the one pound veg man

I didn't really know this man. I bought my fruit and veg from him every now and then. Just down the road and only one pound for healthy quantities of a variety of produce, he definitely owned the best fruit and veg shop around. Visiting his shop was about more than just picking up the essentials as he didn't just sell fruit and veg he made me happy. Nearly every time I visited the friendly one pound veg man he threw in an item or three for free. I would rush home excited with the good deal I just received. "Look Tom," I would exclaim, "Look at all of this I got for free! I only spent five pounds and look at how much we have, enough for the week at least." My favourite was the mango, so ripe and juicy. Mango wasn't even on my list the day I came home with three I was given for free. I remember the pleasure eating it with plain yoghurt for pudding that night, scrumptious! Then there were the plums. He gave Tom so many plums we literally had to eat three a day in order to get through them before they went off. We told all of our friends about the one pound veg man, especially those that moved to the area as of course they had to shop there too. I didn't really realise it at the time, but this man I barely knew brought joy to my life.

Now I don't think it's really fair for me to keep calling him the one pound veg man. His name is Tony, Tony Magdi.

Now for a slight change to this story, we will come back to Tony in a second. About a month ago Tom and I were driving up to Brook Farm for Sunday roast when we were shocked to see police tape blocking our road a couple of streets down. There must have been an accident, and a pretty bad one at that. We didn't hear anything about it for a few days and honestly I didn't give it much thought. Then, thanks to following @hovepeople, I came across a report about this accident. There was a major altercation between a car driver and a few cyclists. When the driver accidently got in the cyclists' way when opening his door they went mad. One of them road raged on the driver to the extent that he had to be rushed to the intensive care unit at a nearby hospital. Additionally, it was a rage and run and a search soon began for the angry cyclist. As the days passed more information was discovered and revealed. The cyclist was found as the driver continued to fight for his life. The driver was revealed as Tony Magdi. Yes, my lovely one pound veg man. It was such a big story, even the BBC covered it on the nightly news. Unfortunantly, Tony did not survive. The infections he contracted were too much for him.

I know this is not the most pleasant story, it makes me very sad which is why I wanted to share it. It shocked me how upset I got about a man I didn't really know. It shows how much of an impact being friendly can have on those around you.


I don't understand how people can be so cruel as that cyclist, its not right. Tony was a lovely man who will be dearly missed in the neighborhood, along with his amazing fruit and veg shop.

Love