Grocery shopping

[Dewt]

This has reminded me that it's time for my annual cumshot alarm test

[Blue Jam]

Had some eggs to use up, felt bad about wasting one of the most fought-after panic buy items, so I am now making some vaguely healthy cinnamon, apple and oat bran muffins. Popped out for a walk earlier and had a nice chat (from a distance) with some friends I hadn't seen since the pubs shut. Shops weren't too busy either, I think the nice weather has chilled people out a bit.

Enjoying lockdown way too much today.

[Jasha]

This doing shopping for other people is just about starting to get on my tits.

[Ferris]

Ferris Jr decided he no longer likes bananas but I bought a fucking load of them, so made an eggy banana loaf with all nuts and raisins and that. He's eating that no problem so what's his deal.

Also bought a papaya and a mango for him to try. Papaya is fucking RANK who knew eh? Tastes of swamps and forgotten sneakers.

[Cloud]

The thing where you can put your chosen supermarket into Google Maps and it shows how busy it is, is excellent.  Used it yesterday - saw on the graph that the number in Tesco (which was dangerously overcrowded at 3pm last Friday) dies down after about 6/7, and saw the red "live" bar overlaid.  Watched that red bar gradually drop to the "usual" blue ones then made my move.  Place was near empty.

[Captain Crunch]

There's also the check-in app, again relies on users but seems to work well for the big shops. 

[greencalx]

Thanks to Nicola Sturgeon, lots more people were wearing masks/scarves/bananas over their mouths this week. This led to people coming much closer to me than previously, which is a known side effect.

[Blue Jam]

Thanks to Nicola Sturgeon, lots more people were wearing masks/scarves/bananas over their mouths this week.

Hehehehe... I only wear a mask when I'm shopping, that's the only time I get nervous about getting the 'vid.

[Blue Jam]

Baron Bigod is amazing, but £45.50/1.2 kg for Lincolnshire Poacher or Appleby's Cheshire is as least double the going rate.

Went to Waitrose today, partly because I felt I needed a long walk, partly to stock up on posh cheese. Store was pretty quiet and well-stocked and people were behaving themselves. Again, I think the nice weather makes people less irritable.

ot some Lincolnshire Poacher and some goats' milk goada. Also got some really nice smoked ham and some pineapple and am now having another Hawaiian toastie. No posh cheese on that though, just Saino's Barber's Mature.

[seepage]

^ Cote Hill Lindum is worth a try if you go back. Waitrose used to sell the fantastic Roccolo on the cheese counter but I assume that's currently out of action.

[Emma Raducanu]

Went to the post office today to post a letter to my grandma. The queue had 4 people in front of me. I queued for nearly 40 minutes.

[Blue Jam]

^ Cote Hill Lindum is worth a try if you go back. Waitrose used to sell the fantastic Roccolo on the cheese counter but I assume that's currently out of action.

Nope, the cheese counter was operational. I must have a look next time I fancy a long walk to a posh supermarket, cheers.

Waitrose also had the excellent Lancashire Bomb in the last time I went, but I didn't see that today. They still had quite a bit of that Godminster Vintage cheddar in the heart-shaped Valentine's Day edition, wasn't reduced though.

[Attila]

Went to Waitrose today, partly because I felt I needed a long walk, partly to stock up on posh cheese. Store was pretty quiet and well-stocked and people were behaving themselves. Again, I think the nice weather makes people less irritable.

Mr Attila went to our local (Waitrose) for his weekly shop yesterday and came home a bit shaken as a fight between two adult men and a security guard broke out in the queue ahead of him (as in, the two adults were directly in front of him in the queue). They'd got all the way up to the door, and the security guy nodded to let the one guy in, as the store is operating a 'one in, one out' policy.

Both guys tried to go in together, and the security guard reminded them that it's one family member per shop. So it kicked off with a lot of shouting, threatening language, loads of 'fuck you's. Security matey never broke a sweat according to Mr Attila, but these two guys were absolutely enraged about how unfair it was and how they were going to do their shop together. They did not get their way. Mr Attila is a big guy, but he said the sheer anger coming off these guys activated his fight or flight instinct, especially as all this kicked off directly in front of him.

Usually the queue there's been pretty quiet, and  moved fairly quickly even when it's wrapped around the carpark. The only other time there's been any kicking off was in the week or so before lockdown, when I went and a couple used a trolley to bash their way through the queue that had been waiting to get in, and then knocked people out of the way to get their bog roll, &c. (as told somewhere back earlier in this thread).

[Pranet]

Got pissed off today. No queue but I wonder if that is just because they have given up as it seemed quite busy inside. Got fucked off by dopey cunts - one either side of an aisle (or adult and child either side of the aisle) effectively blocking the aisle unless you barge between them taking for fucking ever to decide what they are buying, being caught in a pincer movement of two pensioners baring down on me with their trollies. Gave up and came away without some of the stuff I was hoping to get. Feel like I've probably got the virus now as well.

[seepage]

Local Tesco had an attempt at a one way system but with all the parallel isles running in the same direction i.e. you couldn't just go down one and then up the next.   

[Sebastian Cobb]

Local Tesco had an attempt at a one way system but with all the parallel isles running in the same direction i.e. you couldn't just go down one and then up the next.   

The tesco garage near me is more organised and strict compared to the supermarkets. Someone makes sure you're queueing and asks you to sanitise your hands with alcohol, and they snake you up and down the aisles. It works ok unless you catch a dawdler up and they have no spatial awareness.

When they first put the boundaries up at the counter they were far too far back so you couldn't reach anything but they've moved them forward a bit now.

[Gulftastic]

Iceland release their delivery slots at 11.00 am each day. I logged in bang on the hour today and, after being in the queue for about two minutes, booked a slot for Thursday morning.

[timebug]

Went for a walk, no intention of shopping on that particular ramble...but as I neared home, I pass my local Aldi. At around ten in the morning, for he first time in weeks, there was no queue outside at all. So I wandered over to check it out. Baskets were also available for the first time in weeks, it has been trollies only for a while;went inside to grab some  milk, and finding the place fully stocked, but almost empty of customers, I managed to do more or less a 'complete shop' for myself. That's me good for the next two to three weeks,aside from milk and bread which are he two commonly used things for me! But it was nice to see things almost back to normal in there; yes most folk had masks on,and yes we all obeyed the two metre rule* so all in all, a nice stroke of happenstance that in a small way, cheered me up no end!


*Except one idiot.Full face mask, six feet four, lurching from almost colliding with one customer, to the next.But there's always one!

[olliebean]

Been checking the Google Maps busyness graphs today, and it looks like the levels are pretty much back to normal at all the local supermarkets (above normal in one case). Either that or the average levels have been adjusted to show lockdown averages rather than long-term averages.

[Dewt]

I had to ship a package today and it's next to Whole Foods so I considered braving getting some eggs and other things.

My car kindly took that option away from me by having a flat battery.

[olliebean]

Been checking the Google Maps busyness graphs today, and it looks like the levels are pretty much back to normal at all the local supermarkets (above normal in one case). Either that or the average levels have been adjusted to show lockdown averages rather than long-term averages.

They went down again later in the day. I reckon it must be more people catching on to the fact that they're less busy in the mornings.

[Attila]

Long queue to get into the Waitrose again today (this afternoon); everyone stocking up for the long weekend. I took a book to read because I have zero interest in lockdown banter, but became aware of a woman walking up and down the queue asking people to let her barge in, because all she wanted to do was nip in to get a bar of chocolate and a magazine and it was ridiculous for her to have to queue up.

[Dewt]

Long queue to get into the Waitrose again today (this afternoon); everyone stocking up for the long weekend. I took a book to read because I have zero interest in lockdown banter, but became aware of a woman walking up and down the queue asking people to let her barge in, because all she wanted to do was nip in to get a bar of chocolate and a magazine and it was ridiculous for her to have to queue up.

She couldn't be made to understand that it is ridiculous for her to be buying those things at that moment, could she?

I mean fair play you can have those things, but they're not worth inconveniencing other people for at rush-shit hour. Queue up and eat your medicine.

[Ferris]

Long queue to get into the Waitrose again today (this afternoon); everyone stocking up for the long weekend. I took a book to read because I have zero interest in lockdown banter, but became aware of a woman walking up and down the queue asking people to let her barge in, because all she wanted to do was nip in to get a bar of chocolate and a magazine and it was ridiculous for her to have to queue up.

To be fair, that is top-tier trolling.

[pigamus]

But why the fuck would you go to a major supermarket if that's all you want?

[Icehaven]

Long queue to get into the Waitrose again today (this afternoon); everyone stocking up for the long weekend. I took a book to read because I have zero interest in lockdown banter, but became aware of a woman walking up and down the queue asking people to let her barge in, because all she wanted to do was nip in to get a bar of chocolate and a magazine and it was ridiculous for her to have to queue up.

My trolley would have been firmly inserted into her arse, wide end first, wheel deep.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Queueing up for the tills at the tesco garage with one way system. Quite wide woman comes in on an electric wheelchair. Naturally I instinctively get out of the way, making room for her to go the wrong way up a one-way aisle by blocking her access to the aisle she wanted to go up, like a twat.

[peanutbutter]

Been checking the Google Maps busyness graphs today, and it looks like the levels are pretty much back to normal at all the local supermarkets (above normal in one case). Either that or the average levels have been adjusted to show lockdown averages rather than long-term averages.

I think a lot of it is the one person per household thing speeding up individual shoppers hugely, coupled with that one person now arriving equipped with a clear shopping list


Had a dude at Lidl earlier going fucking nuts that the security man wouldn't believe that he didn't live with the woman he was with (who he had just confirmed was his wife).

[idunnosomename]

one bloke in a golf jumper today in Aldi, pissing about choosing Shiraz, blocking the aisle (which has a bunch of stock trolleys on the other side), blocking the way for someone else, who had to wait, then when he'd finished, just walked right past her

utter cuntery

[Tombola]

Had to go to Iceland earlier. Their policy on how many cunts can roam around looking for a romantic dinner for two in a frozen coffin was actually the best I've seen since lockdown started. Barely had to dodge anyone.

This is in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a place where people vote for the worst things but are polite in Iceland.