sleep paths

What do you think about to get to sleep? My husband (heretofore known as Axel for convenience sake) used to do a helicopter ride of Bray, from the Sugarloaf to the seafront, and got so good at drifting off he would quickly get no further than his house. He is now asleep before his head hits the pillow. It's very frustrating.

I used to select a story to run before I turned the light off when I was a child, afraid of the dark. I needed something to take my mind off it. I like the dark to sleep in now, but sometimes it's good to have something to lead you into sleep, especially if you're used to it and associate it with falling asleep.

This is materialistic, and perhaps shows me up as shallow, but one of my favourites is 'what I'd buy in Bray if I had an hour and ten grand' - a supermarket sweep of my town, if you will. Are you interested? Can you predict it?

Here's the list. If the post trails off, you'll know I'm asleep sitting up on the sofa, drooling gently onto the keyboard.

Starting at the bottom of the town, I'd hit Argus, and buy a nice sofa and a sofa bed. Then into Superquinn for nice veg and bread and cream buns, the shoe shop for the kids, and Wheat, the lovely but awfully expensive clothes shop.

Then I'd go to the main street, perhaps buy some fabulous mobile type things, and opposite the library there's a teeny hidden Dormiente showroom, appointment only, where I'd buy an extremely expensive natural latex mattress to replace the not as comfy less expensive one I did buy. Then back to the main street for some overpriced men's clothes for Axel from Allen's, to the bookshop for stationary, wrapping paper, cards, books for us and the kids. Down the Florence Road for more stationary,and art supplies, lots of paint and paper, canvasses, blank cards and stickers in the stationer's. Into Smyth's of course, for some plastic crap for my darlings. I won't go into detail, we'll wait til Christmas for that.

To the pet shop? I don't know. Axel is waiting for the dogs to die, and has put his foot down about getting any more pets, ever. But my daughter really really wants a hamster... hmmm.

On the corner is Bannon's, where I'd buy loads of John Rocha stuff, including new wedding rings for me and Axel, lovely soft, smooth silver ones that look eroded, sandblasted smooth. They're on the list, actually.

Electronics in Totterdell's, an Ipod and dock, maybe a fabulous telly to go on the wall? A quick sweep of Dunnes', not that there's much in the one in Bray, it's still feeling distinctly 1980's. There's not a lot in the middle of the town - a quick look in Sasha, maybe, shoes and bags (ok, that's beside the bookshop, oops). A lightening sweep of the health food shop for all the stuff I can't afford and Dr Hauscha and Burt's Bees beauty products. Lots of the insanely expensive toothpaste and various healthy things I won't bore you with. Vegetarian bacon (facon), another expensive luxury). Golden Discs, I suppose, as there's nothing else. Oo, I forgot Leonidas, I wouldn't usually have got this far - I'm fighting sleep!

A new paragraph might refresh me. A tattoo, perhaps, in the newly relocated 'Attattoed' (I know, groan, good place though. Axel used to be in a band with one of the guys who now works there). New glasses, more stationary and make and do stuff, things to stick, glitter, and play clay. There used to be a beautiful boutique opposite the town hall called The Far Pavilions, but it tragically closed down recently. It's sitting there, taunting me, saying 'you know I'd make a great cupcake bakery, Jo'. So I'd run away and buy Radley Bags in Onxy. Onyx used to have great jewellery, I wonder why it stopped.

That's not ten grand, is it? There's no point going into the estate agents though. What else is there to buy in Bray? A pint. A meal in the newly opened CafeBarDeli (woohoo! Cosmopolitan!) Italian deli stuff in the Campo di Fiore shop down the seafront. Oh, I know, sometimes there are really lovely paintings in the Mermaid Gallery. Maybe hire the venue out for the Juice?

But that will have to do. What about a virtual shopping tour of your town? I'd ......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......