Pound vs Pound

Something frustrating to deal with is the pound money vs pound weight variable. On Saturdays we frequent the Portobello market, where we load up on cheap and fresh produce for the next week. It is a matter of dealing with vendors who set up stands along the street, and it is always excessively crowded. You have to move it or lose it when you queue in line for goods, spit out what you need and hope you communicated well. It’s almost like ordering at a bar, except with bananas and coli flour. You have to keep in mind when purchasing items that are X pounds for X pounds, weight for money, you must specify that the pound you speak of is money or weight.

I wanted a pound moneys worth of small potatoes from a vendor whom I waited behind some dude who must have been stocking up for his restaurant, because he was buying buckets of stuff. The lady points at me, “What’ll ya ave louv.” I held up a pound coin with one hand, and pointing at potatoes with the other saying “I’ll take a pound’s worth of these”. She grabbed a couple hands full of the potatoes, threw them onto the scale, bagged them up and said “Forty pence please.” I couldn’t do anything but hand her the coin.

I got a pound of potatoes, when I wanted a pound’s worth of potatoes which would have been two and a half pounds weight. I think I just confused myself.