We have a Chinese Bazaar supermarket in our time, which is proving to be a bit of a treasure trove. We often find ourselves short of screws or nails, or can’t find the mallet or need a tiny bit more spray paint and with our nearest big DIY store being half an hour away, a short walk down the hill is just the ticket. Last week, we did find ourselves a couple of screws short when shelves were being put up in the bathroom and so off we headed. I could easily have stayed at home, but I’m not one to pass up a scouting opportunity in this shop. It’s packed to the rafters, mostly I have to say, with cheap tat. Which is fine, but that’s not what I’m interested in. Kitchen ware and ceramics are what caught my eye – and I came away with a nice haul, which wasn’t too costly, at all.

A visit to this shop always results in the purchase of a few terracotta tapas dishes, and a nice collection is developing. This time, I went for larger tagine size bowls – meaning we have to get our Moroccan cooking heads on, and develop our tagine skills. But I also spotted some very pretty fish embossed bowls and plates which, at the price, could not be resisted. Even though I was reminded that I had vowed not to buy any more plates and bowls because, in my own words, “we had more than enough”. Which to be fair we do, but I mean. Look at these…

They are quite “rustic” with bumps and lumps and ridges in the ceramic and the fish designs have a playful feel to them, but they are very beautiful and exceptionally robust and well made. And, they complement very well the bottle of olive oil, which was bought months and months ago, in Eataly in Trieste, with its sardine adorned ceramic bottle…