In the space of an hour on Tina's step one day a variety of issues are raised, all related to the theme of the cost of things and money. Steph is just back after a weekend visiting a daughter living in rural Ireland and says, “Everything is expensive down there, there's no Dealz or no Pound shop. Things cost a fortune.” Steph had once owned a car in the past and says one day, “Everything just went downhill and I didn't have the money for the tax and insurance anymore. So it [the car] just went.” Tina, who is sitting beside her on the step, has three large packets of toilet rolls that she has just bought in the Dealz shop and says, “They are six euros each in the big shop but I got them for four euros each so work that out. That means I got one free.” Prompted by this, Rosy shares a story that a sibling has been recently diagnosed with diabetes and Charlie is able to tell her, “If they fill in the pink form that is available in the local chemist they will get all of their diabetes medication free.” Charlie and Steph, facing each other across the step, then exchange stories about how many items they have on their ‘script’ and how much it is costing them and how many they get ‘free’, as it were. Steph searches her bag and produces a tattered prescription and reads down the list and she and Charlie compare what items they have in common and how much they are spending on them on a monthly basis. Charlie says that he pays for ten items at €2 per item, so his monthly script costs him €20. But he says he also gets eight things ‘free’ on the script. Steph had told me that there had recently been a reduction in price per item from €2.50 to €2. Entering one particular local chemist to get some of these items is an experience in itself, in that it feels like stepping over a threshold deep into the past.