Well I’ve just returned from the weekly shop and it was better this week.  We’ve identified a checkout operator who knows how to handle food.  She’s not slow, she’s not fast, she just does it right.  So there we were queueing up and the supervisor came over to tell us that the till next door was free.  We declined her offer and she just looked at us like we were bonkers!!  In the end we went over to her to explain that we like our food to be respected rather than thrown about.  But she just looked at us blankly and gave us a smile like we really were mad.  But then it was probably her speediness at the till that got her to the heady heights of supervisor!

Wife and child are going Christmas shopping tomorrow.  I’ve escaped it for now - but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold it off…..

So there I was - Friday night and it was the end of the supermarket run.  My carefully chosen items, selected with thoughtful anticipation had been lovingly placed on the conveyor belt.

It was my turn to be served.  First I was met with those words that have now lost all value - “Want any ‘elp with y’ packin’?” The operative didn’t meet my eye as this was said - simply stared at the till.

And then we were off on some kind of macho-inspired race to get everything down that conveyor belt and into a pile before I could get it packed into bags.  The steak was minced, the strawberries were mashed.  I don’t even try for peaches anymore - they always end up as pulp.

So what do these operatives eat?  It certainly isn’t food.  They don’t appreciate it, they don’t love it, they simply move it from A to B in as disrespectful (to the food) a manner as possible.   Now I don’t work in a supermarket and maybe if I did then I would be the same about food, but there’s something going on here that devalues it - and it doing so it devalues the whole experience and the people involved - both buyer and seller.

So let’s love our food.  Let’s treat it with respect.  And maybe let’s even meet one another’s eyes and exchange a smile.

We don’t rush until we get to the checkout!

When was the last time that you ran as you pushed your trolley through the supermarket?

As a rule, do you go round the supermarket as fast as you can - never browsing, never pausing to consider a product, only looking for the items you have already decided that you need?

Of course not. We like to wander along the aisles - feasting our eyes on all the goods available. Sometimes we have a list - and sometimes we don’t. We know the basics of what we’ll buy - the things we buy each week. But after that, well it’s an art rather than a science. Some meat, some veg, some fruit, some stuff for the freezer and the microwave - and hopefully it’ll translate into sufficient meals for the week.

We might meet someone we know and pause for a chat. We might come across an item and feel tempted by it, but stand for a moment - item in hand - considering whether we will or we won’t, before either adding it to our basket or returning it to the shelf.

And so it goes on - at a fairly leisurely pace…

Until we reach the checkout.

And then it all changes. Which is the shortest queue? Who is the fastest operator? How can I get out of here as quickly as possible?

We don’t run round the supermarket - but we’re always in an almighty rush when we get to the checkout!

But why is this so? What makes us feel like this? Does it matter?