Packaged Food 101
by Courtenay Schembri Gray
Hello! This week we have Courtenay Schembri Gray sharing with us on the Gazette. Courtenay Schembri Gray (she/her) is a Northern writer who loves to write about the weird, the bizarre, and the eerie. She is the author of The Maple Moon Substack.
Hope you enjoy!
Sinae+Kate
This week, I plan on exploring my feelings through the food I consume. In this day and age, everyone is obsessed with diets and green juices, but some of us just eat like we always have.Â
Fortified Gazette Day 1: Packaged Food 101
By the seventh seal,
pomegranate seeds lingerÂ
in dirty milk suds
— Courtenay Schembri Gray
8:00 am: After brushing my teeth, I ordered a Caramel Macchiato and a Coconut Milk Latte from Starbucks on Deliveroo. I also ordered a Double Sausage & Egg McMuffin Meal from Maccies, with the addition of an extra sausage patty. My diet is always bad, but it’s been particularly bad this year. I’ve been going through a rough time with my mental health, and one of my key issues is my body.Â
10:00 am: I made myself a cup of tea before watching Good Mythical Morning. Deliciously Ella sells these Peanut Butter oat bars which are really nice. They taste like tracker bars. I started reading Naive, Super by Erlend Loe. There was a debate on Twitter among a few of us about which Shakespeare plays are the best.Â
12:00 pm: I pre-heated the oven to 180 degrees. On Saturday, I picked up some shredded duck spring rolls from Sainsbury’s, and they’re usually pretty decent. We don’t have any Soy Sauce in, but I do have Worcestershire Sauce, so that alternative had to do. It did make the spring rolls soggy. After that, I went to the car to record some poetry on my phone.Â
14:30 pm: I ordered again from Starbucks. I also got an almond croissant this time. It’s Halloween, and we’re not going anywhere, so we’re switching off the lights and hiding. I have to switch over my SIM card tonight, and I pray that it works. I need to keep my number. All my accounts are attached to it, plus my communications with Stewart prior to his untimely death were from this number. It’s not just a series of mathematical shapes, but an artery.Â
I’ve been thinking a lot about what my new therapist said. He asked a lot of probing questions which I don’t know the answer to. If I want to be great, how do I make people see it? What am I going for? Am I willing to be disliked if it means I am true to myself?
15:30 pm: Quiz shows. Quiz shows. Quiz shows. This time of the evening is usually for snacking. I’m a snacker and a picker. We haven’t been shopping yet, so there isn’t a lot in. I love my new spooky champagne glass. Tomorrow, we have to go to town because mum has to go to the bank. I’m looking forward to eating some toast from Costa. They do the best toast. I hope they have jam this time.Â
I’ve been re-reading Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille, and I am always so intrigued by the imagery through milk and eggs. Food in Literature is a fascinating topic for me. It provides such a rich, sensory look at the world. I bought a stage adaptation of Hamlet to watch later on tonight. This time of year isn’t good for my sensory issues because the fireworks keep going off every night. Maybe a bit of Shakespeare will calm me down.
Find Courtenay on Instagram @courtenaywrites and check out Courtenay’s substack, The Maple Moon.
"It’s not just a series of mathematical shapes, but an artery."
Oooooof, yeah. 🖤