Start your day…

It’s a dull feeling when something on a machine breaks and renders the whole contraption useless. Good for the dump and nothing more and the feeling of guilt that comes with such an action. Out of sight but not so out of mind for someone who cannot abide waste and our throwaway age. 
 
 
And especially aggrieving if said machine is much used and will need to be replaced as occurred recently with my juicer. 
 
Juicing is a big part of Holland family life, as some of my readers will know and my machine breaking having just bought enough fruit and veg for three or four mornings, my spirits plummeted when an innocuous lug of plastic sheared off. Probably just one root vegetable too many. 
 
Nikki breezed in to the kitchen and sensed my foreboding. 
 
‘Have you got the receipt because it might be within guarantee.’ She suggested helpfully and my mood darkened even further.
 
Have I got the receipt? What a ridiculous question. I am hazy on who our mortgage is with! 
 
Do I have a receipt? 
 
Yeah, of course I do. I’ll go and fetch it from my highly ordered filing system. 
 
But then I have a flash of inspiration. I recall that I bought my juicer on-line and that might mean that I have an email. Clutching at straws but I grab my phone – I open the gmail app and search  “juicer” 
 
At best a long shot – and no doubt, I will be let down by technology yet again. 
 
But wait. What’s this?
 
Indeed, gmail finds a confirmation email. How useful. I scroll down through the mail and the company details. Obviously there is no phone number to use. No chance to speak with an actual human but they do provide an email.
 
So I fire off a polite missive and even attach a photo I take with my phone of the broken component. I hit send and immediately I feel buoyed. At least I have done something constructive and I feel less impotent. 
 
And who knows, maybe it will even bear fruit? Gettit. 
 
And lo and behold – it does. 
 
The company responds.
 
Full Disclosure – I am about to go all gooey over a company called Juicy Retreats – who acts as distributors for JR Juicers. And I state for the record that Dominic Holland is not being paid for this post. Indeed I have never been paid for a post – although this is not a principled stand – and I remain very accessible and incredibly open to offers… 
 
The email I receive is to acknowledge receipt of my email and then to notify me that a replacement part has already been dispatched to my address which they already have on file. 
 
And suddenly the world is a better place. 
 
The sheer majesty of modern technology.
 
Nikki’s suggestion seems even more arcane now. She needs to get with the times. 
 
All I needed was my phone and my family are able to drink fruit and veg juice again.
 
The part arrived in the post and in time to squeeze the juice out of the produce I had just bought and so nothing was wasted. 
 
All waste but food waste is my biggest bugbear. That hollow feeling when your packet of ‘Fine Beans’ from Kenya are no longer fine! Such that I am happy to be guinea pig with food that is well beyond its sell-by date although I draw the line when the green spots appear on our bread. 
 
And this quirk of mine has had a large influence on a novel I have written, called The Fruit Bowl. Formerly published as A Man’s Life – the new version will be published on July 13th and can be pre-ordered now.
 
Between now and publication, I will blog regularly on other facets of my rather eccentric life that I have used to complete this story – a novel which I think readers of my blog will very much enjoy. 
 
And finally a word on JR Juicers…
 
Given that my machine is used so often – at least five times a week – and to produce drinks for up to six people – and that I squeeze through, carrots, raw beetroot, ginger, turmeric, apples as well as any number of softer fruits, these machines are blooming marvellous and add to this the JR customer service…
 
I can highly recommend Juicy Retreats and their JR Juicers to anyone in the market for a juicer. 
 
And I commend juicing to you all also and for it is mental health benefits as much as the well known dietary and nutritional upsides. 
 
Because for me at least – juicing just makes me feel good. 
 
Not so easy to explain – but there is just something about seeing a bag of spinach being reduced to a thin liquid line of green goodness and separated from the dry pulp. The sheer power of the machine – cold pressing and squeezing the life out of even the hardest beetroot. Literally, like getting blood from a stone.
 
To create a drink that is the best start to anyone’s day. 
 
I call the drinks – Fruit Bowls – another quirk of mine which is explained in the novel – and whatever the concoction of ingredients I use – they are drinks and a start to my day which makes me feel good – and is therefore an appropriate name for my new novel – because this is my intention when I set out to write a novel…
 
To make people feel good – which is as good a reason as any to read a book these days.
 
 

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21 thoughts on “Start your day…

  1. Sophia says:

    Thanks for the tip on juicers! I am actually in the market for one at the moment funnily enough!
    I will be sure to order the new version of the fruit bowl when it is released!

    • LORY says:

      Dear Dominic, you are a particular person, but each of us is indeed.
      Some people may find this story trivial or stupid, but it is not so.
      Just last night I happened to watch “Hosmosis Jones” (I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it) and there is a relationship with what you wrote.
      Healthy eating is very important, but often we human beings forget it and live to eat rather than eat to live, I am aware of it.
      And you get sick and die even from diseases due to excess (cholesterol, heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure).
      I also agree with you on food waste: Woe! Apart from that I’m not rich and I have three daughters, I consider it a slap in the face of those who are much poorer than me, so in my house we recycle everything we can.
      As far as online shopping is concerned, well … I still prefer to go to the stores to buy appliances (small and large) and talk to real people .
      It is the first time that I write a comment on your blog: I am Lory, from Italy.
      Thanks!!!
      P.S. Happy Birthday to Thomas: he’s a really good guy.

  2. Sydnee Coleman says:

    I hate when things break, but we’re a family who like to fix things instead of tossing it. Even if said things are in a box with other broken items that are still waiting to be fixed, just haven’t gotten around to it. We also, hate wasting anything, it drives my family bonkers. Also, I was thinking of buying my dad juicer for Father’s Day, he’s big into fruit and veggie juices, but buys them from the store, bottled. Thank you for a great recommendation, I hope. If it turns out perfect, I know who to thank and if it turns out worse, I know who to blame, haha.

  3. Sydnee Coleman says:

    I forgot to say lovely blog this morning, or I guess it’s afternoon-night for you, Mr. H. I can’t wait to read The Fruit Bowl, I bet it lovely

  4. Paul Olenick says:

    Nikki to the rescue! If she hadn’t mentioned a receipt, you (Dom) would have tossed the juicer in the bin – you seem the type (just like i would have done). Your juicer seems to have good features. Ive never considered one since my juice preferences are limited to apple, cranberry, and OJ (extra calcium and no pulp).

  5. Amara says:

    Absolutely loved this one and can’t go without my morning juice. Your family is the bees knees , too cool .

  6. Kayla says:

    I recently got a juicer myself, and I love it! Looking for some new recipes or concoctions to try, let us know if you have any favorites or tips for beginners 😉

  7. Jennie says:

    The fact that you are opposed to food waste and waste in general makes me an even bigger fan. I’m so glad you were able to replace the part on your juicer, rather than tossing the whole thing in the bin!

  8. Beth says:

    Nan is always telling me that appliances don’t last very long anymore- but I’m glad you were able to get it all sorted

  9. Pamela says:

    Glad you were able to quickly get a replacement part for your juicer! I just got my kindle replaced since I went to charge it one day and nothing! Tried several cords and chargers and it just wasn’t working! Contacted Amazon, chatted with someone and a new Kindle arrived at my door 2 days later! I did have to return the broken one, free of charge, to the UPS store!! I do hang on to my receipts until the warranty ends (just big purchases like TVs)! It has come in handy a time or two! Exciting news that The Fruit Bowl will be available soon!!

  10. Lory says:

    Dear Dominic, you are a particular person, but each of us is indeed…
    Some people may find this story trivial or stupid, but it is not so. Just last night I happened to watch “Hosmosis Jones” (I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it) and there is a relationship with what you wrote.
    Healthy eating is very important, but often we human beings forget it and live to eat rather than eat to live, I am aware of it.
    And you get sick and die even from diseases due to excess (cholesterol, heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure).
    I also agree with you on food waste: Woe!
    Apart from that I’m not rich and I have three daughters, I consider it a slap in the face of those who are much poorer than me, so in my house we recycle everything we can.
    As far as online shopping is concerned, well … I still prefer to go to the stores to buy appliances (small and large) and talk to real people .
    It is the first time that I write a comment on your blog: I am Lory, from Italy.
    Thanks!!!
    P.S. Happy Birthday to Thomas: he’s a really good guy.

  11. Tina Sarms says:

    Ah that great feeling when you actually get good customer service!!! It’s so rare, even when every company tries/wants to do it!

  12. Renato says:

    Dear Dom,

    Didn’t knew you had a blog, and just now catch myself reading at least five of your posts at once, really enjoying the way you see things and put them down on “paper”. It’s a really personal, tasty writing, which makes it a pleasure to read.

    I can’t buy a juicer like yours because I’m not from anywhere I could just buy it (with this I also sorry for eventual grammar mistaken here because English is not my first language), but I again caught myself willing to buy this juicer because you registered the feelings of having your problem solved so well I thought “why not to have my own problems solved this way? At least when it comes to juicers?”
    And Dom, let me tell you a thing: I don’t even drink that much juice. In fact, in quarantine, I can count in one hand the times I drank juice.

    Well, anyway, all this was just to tell you that your work on this blog is really good. Being an editor myself (not in English because I would be a terrible editor xD) and working with books made me kinda skeptic for new novels, because I’m always reading them as a professional and not enjoying that much. But I’ll buy your book because your narrative is good and made me feel entertained 🙂

    thanks!
    Renato.

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