"Long long long time ago, I moved to a town with one traffic light, and a zebra crossing that no one uses. I had just got my first paycheck, and with nothing to do on a Saturday morning I ventured to town to scope it out, and there laid my haven... Fe's Variety... my one stop shop for all the essentials in my new home. I quickly pulled in, gathered my thoughts and keen to embrace the new and improved me, the mature me and the money conscious me, the me that was only going to buy what I needed.

This was going to be an in and out job, get a quality stove coffee pot, a nice mug, and a saucepan. Anyway, it was two hours before I finally left, full of job with my Eddie Blitner snake carving snugged under my arm. I made peace with my choice's and congratulated myself on my newfound wisdom, that instant coffee is grand, there's nothing at all wrong with it, and I just needed to heat up some milk, when I eventually get the saucepan.

Needless to say, a routine emerged, where many of my Saturday mornings were started by, popping in to say hello, see how my layby's are going, making enquiries if the items missed me and reassuring them I will be back soonish while also having a look at what's new, what's on sale, finding when next sale was on, hinting that I wish this was on sale, to asking Fe if she was having a Christmas sale even thought it was MAy and why do cobblers have prejudices against plus size feet.

But my favourite time to visit would come many years later, around the Katherine Races, where my new equally broke friend and I would visit Fe's during our work lunchtime. We'd make a wish list or just try on Fe's fascinating fascinators, while strutting out stuff around the shop, all 6'1" of me and all 4'9" of her, both egging each other on to buy, which we all often did.

Today I visited Fe's Variety for what is likely one of the very last times, we reminisced over the many and sometimes obscure purchases I've made over the years, then out of the corner of my eye, up on the top shelf, I saw an oversize hourglass. I knew then and there this was going to be my very last purchase from Fe's.

Like all long-term friendships where humor connects, my BFF and I both said at the same time "Like sands through the hourglass...so are the days of our lives."