They say many people meet their partners at the supermarket which has given rise to singles nights, but maybe a more subtle approach is called for! It could have been a beautiful romance, but hey, at least you made her laugh. And, with a story like that you’ve always got a tale to tell down the pub!

You can get into a lot of trouble for selling cigarettes or alcohol to those under-age, but the problem of asking for ID is that you often risk offending people. Still, if you’re not sure, you have to ask. Morrisons have gone one step further with their policy of asking everyone. Yes, that means everyone - if you’re 18 or 80 and you take alcohol to the checkout, you’ll be asked if you’re 21. People react to this in different ways. Those who look young for their age will get nervous (how I remember the days of being knocked back from bars and clubs because I looked a lot younger than I was - if only that was the case these days!), those who are in their 50s, 60s and beyond often respond with mild amusement and cheeky banter such as ‘I think so’, or ‘You flatterer!’ and then there are those who find the whole thing completely ridiculous. So much so that I know someone who has decided to boycott Morrisons, no longer shopping there, because as a gentleman of a certain age he was outraged to be asked if he was 21. Sense of humour bypass or an understandable reaction. What do you think?

Hey, these days you could almost feed yourself for free simply by walking around the supermarket. On the right day, there’s someone standing on the corner of every other aisle you turn offering samples of cheese or tiny tumblers of the latest wine. So what kind of shopper are you? Do you steam right in and try anything and everything on offer (even if you don’t really fancy it) simply because it’s free? Or, do you really, really want to have a nibble, but just feel slightly too embarrassed to tuck in? Or, are you simply not interested, because you’re in the supermarket to shop, not eat? Well, if you fall into the last category, you could be missing a trick - after all, they’re promoting things for a reason - so that you’ll buy. And how, do you know whether you’ll like something without trying it? It really is a great opportunity to try before you buy. If you’re guilty of chucking all sorts of things in your trolley just to see if you like them and then pushing them to the back of the cupboard to be discovered some time never then ‘Try before you Buy’ is an avenue you should explore. So the next time someone in a garish t-shirt and baseball cap offers you a lump of cheese or a thimble of wine, take time out and try it. It could save you a fortune in the long run!

Don’t you just hate it when you go to try clothes on in a shop and you’ve got 3 items, but they insist that you take 4? For a start, I’m normally struggling with the 3 pieces of clothing without being handed another one that I don’t even want to try on. It takes longer to hang them up in your cubicle before you can start your own personal fashion parade! Usually I’m handed something so hideous that I can even find myself feeling a little offended (ok, ok, I know it’s pulled off the rack at random, but when it’s handed to you by an uber-slim stunning, fashion-conscious shop assistant, you can’t help but wonder…) So, now not only am I struggling with the 4 items of clothing over my arm, but I’m also desperately trying to hide the horror item under the other 3 so that people don’t think I’m taking it into the changing room through choice! Then again, they can’t win. If they do happen to give me an extra item in my size and I try it on, and I really quite like it, then I end up spending even more money! I know, I’m making a huge fuss over nothing - who really cares what I’m trying on when I go shopping? I suppose my problem is, shopping is serious business and I don’t have time to mess around with unwanted clothes - so please, give me a tag with a number on and then you’ll neither offend me or make me bankrupt!

Whenever I decide to go and do my grocery shopping, the queues at the tills always seem to be ridiculously long (it’ll get worse and worse as Christmas approaches). Why do I always take about 5 minutes deciding which is the best till - size of queue, size of trolleys, dithering nature of customers only to be told as I start to unload my shopping ‘Sorry I’m closed’ This is accompanied by a nod towards the most ineffective notice!

I was delighted (it doesn’t take much!) when I actually managed to get my shopping on the conveyer belt yesterday before the lady on the till said, ‘Can you just pop this down for me love’ . As she handed me the ’closed’ sign I felt silently smug and satisfied that for once it wasn’t me looking harassed and annoyed as I was sent in search of another till.

As I was waiting for my shopping to be scanned, a man then started to unload his shopping behind me and it was my turn to indicate the sign and say, ‘sorry it’s closed‘. I felt his irritation and empathised with his plight. But, I have to say, as my shopping began to be scanned, my over-riding feeling was one of relief, that this time I made it through!

I agree about the coke thing - I think the supermarket versions normally taste awful, although you’re right - they probably are made in the same place as the branded ones. I’d draw the line at describing Bernard Matthew’s products as superior though!

Now something I think has been instilled in me from an early age when I was shopping in the supermarket with my mum is checking the best before and use by dates on food. You can’t fool me, I’ll always reach to the back! As someone who hates throwing out food ( the statistics on how much food is wasted in the UK each year is criminal), I like to make sure that the groceries I buy have the longest possible dates on them to give us longer to keep them before they need eating.

This has caused me, on occasions, to attract a few bewildered looks from fellow shoppers I stand in the fruit and veg aisle removing box after box of cherry tomatoes just to make sure the box right at the bottom, right at the back can’t be kept fro one day longer than all the other boxes! Maybe it’s a slight form of OCD (it’s suggested we all have it to a certain extent) but I just can’t leave it until I know. It’s the same for cartons of milk. If you see me out shopping I may be surrounded by several two-pinters while I ensure I find the milk that lasts the longest. In a way, maybe people like me are causing more issues by not simply buying the products at the front of the shelf - if no one buys them more food will be wasted… Then again, I suppose it’s also balanced out by those of us who head straight to the reduced items in the supermarket with the produce that’s been marked down because it must be eaten that day. So, which category do you fall into?

I think I must have one of those faces that encourages people to talk to me! I never seem to be able to get around the supermarket without having to stop for several chit chats. I don’t have a problem with it, but it always seems to be when I’m in a real hurry (which these days is most of the time!) The worst bit about it though is you finally manage to wrap up the conversation and politely walk away to continue shopping, but then always seem to bump back into them down almost every aisle!

Then again, when it results in a compliment you can’t really complain. I was shopping yesterday and a lady stopped to look at my two little boys in their double buggy. She commented on how lovely there are (of course!) and asked about the age gap (21 months). She then said “I bet you’ll stop now you’ve got both” - both boys did she mean? No, she clearly thought my youngest was a girl and like most people was insinuating you couldn’t possibly be satisfied with your family until you have a boy and a girl. Anyway, I managed to get away, only to keep bumping into her. Then, as I bumped into her for a fourth time she said; “It’s true what they say - pretty mums have lovely kids”. I went to the till happy and if I’d bumped into her again in the queue I wouldn’t have worried!

So there I was, in the supermarket trying to get a few bits in for the tea when all of a sudden several Barbie Gymnastic Divas were falling down towards me near the fruit and veg! For those of you unfamiliar with Barbie Gymnastic Divas (as I was until yesterday), it’s basically the latest model of your old style Girl’s World - the disembodied head you style, so as you can imagine, it’s pretty scary seeing 6 of them toppling towards you from a great height!

My initial reaction after diving out of their way was it wasn’t me! I didn’t touch them! I don’t think my little boy had hit them with his foot either. And, if he did, is it really in accordance with health and safety procedures to have things so precariously stacked around the store? Many people would walk in and see a compensation claim (not me of course!) There’s never an assistant on hand to help when you most need them so I ended up stacking the styling heads back up myself pretending to be oblivious to the onlookers stares. So for me, it was very much a case of - forget the compo - who wants to put a claim in for injuries sustained in the supermarket from a Barbie attack!

I was in my local Tesco Express last night and I was intrigued by the male cashier behind the till who wasn’t wearing the usual Tesco uniform. In fact, he wasn’t even smartly dressed. He was wearing a striped hooded top and baggy jeans. He looked like he’d been called in off the street to help out because the queue had got a bit big - that’s not me being uncharitable - there was nothing wrong with the way he was dressed, but he just looked so out of place amongst the uniformed staff. As I got closer to the till I saw a piece of paper attached to the front of his till which read; ‘You are being served by a newly trained cashier so it may take longer than usual to scan your goods. Thanks for your patience’.

Ah, I thought, that explains the attire. Then I began to feel slightly sorry for him. The poor guy was already extremely conspicuous behind the till and then he has to contend with a big sign basically telling customers he’ll be scanning their goods slowly! I appreciate that the store was trying to communicate with shoppers and ensure that the customer experience was as satisfactory as possible, but for some reason it just didn’t sit very well with me - in fact, it reminded me of looking at things in the zoo! I suppose you can’t please all of the people all of the time!