15 Dec 2015

Sex, Tubs and Mugs


I like charity shops, I like the idea of owning something pre-loved especially books, it fascinates me to see what other people like to read, and it fascinates me more when I buy a second hand book of poems and find some pages folded at the very top right corner in a little triangle indicating that this poem was a special one, one they’d want to come back to, one they’d like to recite or read to a loved one on some joyful or sad occasion. 
I once donated an erotic book, I bought it on amazon but felt cheated by it, the description of the book said it had 365 sex positions for each day of the year! I was shocked of course that there were so many sex positions when I probably only knew three! But I was also intrigued, so I bought the book and found that many of the positions were repeated with a slight camera trick making the couple seem like they were in a new position! *sigh* is nothing sacred anymore? Anyway I donated the book and always wondered if anyone had bought it or how slutty the charity shop I donated it to thought I was, mind you I wouldn’t need actual photographs of people posing in different sexual positions to show me how it’s done if I was truly slutty.


Back to charity shops! I was passing one today and found a huge clear plastic tub outside the door with what seemed like hundreds of mugs inside, some old and worn out, some seem very new and shiny! I stood for a moment just staring at the tub full of unwanted tea and coffee mugs; I had seen tubs full of books and stuffed toys outside charity shops before but never a tub brimming with mugs. It was different and somehow sad! All those mugs had once been filled with tea, coffee, or warm milk, hot, aromatic and soothing, shared by family and close friends; first meetings, reunions, the hurried morning coffee before work, the relaxing cup of tea before bed, intimate unforgettable conversations while brooding over a warm mug held lovingly with both hands, so much warmth, so much tenderness, so many memories piled up in a clear plastic tub.