32 Margaret Grant
Knickers Once upon a time my knickers drawer was home to a colourful assortment of bikini briefs, in an exciting jumble of fuchsia, teal, and lemony yellow. It also contained spotty knickers and flowery knickers, stripey shorts and statement shorts, as well as lacy brazilians and suggestive thongs. These days it contains a drab selection of M&S high-waisted knickers in boring shades of black and beige. These pants are bigger than those delectable knickers of yesteryear, and not only because my bottom has expanded in girth, but also because these days I like an undergarment to cover the entire area, while in days of yore I was happy to wear pants that cheekily revealed half my derrière. In the heyday of my skimpy knicker collection, I took a holiday to Western Australia where, in a department store in Perth, I was delighted to find Kylie Minogue's newly launched lingerie line on sale. I purchased several pairs of knickers from Kylie's line. I recall a saucy red pair with a seam up the back, a pair of turquoise cotton shorts with some longforgotten slogan printed on the front and royal blue briefs with a panel of lace at the side and a picture of a tiger on the front. These pants made me smile when I put them on in the morning. I lived in Tokyo at the time, and after work one Friday a couple of months after my Aussie holiday, I did my laundry. On Saturday I would be joining friends for an overnight trip to Yamanishi's wine region. Normally I hung my washing to dry on the balcony. But it was rainy season, and although it wasn't actually raining that evening, there was so much moisture in the air, I despaired of my clothes drying in time for my trip. So, I stuffed my wet items into a hold-all and lugged it to the coin laundry down the street. At the laundrette, I realised I only had one coin. I emptied the contents of my bag into the machine, fed the solitary coin into the slot, then walked to a convenience store two doors down to get more change. I returned, put some more money into the machine, and sat reading a book while the drier rumbled and revolved and my clothes dried. Back home, I dumped the contents of my holdall on my bed and began the task of putting away my t-shirts, blouses, skirts, and trousers. I selected a pale pink t-shirt and faded lightweight denims to put into an overnight bag for my trip the next day. What about knickers? Naturally, I would need a change of knickers. But where were my underpants? Not
