Boyfriend Chooses Death Over One More Shop

[icyfroth]

A CHINESE man reportedly become so frustrated with his girlfriend's shopping that he jumped to his death from the seventh floor of a shopping plaza.

The tragedy took place in Jiangsu Province on December 7 after a 40-year-old man was seen to be arguing with a woman about the length of her shopping spree.

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Apparently they had been shopping in a crowded mall for five hours and she wanted to go and check out another shoe shop.

I'd probably feel the same way, I cant stand shopping malls and avoid them whenever I can.

[polocross58]

When I was young, we owned a country-store.  Eleven miles one way to the next town and eighteen miles to another.  We stocked everything from horseshoes and farm-gates to a full range of fabrics and embroidery silks.  Working there after school and on Saturday, I used to cut cheese from big red waxed rounds, using a contraption you pulled down so that a wire cut the segments.  Honey was stored in a huge cream coloured urn-type container on a stand and with its own tap.  There was another a bit smaller just for 'candied' honey which some (including me) preferred.  Farmers wives would send in their own big jars to be filled. All Australian brands.  People would have recoiled in horror if it had been suggested they consume foods (and just about anything else) from overseas

When we bought the shop there were round tins containing a hard pepperminty tablet.  Investigation revealed this was an early form of toothpaste.  You had to wet the toothbrush and rub it vigorously on the tablet.  No idea how long they'd been in stock.  Some of the items should probably have been in a colonial museum.  We sold blocks of tobacco, hard and dark.  The farmers would pare slices off to put in their pipes or chew it and spit and they all had their preferred brands.  Stockmen used to hitch their horses outside the pub.  The local butcher had big paddocks on the outskirts of town where he kept his own beasts for slaughter.  We had a big, wood-burning stove at home, cast iron top.  I remember being revolted at having to sizzle massive T-bone steaks on it for my father, knowing the meat had been alive and on the hoof a few days earlier.  I refused to eat meat for years -- copped a lot of thrashings for that and for setting a 'stupid example' to younger siblings with my 'pretentious beatnik' notions

We'd moved from the Gold Coast to the country upon buying the store and most of the time I was there, I fancied I hated it.  Yet today, I miss the place like mad -- the coolness and quietness, the smell of floor polish, the passionfruit vines, the days that stretched forever, clay tennis courts, straight-forward country kids and taciturn farmers, manure, sunflowers, massive cream sponges wherever you went to visit, the old country picture theatre, miles of empty roads and skies, red dirt and the peace.  Yep, just a country bumpkin who gets edgy in big-city shopping centres

[icyfroth]

That's a nice story, Polo 🙂

It makes me sad when I drive out to what used to rural Windsor outside of Sydney, and see the old dairy farms and market garden being swallowed up by developers

[lakeland27]

thats too much shopping for one bloke to bear, the poor sod (if true, its just as likely not accurate) if i were in his position i simply wouldn't go, or i'd sit in the car all day with a laptop and a coffee.

[darksideofthemoon]

Oh icy, me too.  I  did a survey on dairy machines for the Ag Dept in Windsor and would go to all the dairies from Wilberforce right down to Camden then later was a dairy machine technicion for the same area...

Watching the little dairies slowly vanish as the big combines took over was so very very sad.    

I don't think I'd like the area now and am sort of glad I live in Tasmania and won't be back.

[lurker17260]

That's a lovely image you paint there polo.  Sounds wonderful.  I remember big old country stores too. 

I also remember when the first supermarket came to my home town and how wonderful my mum thought it was, although she was a bit miffed that she wasn't able to run a weekly account anymore.  Before that she used to send us kids up the street to the dairy (Kiwi for corner store) and not have to find the money until the end of the week when she got her "housekeeping".  We were forbidden from putting lollies on the account though.  For years I believed it was actually illegal and I would get into big trouble if I even tried 

[icyfroth]

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@darksideofthemoon wrote:

Oh icy, me too.  I  did a survey on dairy machines for the Ag Dept in Windsor and would go to all the dairies from Wilberforce right down to Camden then later was a dairy machine technicion for the same area...

Watching the little dairies slowly vanish as the big combines took over was so very very sad.    

I don't think I'd like the area now and am sort of glad I live in Tasmania and won't be back.

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The whole area looks down-at-heel and shabby, Darki.

Most of the old farm houses are faded and peeling, rusty farm equipment in the yards, sagging old disused barns, fields gone to weed.

I know old folks always yearn for the good old days, but how prosperous everyone was then compared to now.

I can see why you like Tassie, it has retained it's heritage a bit longer than the mainland.

A colleague has just come back from a holiday there, the way she describes it, must be similar to Tassie.

[annies_fancy_dress]

My boyfriend hates all shopping, food, clothes, presents. whatever.

The only shopping he doesn't mind is buying himself a label shirt at a sporting match or car race/rally.
I wouldn't be selfish enough to drag anyone out for 5 hours shopping.

That poor bloke probably knew if he complained she'd be in a snit for a week and he'd get no dinner, t.v. or lovin'......

[debra9275]

Geez I hope my OH doesn't see that article Icy. -:)

No seriously, I don't take him with me when I'm out for a big shop. It's usually done with like minded girlfriends. He wouldn't last the distance, about an hour is more than long enough for him

[lloydslights]

I recently sold our family property in the Windsor vicinity; it had been a farm in its former glory days but had not operated as a farm for about 35 years...  When I was 6 we moved from a farm in Blacktown because it "came out of the green belt" (rezoned).  All along Windsor Road from Baulkham Hills to Windsor were farms. From what is now Merindah Road to the Castle Hill Golf course were paddocks with cattle grazing - all owned by The Church. Further along the Old Windsor Road was Peels dairy, on Windsor Road there was Glenmore Dairy. I attended school at Kellyville Primary in the early 60's where we had 3 classes to a room. There were 3 shops and 3 garages. We had to travel to Parramatta (2 lane road) to Grace Bros or Murray Bros to shop - not a set of traffic lights the whole way! Ahh! the good old days when shopping was an "event". 

[mtnlane]

polocrosse58 - your evocative description reminded me of one of my favourite songs so thought I would share it here 

Unfortunately Gary Shearston is no longer with us but his ability to capture the mood lives on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akI-8BUMF7M