When you’ve been walking up and down the aisles doing your weekly shop, sometimes a nice cup of tea is called for (funny how a cuppa can work wonders – a brew seems to solve every problem in Eastenders!)  So, it’s fortunate then, that many Supermarkets have their own café, although it does help if they’re well stocked and it’s even better if they’re, well, just open really!  The Café at my local Sainsbury’s is always in complete chaos.  It’s great for the fact that it’s cheap – you can buy the kids lunch without getting out a bank loan – but they never seem to be able to cope.  The first time I went in I made a simple request for a hot chocolate, no cream, which the lady took approximately 10 minutes to make and asked me twice if I needed any cream!  On another occasion they had an offer on for half price mince pies when you bought a hot drink.  We just fancy that, thought my Mum and I, so I queued up, asked for it and the man behind the till just stared at me blankly.  “We haven’t got any Mince Pies” he said.  “You’ve got an offer on I said”.  Another blank expression.  So, having tempted us with something they couldn’t deliver, we had to settle for a piece of shortbread each.  I suggested he move the huge promotional sandwich board at the café entrance to avoid repeated requests for mince pies, but my advice seemed to fall on deaf ears.  Then today, when I went in I was told they were only serving hot drinks, which was fine by me.  Just 2 seconds after serving me they decided the café was closed, with no explanation, so all the pensioners who then came in search of a must needed cuppa were turned away.  Oh, and don’t get me started on the time I had a cooked breakfast at the Asda café and was told they’d run out of mushrooms – err, you’re selling them just a couple of metres away, it’s not hard to stock up!  So come on supermarkets, put some effort into your cafes!

I was looking at the Valentine’s card in the shop today when a lady came up to me and said “When’s it Valentine’s Day”.  I told her it was Thursday and she said “I suppose I’d better send a card then.  What Day is it today?”  “Monday”, I told her.  I kind of admired her laid back (somewhat confused) attitude to it all!  She saw the cards and thought of buying one as an afterthought, rather than me having it on my ‘To Do’ list.  So, are you swept up by all the consumerism of it all?  Do you feel the peer pressure to buy a card and gift for your other half or do you stick to your guns, refusing to be forced into romance?  I agree, we should be romantic every day of the year, not just February 14 and our romantic gestures shouldn’t be dictated by the retail giants and advertisers, but at the same time, I like an excuse to be romantic, to have a nice meal out mid week or share a bottle of champagne.  Ok, I know you can do this whenever you like, but with hectic lives and kids and housework and shopping, it’s sometimes nice to be given a prompt, an excuse, a reason - whatever you choose to call it- to to take some time out for romance.  And, if the retailers add to their profits in the process, then fair enough!

It would seem I’m currently having a run of good luck where shopping at the Supermarket is involved (unless we include my scrape in the Sajnsburys carpark, but as a newly qualified driver I’m going to try to put that incident out of my mind!)  So, a customer was kind enough to let me pay for my shopping without waiting in the queue behind him, then this evening, I was waiting to pay for a couple of items and the cashier asked the man she was serving if he had a Clubcard.  He said he didn’t and turned to me to ask if I wanted his points.  I’d only popped in for a bottle of wine and some nappies, so was delighted to accept the points accumulated from his £60 shop.  It’s so refreshing to come across fellow human beings who are aware of others – he didn’t have to offer me, a complete stranger to him, his points, but it was a nice thing to do.  I just hope he left the shop and was the recipient of a good deed, because I’m a great believer in what comes around goes around and when people do good, they deserve good things. 

Just as I was starting to think chivalry was dead, I was pleasantly surprised to discover it does still make an appearance from time to time.  I popped to Sainsbury’s the other evening to pick up a much deserved bottle of wine for the hubby and me and a couple of chocolate treats.  The queues at the till weren’t particularly long and the at the till I chose there was just one man in front of me.  He was loading all his groceries onto the conveyor belt, looked up from his trolley and said to me “Is that all you’ve got?  You can go first”.  I had no problem with waiting and wasn’t expecting this gesture – I’m so used to people being in a rush when I’m at the Supermarket.  Ok, by the time I was served he was still getting things out from his trolley, but that’s not the point.  It’s simply a nice reminder that people do still have manners, not everyone is oblivious and wrapped up in their own thoughts.  His gesture would still have slowed him down slightly as the cashier could have started to scan his groceries through rather than completing my transaction.  So, the next time I’m doing a big shop and I see someone with a couple of items behind me, I’ll let them through first.  What about you?

I’m trying to do my bit for the environment by reusing my supermarket carrier bags, but I always seem to forget to take them with me. I’m determined not to let this happen again as the plastic bags are piling up our kitchen. Last week I popped a couple of carrier bags into my handbag and set off to the supermarket, but by the time my groceries were being scanned and put into new bags, it was too late to use them. Next time, I promised myself! On Friday I went into Sainsburys to pick up a few bits. “Do you need any help with your packing” the lady on the checkout asked. “No thanks” I replied as a lady standing at the end of the till proceeded to pack my few items into a bag for me! They had people packing for charity, so as I threw some money into the bucket I consoled myself with the fact that I’d done my bit for charity, if not the environment! So, with even more carrier bags, I took a couple with me when I popped to my local Tesco Express yesterday. The man behind the counter had a carrier bag open ready for me. “I’m ok for a bag thanks” I said and then stood and watched as he put my shopping into the open bag – aarrgghh! Is it me – maybe they don’t hear me, but then again if they’re asking the question, surely they should wait for an answer? I don’t think it is me – I think they’re simply on autopilot as we all get when we do the same job everyday. I completely understand that, but it doesn’t help me in my quest to recycle and save the environment!

Now, I’ve mentioned in the past that when I go shopping with my double pushchair (and my children of course – I don’t go out with an empty pram!) that people often get irritated. Although I believe Mothers are as entitled as anyone else to go to the shops I can appreciate people’s frustrations, so always do my utmost to get out of people’s paths as quickly as possible. I believe myself to be courteous and considerate and treat people how I would like to be treated. However, having encountered some very ignorant and ungrateful people, I’m beginning to wonder if I should be making such an effort. For example, this morning I was in Tesco and was looking for a birthday card for a friend. I parked my pushchair up in the aisle and was suddenly conscious that a man was trying to get past. Even though there was enough room for him to get through, I apologised and moved the pram back. What did he do? Moved straight into the space where I had been looking at the cards, so I couldn’t get back in!! I couldn’t believe it! Maybe he hasn’t realised I was looking at them I thought, giving him a benefit of the doubt he clearly didn’t deserve, because as I stood right behind him he still didn’t move. My youngest son started to cry (maybe at the injustice of it all) so I loudly said “It’s ok, we’re going as soon as we’ve got a card”. The man still didn’t move. So, maybe next time I should leave my double buggy exactly where it is and adopt the same ignorant attitude as other customers try to squeeze past?

It may only be the end of January, but the year seems to fly by in the world of retail. Now sooner has the last piece of tinsel been taken down than the shelves are heaving with chocolates, hearts and flowers. Valentine’s Day may be over for most in just 24 hours (unless you have a particular romantic partner who’s whisking you off for a sun drenched week in the Maldives!) but for the shops it’s yet another reason to tempt us with a whole array of goods for weeks and weeks before hand. Valentine’s cards, heart shaped novelties and Belgian chocolates fight for shelf space with the every growing range of Easter Eggs on sale each year. No sooner is Easter done and dusted than we’ll be encouraged to buy for Father’s Day, to stock up on seasonal summer goodies, then the kids will need all sorts of things from the back to school range before the shops once again start putting the tinsel up again for the three month count down to Christmas! Phew! Although I’m a self-confessed shopoholic and easily tempted by all the seasonal goodies, I sure am glad that I don’t work in retail, as I really don’t think I could keep up. I struggle to get everything done and sometimes feeling I’m living weeks ahead of myself as it is, but I draw the line at getting into the Christmas spirit in August!

I know January is supposed to be the time for reflection, resolution and making a fresh start, but in terms of shopping I think the real fresh start comes around February. The sales are finally drawing to a close, the shops have all their fresh new exciting stock and fashion ranges in and rather than thinking what we’re going to buy for all our relatives, we can start to turn our attention back to ourselves a little bit (it may sound terribly self-centred but we all need to treat ourselves once in a while). Combined with the days starting to get longer, all the bright vibrant colours in the shops always help to lift my mood, because you can think forward to the spring and summer and I know it won’t be too longer (although you never can tell with British climate) before I can put my chunky jumpers to the back of the wardrobe for another year. The shops seem to come to life again and everything looks so appealing. It sometimes coincides quite nicely with the fact that the Christmas debts are finally beginning to be cleared and we suddenly feel there’s a little more disposable income for treats (depending on how overboard we went at Christmas). Then there’s all the Easter eggs and things starting to clutter up the shelves, which does drive some people mad, but as long as they’re not on display in January I always see them as indicative that we’ve turned a corner and we’re on the way to bigger and brighter things!

Apparently they’ve named today ‘Blue Monday’, because they say it’s the most depressing day of the year. I don’t know who ‘they’ are and I don’t know how we stand a chance to be cheery, if before we’ve even started our day we’re being told we should be feeling depressed! But, let’s face it, January isn’t the most inspiring month of the year and add to that, all the rain we’re having, the wind and the long dark nights and who can blame us if we tend to feel a little bit miserable. So, I’m all for a little retail therapy to lift the blues. Shopping is an activity that can be enjoyed inside, away from the elements - in fact, if you’re inside a shopping centre it could be blazing sunshine outside for all you know! Add to your trip a little break at a café for coffee and cake and you can really make a day of it. Who knows, you may even snap up a few bargains in the end of the sales, which is sure to bring a smile to your face. Personally, my mood is lifted simply by returning home with a couple of bags from my favourite shops with a new top or two tucked inside. Does that make me shallow? Well, as I look out of the window at yet another wet January evening, I don’t care. Any kind of therapy must be worth it and the retail variety is a lot cheaper than some!

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t see myself as the luckiest of shoppers when it comes to sales, but then I suppose that’s because I compare my experiences with those jammy types who always seem to get their hands on the most incredible bargains without even breaking into a sweat! I think my problem sometimes is that I sometimes find it difficult to identify real bargains in a sale situation. So, I go into a shop in non-sale season and I can easily pick out my favourite items (unfortunately I usually can’t afford them!), but once a sale starts everything just looks so different. Sometimes the items I’ve had my eye on for weeks don’t look half as tempting when they’re crammed on to a clothes rail which is practically groaning under the strain and is full of an assortment of styles and colours of garments that are really doing nothing to complement each other! Then I see things I haven’t seen before and I’m sucked in by the fact that something that was once £18 is £3. Before I know it I have a few garments draped over my arm and I’m heading for the till. This is the point when I could really do with someone sensible, practical and frugal by my side saying ‘Do you really need it?’ I must admit, I’m getting better at asking myself the question and putting things back, taking a deep breath, walking out of the shop and not looking back, but I still seem to come home with countless t-shirts and jumpers I’ll never wear, simply because they were cheap. And don’t get me started on jackets! Admittedly, most of them are lovely, but there really are only so many jackets a girl can wear!