Cherries

I had thought today was Thursday and so a market day in Epsom, when cherries might be an option. But it turned out to be Friday and so I had to settle for M&S. £5 or so  for something over half a kilo. First two were fine, if not outstanding.

Inspection of the label suggests that they might have come from the large Californian operation at reference 1 - where I learn that 'Primavera growers cover land as far south as Arvin/Bakersfield all the way up to the most fertile soil in the San Joaquin valley, Linden. This span of approximately 250 miles poses many challenges for growers to harvest and deliver their cherries with the cold chain process underway. With the help of our growers and other partners, strategically located hydro-coolers are located up and down the valley not more than a 20 minute drive away from any given orchard. This allows our growers to harvest their crop and pre-cool before delivery to the packing house. Consequently, cold chain management is crucial for cherries. Once picked, every hour above [70°F] shortens the cherry’s shelf life by one day'. Furthermore, of the seven varieties on offer, M&S plumped for the one called Bing. Perhaps I ought to report them to Microsoft for breach of copyright.

One feels a little guilty about the number of air miles involved - hoping, in mitigation, that they were flown in hold space which would have otherwise have been empty.

No trolleys to be seen, but I did recover two washers, one large, one small.

Manor Green Road butcher closed for the day as he has gone fishing. Perhaps he will open on Sunday in lieu to supply impromptu barbecues.

Lastly, in the course of my travels, I came across a post-person having a fag. From whom I learned that the Post Office have taken a leaf out of Amazon's book and use the mobile phones (aka personal delivery assistants or PDAs) that post-persons carry to keep an eye on their activities. Have they strayed too far off their walk? Have they not walked at all for too long? This while their chief executive was denying same to a committee of the House of Commons.

Reference 2 suggests that there was something in this, although I have not done more than skim the first few pages (out of forty). With my closing thought being that all this because the Post Office has to compete with delivery services which call their employees self employed and which are not shy at all about driving the work along with their computers. And, to cap it all, perhaps their vans are equipped with smoke detectors. Health and Safety you know, should anyone ask.

I ought to add that Post Office management do appear to be working with the Post Office union - the CWU - about all this.

References

Reference 1: http://primaveramarketing.com/products/cherries/.

Reference 2: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/12700/pdf/.

Reference 3: https://www.cwu.org/.