ESSENTIALS

I used to get about with a few dollars folded up in my pocket and some change which was enough to go to the pub, the pictures or out to dinner.

Later on I bought a wallet, a slim leather one that held some paper money, my drivers licence and, eventually, a credit card.

A few years later I added a cash card and maybe some kind of club ID card like Air New Zealand Koru. Soon after came loyalty cards like Farmers, Fly Buys, One Card and a host of others.

Nowadays just about every retail shop you use, organisation you belong to or service provider has given us cards to ID, scan or purchase with. It's getting out of hand.
Yesterday I counted up the cards I had in my wallet (and not the ones that I'd taken out a while ago and put in a drawer). There were twenty one of the suckers. My wallet was groaning. I've got to do some more culling as I can't comfortably get my wallet in my pocket anymore.


The problem is though that Murphy's Law dictates that the card or cards you leave out will be needed at the next purchase, museum visit, rozzers pullover or as access ID.

Now ho metrosexuals like Richard and TSB no doubt carry 'man bags' to put all their stuff in, being organised schoolteachers.

Robert has probably built his own and keeps adding to it.

As for me, I hate those prissy 'man bags' and have to resort to carrying a small back pack wherever I go to carry (now) the wallet, cellphone, car keys, house keys and sundry other bits of essential rubbish.

And to think that I used to mock The Old Girl for her handbag contents.