As I strolled round the supermarket, every few minutes a recorded voice would remind me, 'only buy what you need...'

Anyone who really knows me, knows that part of my unique perosnality is that I am hardwired to do as I'm told.  So, 'only buy what you need' means only buy what you need...

For the first few weeks of lockdown I did just that, scurrying round the shop as fast as I could, one bottle of milk, one bottle of juice, one carrot, one pack of veggie sausages...  Buying an Easter egg (it was before Easter, remember!) was a definite 'no no'.  At that time, there were media reports of heavy handed police officers in Northampton (where I grew up) checking people's shopping bags for contraband 'non-essential items'... maye that's where I learned this behaviour!!

Buy what you need can mean, and at it's simplest reading does mean, stick to the basics, and only buy the amount you will use between now and the next permitted shop (in seven days time).

But, as my Mum used to say, and she was right, 'a little of what you fancy does you good.'

One of the things I really have to work hard at is self-care, to recognises that sometimes what I need is not wholemeal bread but chocolate cake, and so on.

Today I treated myself to something that can no way be called 'essential' - as seen in the photo being checked out by Sophie cat, a plastic picnic 'charger' with a cheery nautical scene.  It's not essential or useful, I didn't 'need' it, but I did need the joy it brought me just to buy it, and will bring me as I look at it from time to time.

Some things money can buy, some things it cannot; 'only buy what you need' isn't just about bread and milk either.