Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Shopping
Many visits to supermarkets in the last few days, probably more than BH, so that means a lot for me.
I paid one visit to our large Sainsbury's on foot, carrying two pounds of brussels sprouts, on the bone as it were, which I had purchased at the market. The sprouts attracted various interested glances, unless that is, it was the breakfast egg on my shirt front. The mission was to buy two bottles of medium sherry, this in penance for having tasted one bottle of same which had previously been designated Christmas fare. So I get myself to the self-checkout clutching two bottles of sherry, one packet of dried yeast and two pounds of brussels sprouts, on the bone. Put the brussels sprouts in the bagging area so that I can start operations. Bagging area detects alien object. Remove sprouts and put my hand up to summon the invigilator. He jogs the thing back into life. Start to pass merchandise across scanner and the thing hiccups again. Same procedure as last time. Finish passing merchandise across scanner and the thing requires proof of age. Hand up again. This time I escape - and, despite all, the self-checkout was a lot faster than standing in line. Perhaps one day I shall graduate to one of those hand held computers with which you scan your merchandise as you go round.
Then I paid several half visits to the Sainsbury's Local which is about to knock out some more shops from Ewell village, where by half visit I mean cycle past rather than actually go in. The Sainsbury's people are very keen because they look to have got the shop up and running before they have finished putting the tiles on the roof. Presumably the lining paper they have put under the tiling battens is deemed to be sufficiently waterproof for a grocer. That apart, it is quite impressive the speed with which they can fit up such a shop from the shell and get it up and running; presumably a few heads get broken on the way, to be attended to, in the boozer, on completion. Sainbury's Basic fags around the back.
But I don't suppose the lady (ask Mr. Google for Deb's Veg) who has just opened a small veg. shop in the village is so impressed. I wonder whether she bothered to check with the council or whoever whether there was a chain store in play? And then there is the butcher at the other end of the village, who sells a lot of cooked meats and fancy groceries as well as meat; don't suppose he is too happy either.
There was also a visit to the newish Lidl near the Chessington Garden Centre, to top up with their presumably slightly dodgy premier cru wine at around £10 a pop. I say slightly dodgy as I assume that the stuff is not quite up to snuff, despite being from a bottler who is; but it is quite good enough for us. Impresses stray guests. Here I was entertained while waiting by a couple of young ladies at the next checkout who wanted to pay a third on one card, a third on another (in another name) and a third in cash. The young (English) man in charge seemed to think that a Lidl checkout machine could cope with this but it was taking him a little while to work out exactly how, despite assistance from the pretty young (East Asian) girl in charge of my checkout.
In the margins of all this I have been continuing with Vol. II of Trollope on Cicero on Kindle, last mentioned on October 20th. The general scene seems to be that in Trollope's day anyone with a proper education could read Cicero in the original. He quotes small chunks in the original without translation: wonderful, pure & poetic Latin it is too, I dare say. But, despite that, the chap seems to have had a bad press, perhaps because he was on the losing side, and Trollope is at pains to explain what a good chap he was really. Maybe a bit dodgy around the edges by the standards of his (Trollope's) day, but quite progressive for his (Cicero's), to the point of anticipating the policies and precepts of our Lord.
So amused along the way by Trollope's righteous indignation about the way that Roman proconsuls pillaged their charges big time. A practise which was illegal but was expected and anybody who was anybody could easily bribe his way through the inevitable legal challenges back in the forum. Not being challenged would be bad; everyone would assume your fishing had not been very successful. And all this at a time when similar people were doing similar things in our name in India and elsewhere. And this despite Trollope giving every appearance of being a thoroughly decent chap.
I paid one visit to our large Sainsbury's on foot, carrying two pounds of brussels sprouts, on the bone as it were, which I had purchased at the market. The sprouts attracted various interested glances, unless that is, it was the breakfast egg on my shirt front. The mission was to buy two bottles of medium sherry, this in penance for having tasted one bottle of same which had previously been designated Christmas fare. So I get myself to the self-checkout clutching two bottles of sherry, one packet of dried yeast and two pounds of brussels sprouts, on the bone. Put the brussels sprouts in the bagging area so that I can start operations. Bagging area detects alien object. Remove sprouts and put my hand up to summon the invigilator. He jogs the thing back into life. Start to pass merchandise across scanner and the thing hiccups again. Same procedure as last time. Finish passing merchandise across scanner and the thing requires proof of age. Hand up again. This time I escape - and, despite all, the self-checkout was a lot faster than standing in line. Perhaps one day I shall graduate to one of those hand held computers with which you scan your merchandise as you go round.
Then I paid several half visits to the Sainsbury's Local which is about to knock out some more shops from Ewell village, where by half visit I mean cycle past rather than actually go in. The Sainsbury's people are very keen because they look to have got the shop up and running before they have finished putting the tiles on the roof. Presumably the lining paper they have put under the tiling battens is deemed to be sufficiently waterproof for a grocer. That apart, it is quite impressive the speed with which they can fit up such a shop from the shell and get it up and running; presumably a few heads get broken on the way, to be attended to, in the boozer, on completion. Sainbury's Basic fags around the back.
But I don't suppose the lady (ask Mr. Google for Deb's Veg) who has just opened a small veg. shop in the village is so impressed. I wonder whether she bothered to check with the council or whoever whether there was a chain store in play? And then there is the butcher at the other end of the village, who sells a lot of cooked meats and fancy groceries as well as meat; don't suppose he is too happy either.
There was also a visit to the newish Lidl near the Chessington Garden Centre, to top up with their presumably slightly dodgy premier cru wine at around £10 a pop. I say slightly dodgy as I assume that the stuff is not quite up to snuff, despite being from a bottler who is; but it is quite good enough for us. Impresses stray guests. Here I was entertained while waiting by a couple of young ladies at the next checkout who wanted to pay a third on one card, a third on another (in another name) and a third in cash. The young (English) man in charge seemed to think that a Lidl checkout machine could cope with this but it was taking him a little while to work out exactly how, despite assistance from the pretty young (East Asian) girl in charge of my checkout.
In the margins of all this I have been continuing with Vol. II of Trollope on Cicero on Kindle, last mentioned on October 20th. The general scene seems to be that in Trollope's day anyone with a proper education could read Cicero in the original. He quotes small chunks in the original without translation: wonderful, pure & poetic Latin it is too, I dare say. But, despite that, the chap seems to have had a bad press, perhaps because he was on the losing side, and Trollope is at pains to explain what a good chap he was really. Maybe a bit dodgy around the edges by the standards of his (Trollope's) day, but quite progressive for his (Cicero's), to the point of anticipating the policies and precepts of our Lord.
So amused along the way by Trollope's righteous indignation about the way that Roman proconsuls pillaged their charges big time. A practise which was illegal but was expected and anybody who was anybody could easily bribe his way through the inevitable legal challenges back in the forum. Not being challenged would be bad; everyone would assume your fishing had not been very successful. And all this at a time when similar people were doing similar things in our name in India and elsewhere. And this despite Trollope giving every appearance of being a thoroughly decent chap.
# posted by Jim @ 2:51 AM 
