Lucia Soaps

I am in the habit you see, of appeasing my need for goodness knows what with little piles of utter nonsense and Housekeepers, dear darling Housekeepers, trust me:- six bars of baby soap, an over-sized bottle of lemon juice, a Pot Noodle, Take a Break magazine, and a bottle of the kind of cheap red wine liable to be downfall in the near future, simply doesn’t touch the sides of contentment on any level at all.

What I am seeking is a little luxury and what I am buying is a big pile of junk. Ugly junk. Banal boring dull, what is it good for junk. Literary junk. Alcoholic junk. Junk, junk and yet more bloody junk, all adding up to a whole lot more money than anyone can afford to spend on junk when her heart yearns for beauty. For momentary culinary pleasure. For words that inspire her to do something wonderful. For objects she will treasure and everyday necessities that have her feeling positively demented about getting on with the same necessities in hand.

Which is my little pumpkins, my rather long-winded, all round the houses way of saying, now goodness me, would you look at that beautiful soap! Because yes indeed, soap is what it is, soap in bottles with patterns to sell the cat for, soap in fragrances as inviting as Pomegranate & Redcurrant, and Sea Watercress & Chai, soap that would beautify any bathroom and at £8.00 in the UK from the gorgeous Hush, and $11.00  from ShoeString Home in the US, soap that won’t break the bank if we are only willing to sacrifice a little junk..

So this is my plan: I am going on a JUNK DIET. I am giving up cheap chocolate and sugar-free lemonade by the bucket-load. I am giving up trawling the pound shops, and seeking two for ones I don’t need, buying weekly magazines, supermarket paperbacks, piles of cheap anything and cardigans that disintegrate into holes after one spin through a delicate wash. I’m done. I’m keeping my purse in my pocket and instead saving my pennies to buy real treats. Pretties that make my heart sing! Soap that makes me feel proud! Books that improve my cabbaged little mind!