I would be standing inside getting a bit of heat from the blow heater. No such luck – I was standing outside braving the cross winds. And I was frozen.

I remembered that I had an old, bright yellow Winnie the Pooh blanket in my car (don’t ask), so I fetched that and wrapped it around me. I then semi pulled up the hood on my cardigan to try and keep my ears warm. I’d say half the people who gave me a few bob thought it was for me!

ADVERTISEMENT

Anyway, getting back to eating a sandwich with one hand. There was a lady making her way towards the door pushing her trolley with one hand while she ate her sandwich with the other.

It is a well-known fact that trolleys have a mind of their own at the best of times and are invariably a two-hand operation. Ditto for sandwich eating, for that matter. She used her left foot to stop the trolley and with her now-free hand reached into her bag that was in the baby seat. She then took out her purse, opened it, took out some money and put it in the box – whilst still eating her sandwich. Genius.

You really do see all walks of life over a two-hour period outside a busy shop. There wasn’t much style, I thought (says me in a bright yellow Winnie the Pooh blanket) – a lot of “it’ll do, it’s comfortable and sure who’ll be looking at me” type of thing.

One child accused me of having their “blanky”; his mother seemed embarrassed.

I smiled and gave him a sticker. He put it straight into his mouth and ate it. I’d say that’s what happened to his “blanky” as well.

People are funny with the stickers – for some, when you go to put it on their collar they pull back a bit, and take the sticker off you. They prefer to put it on themselves.

For others, they push their shoulder forward, waiting for you to put it on for them. I decided that the former take holy communion in their hand, the latter in their mouth. I was tempted to ask for clarification, but thought better of it.

I noticed an elderly man who was leaning heavily on his trolley, as he went in to do his shopping. Not great on his feet, but still out and about. Fair play to him.

When he came out I looked into his trolley – he had a six-pack of yoghurts, three tins of mushy peas and a packet of rashers. I winked at him; he smiled at me and tipped his cap in my direction.

I was never so happy to be relieved after my two hours. I told my comrade she’d be frozen and offered her my blanket. For some reason, she politely declined.