13 Comments
Aug 7Liked by Rebecca Holden

Hazlitt and I agree -- "I am never less alone than when alone". I can entertain myself for days and never see another soul.

I love the idea of walk up to a vending machine in a rural setting and finding a fine aged white cheddar rather than Maltesers and Jammy Dodgers...

And Bill Bryson is SO VERY FUNNY! I love his Euro travelogs. Great. post today, Rebecca.

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I thrive in my own company, not so much in a crowd!

Most of my vending machine experience dates back to our trips to the swimming pool in the school minibus, where we’d buy Spicy Tomato or Worcestershire Sauce flavoured Wheat Crunchies afterwards, and a cup of that boiling hot fake blackcurrant drink that was always too hot to drink in the short time we’d have before we had to get back on the bus. Oh, and when I was at university we used to take it in turns to go to the vending machine in the evenings to get crisps and Yorkies and Mars Bars and cans of Coke.

When we heard about the cheese vending machine near where my brother lives we were astonished! Every time we go down there we make sure we use it - sometimes more than once!

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Aug 9Liked by Rebecca Holden

Ahhh… the junk food memories. Our parents had no idea what we were getting up to. But think about THIS oddity. In the State of Washinton, they have drive-through bars, where you stop at a window, pick up a cocktail and drive off…. What?

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That’s absolutely bonkers, Sharron! 🫣

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I love the ‘competitive floating’! And I’m so glad you included the video of the vending machine. I noticed that the eggs were on the top shelf and imagining them ‘plunging’ to the delivery chute was a very scary thought! A very genteel and enjoyable solution. Another terrific read. Thanks so much.

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The ‘competitive floating’ is hilarious - I couldn’t believe it! Finally an Olympic sport I feel I could excel at! 🤣

Yes, the eggs were a surprise to me when I saw the machine for the first time - I didn’t dare to buy any on that occasion, just in case! I hadn’t seen a machine with that design before. The moving platform that transports all purchases carefully to the bottom is genius - on first glance I’d been worried that there was just a big stick behind every row of products that would push them off the shelf! NOT great for eggs! 😂

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I am still hoping to come across one of those vending machines that dispense short stories.

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Ooooh, I seem to remember seeing those on Tube station platforms in the late 90s - am I remembering correctly? TBH that time of my life IS rather a blur…..! 😉

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I have purchased cupcakes from a vending machine, but never cheese! How magical.

(And thank you for sharing Camp! It's been so fun to have you. I am literally headed off for my Wonder Walk right now!) 🐜 🌼

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Cupcakes from a vending machine?!!!! Wow, I need to find one of THOSE!!! hits Google immediately

❤️

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Aug 17Liked by Rebecca Holden

Love this Hazlitt quote, " "I am never less alone than when alone". So good! And the big automatic cheese dispenser is the best! Was the cheese free? It should be free, I think. I'm curious about the hot towels at the curry house. What, exactly, do you do with hot towels? I'm familiar with them on long flights, but a curry house? You have me stumped! And wondering! 😅

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Unfortunately the cheese wasn’t free, and I chose - outrageously! - to mislead people by telling them that I’d won it! It’s a great way of buying stuff ‘at the farm gate’, as it were - it’s a whole lot cheaper for the farm not to have to open a fully-staffed farm shop.

Curry house hot towels are just like the ones you get on flights, but are wrapped in plastic and delivered after the meal - I guess they’re microwaved. Poppadoms and chapatis dipped in curry are pretty greasy, so I guess the idea behind them is for cleaning up!

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Aug 17Liked by Rebecca Holden

Aha about the hot towels, and rats about the cheese not being free. I agree a vending machine is an economical and efficient way to dispense products!

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