I'm never sure whether people see my wife and I as hippies or old fashioned oddballs or what. I don't care, we just do still get odd looks sometimes for the way we do things.
Take R's birth, and the preceding pregnancy. R was born at home, E didn't want to be in hospital unless it was necessary. E didn't use much in the way of painkillers during labour; a bit of gas and air and paracetamol. None of it was especially planned or deliberate, but when we mention the home birth we get such weird looks. Our friends find it utterly bizarre we did it.
With R, we used a big old Silver Cross pram. Again, people thought it odd we didn't buy new ( especially the bus drivers when we got on the bus with that thing..,) but we didn't see the point.
I think the thing that gets me most is the odd reactions people give because we do our shopping in the market, rather than in Tesco. I go to the greengrocer for the veg, the butcher for the meat, the deli for the cheese and ham and eggs. It's seen as such an odd thing to do now, even though the market is cheaper, better quality and everyone we use regularly know us by name. Now I know we're lucky in Newcastle, the Grainger Market is one of the best and oldest indoor markets in the country, but still. It makes me sad to see the queues of people in Tesco, all waiting to buy overpriced shite, whilst the local and independent market sits waiting for them over the road.
I'm not sure what these things really make me. A Yorkshireman probably. I prefer to recycle, shop local, use the bus. I like the routine of going to the market with R then getting tea and cake. She's such good company. Ok, i also loved the attention that the Silver Cross brought (though R loved it more). But I find it quite sad that more people don't share in this pleasure anymore, it's all self service checkouts admonishing you for scanning too quickly or not quickly enough.
I think others see us as old fashioned hippies for this, which is the biggest shame of all. I don't want to see the world turn into one giant Tesco, everything disposable with no style or substance.
Now then, where's me flat cap and whippet?
I actually envy you both like hell. Sod what everyone else thinks.
ReplyDeleteI'm not proud of the fact that I shop at Tesco. What you just described upsets me too. But with it being two minutes walk away and everything else being 20 minutes bus ride away, I'd be stupid not to. It's not like we even have many independent shops anyway. The farmers market is only once a month. I used to go religiously but debt has forced me to stop for the time being. I really miss it.
I wouldn't feel guilty about shopping at Tesco, that wasn't really my point. If they're the only realistic alternative then that's what you have. I still use Tesco in some places because, really, there's nowhere else.
DeleteMy point was more that I can't get my head around people who use Tesco religiously even where they do have a choice. Such as the number of people queueing in there despite a really good market and independent shops over the road, which are cheaper and better.
More I get angry about the way Tesco will open 27 shops just to drive everyone else out of business. They already have four stores in Newcastle city centre; they're now opening a fifth. All within a square mile.
It's the whole going where you know thing. Which is why every single city is now full of nought but Starbucks and Tesco.
yep, I'm with you on it too. We use the butcher when we can for all those good reasons, but the sad fact is there *isn't* really a decent greengrocer despite my repeated attempts at buying stuff in dodgy places that goes off instantly... And I hate and resent the fact that it is free and simple for me to park at Sainbuggers but not only do I have to drag food across town to the car park if I shop in town, I then also have to pay the council for the priviledge... I don't see what's so wrong with being a hippy anyway. Peace and love, man.
ReplyDelete(notagain - you do get who I mean, don't you? )
I know who you are, don't you worry :-)
DeleteWe basically don't have a car at the minute (on loan to in-laws as I commute by public transport) so dragging stuff on the bus is the same regardless of where I go. Maybe that helps, I don't know. It does come down to whether a place is any good, and as I say we're lucky with the Grainger Market. Although even then some of the butchers are dubious to say the least, a bit of trial and error.
I guess that's some of the appeal of Tesco: it's mediocre, but it is uniformly mediocre.