it is with some sadness that i am retiring my faithful old backpack, with its frayed edges, wayward (completely broken off, for the second time) shoulder strap, and gruesome stains on the inside. i bought it several years ago in a shop full of cute things in new york city, and even then, i think it hung around my cupboard for a few months before i finally put it to use. this was some time in 1998, and the first time i carried it out, i stowed my takeaway salad lunch, and when i got back to my desk i discovered that at the bottom of my pristine bag was a puddle of oily, vinegary salad dressing. that first week, every time i caught a whiff of the lingering odour, i felt a little bit sour.

this bag was mostly waterproof (from the outside, at least, and hey, it had kept the salad dressing sealed in), and it was the perfect size for carrying magazines around. it had a recipe for cherry pie on one side, and on the other, “fluffy pudding”. it was made by super planning co., who also brought you mr. friendly. a pedigree bag.

people always wanted to know where i got my bag; strangers in the street would stop me and ask, and i always felt like a bit of a dick when i answered, “new york”. but i carried it everywhere, and when one of the straps broke off a few years ago, i stitched it back on, and it carried on like a champ. even through the sudden but brief infestation of ants. i had it with me as i boarded the plane to london three months ago. it was full of books and magazines and snacks and toys and cameras and passports, and when i picked it up after the boarding announcement, the tired strap gave way.

since then it has sat on the floor, first in the corner of nellie‘s spare room in her london flat, and then propped up against my bookshelf in the study. i’ve been making do with a couple of totes, one calico and the other dark denim. which is fine and all, but i fear the weight on one shoulder is doing terrible things to my back. (well. that and the lack of yoga or swimming.)

so, i’m finally breaking out the new one, a long-ago gift from nellie, from the same shop even, from when she was a new york city girl. it’s sort of the same, but not quite the same. it’s coming on a mini roadtrip with me — tomorrow we wind our way down to melbourne. i don’t have much planned, except to have a sausage at the markets, some chocolate at koko black, and read my new new yorker, in which there is an indepth article on pastry.

see you in a little bit.