Tuesday 12 May 2020

To the shops again!!



It's been quite a while, and I almost felt like a tourist. It wasn't a particularly pleasant day, but at least it wasn't raining; and the queue was short.

Two weeks since I last ventured out to Leclerc, and quite a lot seemed to have changed.

There were far more cars, and lorries, on the roads, and for some reason the supermarket trollies were no longer in their designated covered parking places, but lined-up in front of the entrance. They did, however, all contain a reassuring message saying that they'd been 'sanitised', for which I thank them.

Once inside, everyone wore masks; including me. One man I noticed was also wearing a visor. I find the masks irritating; they make me hot, and every time I wish to talk to someone I have to semi-remove it. I also find that my reading spex steam-up.

The shelves were still well stocked, but I did notice the absence of certain things. Lady M had specified a particular type of flour she wanted; there wasn't any. The milk I buy was sold-out, so I had to buy the Bio version instead; no harm there. The variety of Potatoes I normally buy were missing. Otherwise, for me personally, all was OK.

After the supermarket I visited Gamme Vert, our local horticultural store. I wanted some more Tomato plants, but there was NONE; sold out. I came away with just a large packet of wildlife-friendly Slug Pellets; essential at the moment, but not what I'd gone for. 

I filled-up with petrol, and headed for home. En route I noticed several people actually wearing their masks whilst driving alone. I didn't really see much point in that, but I suppose it's all part of our new world.

49 comments:

  1. I just took a flat of tomato plants down to the neighborhood trading table.....sorry.

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    1. I probably have enough plants, but I wanted to fill some available space.

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  2. Replies
    1. All salad stuff these days. It shouldn't be too long before we have our own.

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  3. Replies
    1. These are our standard shopping baskets. I love them.

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  4. Motorcyclists 'avec' masks but 'sans' helmets blasting past here. We wonder what is the greater risk while going fast on a motorbike.

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    1. One of my greatest pleasures on Greek Island holidays was belting around on mopeds (no helmets, of course).

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  5. Strong bread flour has all but disappeared, and dried yeast completely vanished.

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    1. Yesterday I found the yeast, but not the flour. I think she has a bit in reserve.

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    2. Morrisons sell it by the kilo and you can actually buy 16kg sacks if it if you wish. Ask at the deli counter.

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  6. We haven't had a real lockdown here, and we have had only minor issues of missing items in stores. Fresh yeast is occasionally out of stock, but there's dried yeast then. All flour was missing for a while - but part of that was a misfortunate timing on changing the packacking of store's own brand flours (which makes about 50% of all flour sold in my preferrable market). Cheapest pasta were out of stock for a week or two. (all these products are produced here, and empty shelves were due hoarding, shops just couldn't fill the shelves fast enough, or, like in the case of missing flour, the most unfortunate timing). Factories are not closed, transportation still working.
    Disposable gloves are gone, they are imported, and the whole world is buying them, so they don't get here).
    But there's no salad bars in shops anymore, and those in store bakeries are mostly shut, because shop workers are needed in cleaning around shops.
    But there's a change in the way people are shopping. There's people with several shopping lists - they are buying for two-three households! At times at least half of customers are those multishoppers! (it is easy to spot them - papers/phones in their hands tehy are wandering around the aisles asking where's organic potaotes, is this low fat youghurt, is Arla's lactofree milk the same as this store brand, what does stevia stand for?

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    1. I've noticed those multi-family-shoppers here too. Their trolleys are always filled to overflowing. Our normal stocks at home are lasting very well. There are only two of us, so even a Kilo pack of Spaghetti lasts quite a while. I didn't panic buy, but I've always kept a well-stocked larder. It pays.

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  7. I haven't been in a shop for 55 days. A neighbour's son works in one supermarket and a friend is a manager in the other. All I do is tell them what I want. They both hold a kitty and just tell me when it needs topping up. I'm enjoying this lockdown!

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    1. I should have added that the pharmacy delivers FOC and so does the garden centre.

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    2. No such wonderful service here. I quite enjoy my trips out every 2 weeks; at the same time I'm very happy to stay at home.

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  8. Stocks are creeping back up here, but the flour situation is still dire..a little own brand white "bread" flour...so called...it has added vitamins and gluten...I have been working through my stock of organic spelt and rye flour steadily so it was a relief to get a bag of rye last week. It is heartening to know that other people are now coming back to baking..

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    1. Even my son in London has been bread-making. He loved the whole process.

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  9. I noticed that you have asparagus in your shopping.I have only just discovered how nice they are as I had never tried them before!.I love your shopping bags,xx

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    1. I always buy the green Asparagus, as it seems to have more flavour. Also, if you are having some for the first time, do make sure it's locally grown. The stuff that is exported from Spain is dreadful.

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  10. We are still having most of our shopping delivered by children. When k goes down he does so on his scooter/motorbike with full head helmet (!) and wears that into the shop. In the last few year, or so, people have finally started wearing helmets here Cro, but only because, now and again, there are checks and big fines.
    No shortages here. We got our 25 kilos of flour but I'm not baking bread anymore and nothing else in that category. That besieged mentality has disappeared and anyway the sun shines most days. Time for salads and much much lighter meals

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    1. Salads here now too. It's a very pleasant change from daily soups.

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  11. We never buy flour, so no problems with that, and other than having to have different brands for some items, we've not really had any issues. Husband does the shopping. I've offered to sew him a mask today.

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    1. I mostly do our shopping, simply because I do our everyday meals cooking. No-one's offered to make me a mask. Why do you not buy flour? Does no-one make cakes, pies, bread, etc?

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    2. I have coeliac. I tried some gluten-free flours when I was first diagnosed and decided it was easier to do without. I'd never been a big cake or pie eater anyway - probably because they always gave me belly-ache.

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    3. A lot of people seem to be gluten intolerant these days. I'm not myself, but I do try to have breadless days each week.

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  12. We have been able to buy most of the things we need, except that recently we have noticed that our usual btand of ground coffee has disappeared from the shelves. We haven't been able to buy it locally for a few weeks now. We have now had to order it online from Amazon. Hopefully it will be arriving by Friday.
    PS: I, too, love those shopping baskets - very chic!

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    1. I think it's a matter of distribution, rather than shortage. The stuff is there, they just can't get it to the shops.

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  13. We seem to be able to get most things ....... it was only at the beginning that it went crazy !
    Did you see that Monty Don’s dog Nigel died 😢 ...... We loved Nigel .... he made Gardeners World. XXXX

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    1. Yes, I was very sorry to see that. I always used to look out for him on GW. What a lovely boy he was.

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  14. We've been able to buy bread flour but no self-raising flour. My stocks are gradually dwindling. We shall have to eat toast instead of cake at coffee time.

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  15. People's, eating habits are revealed within your blog.

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  16. Wearing masks while driving is weird. We have bought some but not used them yet. I don't expect they will be comfortable.

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    1. If one was giving a lift to a stranger, I could understand it; but by oneself it makes no sense.

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  17. Some friends and I were talking about this during a virtual tea party on Saturday. One of them, who drives, said that she had done this while going to a grocery store, then having to go to the drugstore and then drop off something to a friend who couldn't get out - made sense, rather than having to dispose of 3 masks she just stuck to using the one until she got home.

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    1. I'm really not keen on mask-wearing, and keep it to a minimum. I certainly wouldn't wear one where it wasn't necessary.

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    2. But you live in the country and my friends and I live in a city of 3 million people...

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  18. What is more difficult to get here are seeds and vegetable plants. Fortunately, I got most of my seeds in early March. I have grown most of my plants inside so I don’t need anything except Shishito and Padron pepper plants. After calling every nursery around with no luck, I finally went to the Internet and found some on the West Coast (I live on East Coast). Hopefully, they will arrive alive.

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    1. I have all my plants and seeds now. I've just been speaking to a friend, and she has spare Tomato plants of the variety I wanted.

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  19. I haven't ventured out yet - am getting a bit cabin crazy but am not as bad as I was which suggests I may get to the stage eventually when I have no wish to go out

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    1. If you can survive without going out too much, I think that's an advantage!

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  20. Oh Cro, we love good fresh bread... usually bread and coffee/tea is our daily breakfast! While we mostly buy our bread from the bakery at Central Market, I have attempted to make yeast rolls recently... something I always wanted to try. I made masks for my family too, but we haven’t been out except to pick up curb side groceries in almost 2 months. Texas is opening up, but our numbers are still rising (cases and deaths)???

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    1. My wife goes bread shopping once a week to a very small but excellent nearby baker. She buys enough for the week; if not more.

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  21. I don't like wearing a mask. I feel like I am not breathing enough oxygen in. It gets hot in there. How ridiculous to wear a mask when you are alone in your car! But I guess some of those people might have been very ugly.

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    1. I hadn't thought of that. Or going on a 'first date' perhaps.

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  22. I must go grocery shopping soon. But not yet.

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    Replies
    1. I probably could have managed for another week, but I do like my little luxuries.

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