It is Sunday again and that means, as Sunday usually means, that we are off to do our weekly shopping. As I have already mentioned, I think, I quite like our shopping trips. Why? I don’t really know, but perhaps it is the simplicity and the predictability of it.

Baron Street

The weather, as you might be able to see from the above photo, is cloudy-sunny and it is quite warm (around 10°C) but rather windy.

The olive oil stall

The olive oil stall has been set up away from both the main market and the Farmers’ Market. I don’t know whether this is by personal choice or by some quirk in the assignment of locations. Sole-product merchants always intrigue me because there is a certain mystique about them: while participating in the general run of retail life, they stand out as individualists with their own expertise and arcane knowledge.

Over the last few weeks, I have noticed that, week by week, Chapel Market is becoming ever busier. It’s as if people are gradually deciding that the crisis is over and are emerging to take up their normal lives again. This is worrying because the pandemic is far from over (the rate of new infections has in fact been increasing again recently) and people should still be following the restrictions. It’s hard to do this with people literally rubbing shoulders with you in the streets.

Chapel Market

In the foreground is the stall run by the fruit and vegetable shop beside it. The main gaggle of stalls is further down but, even so, you can see that the market is already quite busy. As well as being the location of the market, the street is an important way through to Sainsbury’s and other larger shops and this increases the amount of movement in and through it.

In Sainsbury’s

We were a little later today than usual and by the time we arrived, the store was already busy with queues at the checkouts and particularly at the self-checkouts. (I wonder how many items “accidentally” escape being tallied at these checkouts.) Using them no doubt saves on wages for the store but does nothing to help preserve people’s jobs. Should we not boycott them for that reason?

Queueing for Waitrose

Sainsbury’s opens earlier than both of its neighbours, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. Perhaps it pick up extra trade as a result. We rarely shop at these other two, except occasionally for specific items, so our shopping is done and dusted while customers for the other two are queueing to be let in. What, smug, me? Surely not 🙂

Chapel Market

As usual, Tigger took charge of the shopping and I hurried ahead with the cup holder to Mercer’s for our coffee. They know me know now and greet me in friendly fashion despite the fact that all I buy is a couple of coffees once a week.

In Mercer’s

I soon had our coffee and rejoined Tigger in the street for a quick walk home while it was still hot.

Now that the shopping has been done we can relax. What will we do with the rest of the day? That remains to be seen. We may go out again, if we feel like it. If we do, I shall be sure to let you know! 🙂