Another pointless thread

The aroma of freshly baked bread, cut into thick slices and copiously buttered.......yum yum!

Since Sainsbury's opened we have lost a pet shop, greengrocer, a cheap booze place, and now the bakery. We no longer have a bank but still have a butcher, ironmonger and pharmacist, photographer (yes on the main street), post office at the back of OneStop, a couple of charity shops, a posh frock shop, a motorcycle garage, filling station, two cafes, two pubs, a chippy, and a Chinese takeaway. Not bad for a large village. The Indian restaurant across the road spoiling my view burned out around bonfire night 2018, a stray firework in the kitchen allegedly, nothing to do with me honest! A short-lived bike shop has just closed as well. It seems those places with a personal service and choice of stuff not found at the supermarket nor on the internet still hang on but once closed the shops hardly ever attract new tenants.

True enough Rob.
I have been trying to buy in small bricks and mortar shops for Christmas, but it has proved a frustrating experience and I have had to resort to buying online for much of it, albeit from small online places. One is a farm shop with excellent meat, but too far for me to visit nowadays, luckily they have a good delivery service though, so I am hoping they haven't messed up and my Christmas dinner is delivered on Tuesday!
The place where I now live, officially a city but really a small town, has 6 supermarkets, all of which are meh. It still has two butchers, good baker, a deli, various clothes shops, a photographers run by a bloke who is about 80 and only opens when he feels up to it, a couple of other specialist shops and small chainshops, plus enough cafés and restaurants to keep us fed for a while - it is a tourist town hence all the catering. We also have a tiny market once a week with fresh veg and local cheese.
Nonetheless there are more and more empty shops, like rotting teeth in the smile of the "high" street.

The real loss, apart from the quality produce, is the social aspect. We get to know the shopkeepers really well and the bakery in particular is a hub of village gossip and banter; its just not the same dealing with someone on a supermarket checkout who only wants to get through their shift or worse the awful self checkouts with their robotic bleeps. I just like walking down the road for a paper and call in for some pastries, or maybe just putting my head around the door and say to Donna, can you put aside a couple of Chelsea buns tomorrow please? She'll know who they are for without asking. Just chatting or saying good morning to others is a tiny but vital part of the fabric of life which is being eroded.

We don't even get to interact with a real person at the checkout! All done with a blippy thing as you go around. At least the shelf fillers are friendly though.
It is true you miss the social interaction. We've lived here for two years now and barely know a soul. Not helped by most people being born here and family of each other, so they have no need of new friends.
It's funny isn't it - we have more ways than ever to keep in touch with people but have less and less real contact with them.

This is getting serious. Must be the long nights (and no booze!) getting to us.

Had a nice chat with the checkout lady at Tesco this afternoon. That's what normally happens if it's not too busy. Go in the evening and you can get half a life story before it's time to pay. Among other things, she told me about finally managing to take a photo of her camera-shy teenage granddaughter when she took her for a meal last night.

Steve

People regularly walk past my small front garden on their way to the shops and in the spring and summer when I am gardening they just say hello or stop for a quick chat, so I meet more neighbours that way. I occasionally hand out surplus plants or seeds and one time someone wanted some Centranthus for a themed funeral wreath. I take photos to put on Shutterstock and it is rewarding to see where my plants have been downloaded, from Oslo to New Zealand and many points between. Roll on the spring!

Cards printed and posted. Check
House cleaned. Check
Beds made. Check
Presents bought. Check
Stockings ready to stuff. Check
Food ordered. Check
Booze organised (apart from the gin). Check

What am I forgetting?

Oh a tree! Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Meanwhile His Nibs had one card to deliver by hand. One card, his only task. What did I find on the car seat this morning? Yep.

No tree for us...




...no needles or mess after Christmas either

As for evening drinks, well that depends on what the kids get me for pressies.

Looks very festive HG.
Ours is an old, non eco friendly plastic tree. The Grandsons would revolt (even more than normal) if there was no tree with presents under it.
Son #3 is bringing the booze as his contribution to the meal.

I found an old bottle of Famous Grouse vintage malt at the back of the cupboard but when I googled it the value is now in three figures due to its rarity, which puts me in a quandary - do I just open it or leave it to maybe accumulate in value?

Won a crate of Stella Artois 1/2-pint bottles from the end of year raffle in work. Not a huge fan but free booze tastes better, right?

Spot on, you can't beat free beer.

Vintage Grouse?

I our house that'll be 6 weeks old then..

Just back from our new micro pub, only big enough for 15-20 people, but great local Alex.

"local people"
- Try to be friendly to the neighbours ( unless they "really annoy" me/us!)
- house very close to us just changed hands - didn't know who'd bought it until I saw them both yesterday" and so I shouted out "Welcome!", and they smiled

OTOH, still got the house cleaning to do over the weekend
-

Just back from Whitby with two large sides of smoked salmon. What else to do on a Saturday morning but head into the fog across the North York's Moors.

Just waiting to see if the grandson in Germany is clear of pneumonia before he travels here on Xmas Eve. It's hit him hard and only four years old. His mum & dad are also suffering with chest issues. Moral: stay clear of Berlin at the moment as a lot of people are ill.