Shopping Spree

I have never been to the sales on Boxing Day before in my life. Pete’s sister and her boyfriend, a childless couple who have been renovating a house, have lots of things they need, and going to the sales seems like a good idea. We contemplate what to do with Bernard, and default to our usual solution: take him with us.

A short walk to the train station later, and we discover that there are no trains. Another short walk back to the house, and distribute the party evenly between two cars (sorry, been reading a lot of knitting patterns). The roads are surprisingly quiet, and we don’t slow down until we reach the queue for the car park.

By this time we need some lunch, and drag everyone into our new favourite, Las Iguanas. BryTom had an enormous Hilton Hotel breakfast so they sip coke and watch us eat, until we allow them to leave. Then MIL earns major brownie points by offering to childmind while Pete and I hit the shops. We wolf down our chimichangas, and leave Bernard doggedly munching his way through sauce, chips and a burger (in that order). Sometimes restaurant food gets him that way; the other weekend he ate an entire pizza. It took about an hour and a half to complete.

Which, coincidentally, is the same amount of time that Pete and I have to Do the Sales, so we split up to maximise our coverage. My list says: black trousers, 2/3 tops, knitted dress. Zara, Fat Face, East, Monsoon, back to Zara, and I have accomplished exactly that. Pete’s list says: pyjama trousers. We power-walk to the rendezvous, where I discover that Zara left the security tag on. I leave them with their post-shopping beers and zip back, accidentally stopping in House of Fraser to buy another dress on the way back.

Having limited time and opportunity to shop works amazingly well for me. If I cannot afford to dither, then I don’t dither. I scan for size/colour, and if I like it I buy it. When I have all the things on my list, I stop (except in the case of accidents).

The next day, we return for the start of the sales in John Lewis and M&S, because we needed slippers and yarn. I have only a vague list of required yarns but I think 17 skeins later that I have probably got it covered.