Seedless

The local shop is half a minute away from home
It opens late and would indeed be a convenience store, if it ever stocked anything you'd want...to eat.
It's a small shop with some rudimentary supplies but flogging tartan tat to tourists is obviously more lucrative than stocking food for (the few remaining) locals who inhabit the area.
A surprise then, to find ONE huge bag of juicy grapes on the shelves.
"An experiment" the guy at the counter tells me...one I was very happy to participate in.

In Andalusia, Pepe was my neighbour.
His local shop was half a minute away from home.
He opened late and stocked the best array of good, honest foods you could wish for.
It was a small shop, crammed to the rafters with delicious breads, wonderful cheeses, mouth watering fruit and real vegetables ? not regulated waxy clones all standardised and lifeless.
Whenever I'd been away for a time, his was my first port of call, to catch up on local gossip and always, always, buy the largest Watermelon in the world, which would quench the thirst for a good few days in the blistering heat of summer..
A visit to Pepe's could turn into a juerga in the blink of an eye, depending who'd dropped in for supplies.
I don't live there anymore but still visit regularly.
On my last visit Pepe told me that he was closing up shop, for good.

"People have cars now, go to supermarkets. They have no use for us any more"

Pepe was going to retire soon anyway, only now, his sons and daughters won't be taking over the business. They are educated and shop in supermarkets, they have no time for gossip.

Pepe's shop will shortly be transformed into a holiday flat for tourists and the (few remaining) locals may remember what they've lost, when it's gone.

My local shop has started stocking grapes. things are looking up.