The rain returned as we had breakfast and so I donned my raincoat for my planned shopping trip. It’s the smallest grandchild’s birthday on Friday and I had decided to buy him a circus tent - small size, from IKEA. This involved a bus ride to Ashton, a journey of 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic, as it makes its circuitous way through various housing estates. Having made it to Ashton, I went first into Aldi, which sells some surprisingly good bread, and bought several loaves and a new pair of bathroom scales, our (very) old ones having got stuck at 14.5 stone!
From there I walked past IKEA and on to Marks and Spencer for a couple of M&S items. It’s very annoying that our nearest Marks and Spencer is not in Ashton Town centre but in a retail park on the edge of town. (M&S were supposed to open a branch in Oldham, by the way, when the Metrolink tram system reached the town but they changed their minds and bang went Oldham’s planned regeneration!) Retail parks are fine if you want to go by car and buy carloads of stuff but each time I go to that one in Ashton it is clear that I am not the only pedestrian making use of the facilities. It’s not even a terribly big retail park, comprising basically Marks and Spencer and a largish Sainsbury’s as well as a Sainsbury’s petrol station. Maybe the planners just wanted to benefit from proximity to IKEA.
Anyway, eventually I made it to the Swedish retailers and made my way round the store. I had acquired a trolley as three loaves pf bread, a pair of scales and some odds and ends from M&S proved rather heavy, but this meant that the speed of my progress around IKEA was somewhat hampered by the slow walkers ahead of me. It’s hard to dodge and weave when pushing a shopping trolley! And unless you know the shortcuts IKEA is organised in such a way that you have to walk through all departments before reaching the section you are looking for: a clever marketing ploy to tempt you to buy other stuff on your way round.
I resisted temptation, found my circus tent and headed for the exit. Besides, I already have a box of IKEA’s very moreish oat biscuits in a cupboard in my kitchen. So my visit was short but not quite so entertaining as when I accompany the smallest grandchildren and get to share their fantasy of “living” in the various “rooms” set up to showcase the furniture.
Amazingly I had only 10 minutes to wait for a bus back to Delph: another 45 minutes’ travel! And that was a good chunk of the day used up. But at least the weather improved and the sun came out! The rain did not return until later.
I slept well. Today dawned dull and cloudy so I packed my waterproof as an insurance policy, which worked, by the way, as the sun decided to come out again. I really appreciate our current weather pattern of overnight rain and mostly dry days in which to hang washing out to dry, go for walks, pick blackberries and so on. I had an uneventful, quite pleasant cycle ride.
I had not been home long when I heard a faint tapping on the front door. Phil had gone for a shower but was expecting delivery of a pair of walking boots and had asked me to listen out for the deliveryman. I went to investigate the tapping and, indeed, there was a deliveryman trying to insert a large parcel into a black box next to the front door, a useful box for deliverymen to leave small items if we are not at home. Not ideal for a package containing a pair of size 11 boots.
I pointed out to this deliveryman a useful gadget called a doorbell, easier to hear than faint tapping or even banging on the door. He told me that he “can’t hear half the doorbells” and therefore largely ignores them. He was just a little surprised when I suggested that it’s more important for doorbells to be heard inside the house than outside! What is it with deliverymen! Knock at the door by all means but if there is a bell, ring it as well, for goodness sake!
Okay! Rant over!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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