Sunday 1st December

Which Supermarket do you shop in, and why have you chosen that one?  In France there seem to be less supermarkets, possibly because of the proliferation of markets, but strangely a lot more brands.  Carrefour, Intermarche, M. LeClerc, Casino, Spar, Uni to name but a few.  Maybe they are all owned by the same company anyway, but over here Supermarkets are dominated by a few giants.

Tesco – I used to always shop at Tesco, mainly because they were almost at the bottom of my street.  You got to know the shop, where things were, it felt comfortable.  I never had any problem with Tesco, and I even had a clubcard at one time.

Sainsbury – I don’t know why but I have never felt at home in a Sainsbury, though now we do occasionally shop there.  Nothing wrong with the produce, or the prices – just a strange feeling of disconnect as soon as I walk through the doors.

Morrissons – Only been in once or twice.  There just aren’t many down here in London.  I found the shop a bit bland, a bit faceless.

Asda – A nightmare of a shop, just so messy, at least the one I go to sometimes here on the Isle of Dogs is.  But there is no denying the cheap prices, especially fruit and veg which is often better quality and half the price of Tesco or Waitrose

Co-op – I do shop at the co-op in Walton.  There is an old-fashioned incompetence about it I enjoy.  It is such an antidote to Tesco and Asda that it is quite refreshing.  I queue up patiently behind old dears with two items in their basket, whereas in Tesco I get so impatient at the check-outs.

Waitrose – is in many ways my favourite.  Full of beautiful and hopelessly overpriced food, and arranged in its own idiocentric way it is quite a delight.  You feel posh shopping in Waitrose, away from the hoi-poloi, you are in a world of old-fashioned luxury.  Only when you get to the till do you come back to earth.

M & S – okay for the occasionally forgotten cheese or bread or ready-meal, but hardly a real supermarket, is it?

As, neither is Lidl – which ridiculously low prices or not struggles to provide you with a weeks shopping;  though if fifty varieties of German chocolate tickle your fancy it might be for you.

I have never been to an Aldi – only because there ain’t one anywhere near where I live, but by all accounts it is far better than Lidl, as cheap as Asda and the produce is as good as Waitrose.

So, exactly why do you choose your Supermarket?  I suspect that like most of us, it is because it is the nearest.