Am I the only one?

[The Creeping Spleen]

Oh, Christ on a bike no. Fucking hate those things.

They're doing people out of jobs.

There's a bank of maybe a dozen in my local Tesco taking the space of six regular checkouts, and just one or two guys keeping an eye on them.

So that's four or five people lost their jobs.

[Dot]

I hate using self service checkouts as it very rarely goes smoothly in my case.
Won't use them in Tesco etc but strange to say have used the one in Boots quite successfully several times.

Earlier in the year when we were back at work after building closed for short spell I started using it.
Due to the virus I quite often made my own lunch but after a while I would go out for a dander and buy a meal deal.
In my case usually a tuna sandwich or pasta salad with crisps or Babybel and bottle of water.

[The Creeping Spleen]

The main WH Smiths in Glasgow Central, they practically make you use them if you're buying stuff under £10.

I've put what I was going to buy down on the counter and walked out cos I can't be arsed with the faff of it all.

[Dot]

Yes it was a self service in WHSmith at an airport where I had my first encounter with this kind of till.
Never used one since in their stores.

[Henrysix]

I don’t like it either but it’s the future, we will just rock up at a supermarket select our goods out them in a bag, the bar codes will jot it up and your debit card will be used for payment.......and you club points or Nctar card will be updated too!

Yes afraid to say cash is on the way out too!

What a world we live in.......Jings!

[The Creeping Spleen]

I don't mind using my debit card in a shop now and again, but I prefer cash.

But my wee mammy has a positive horror of any kind of credit/debit card.

We'd go to the bank, she'd hand over her passbook and debit card to the cashier lady and withdraw however much money she needed in cash.

[Dot]

Before the virus arrived I would have used cash for most small purchases but now I hardly use cash for anything.

Am I the only one who doesn't use a scanner when they are going round the aisles doing their shop?

[The Creeping Spleen]

Nope, don't use them either. Pain in the arse contraptions.

[Henrysix]

I have used the scanner at TESCOS but now rely on click and collect

[The Creeping Spleen]

Even in the present set of circumstances, I don't mind going to my local Tesco.

It's maybe twenty minutes or so walk away. So that gets me out the house for a wee while, and I get some fresh air.

I've a couple of mates who work on their cleaning staff, so if I see one of them I'll stop for two minutes, say hello and see how they're doing.

Of course, the big benefit of wearing a mask/face covering when you're out shopping is you can have a good ol' sotto voce growl at all the numpties that get in your way.

[Henrysix]

Spleen, I though I was the only old growler, when I was wee and living in the third floor tenement my mother would shout from the windae to us kids in the back, she would hurl pennies at us that was like shrapnel and it would be offski to the shops to pick up a pan loaf and other messages, the reward would usually be 4 Daintee toffees bought for a halfpenny.

Then it would be back home and up the six flights of stairs - think that’s where I learnt to growl!

[The Creeping Spleen]

I dunno what it is, maybe just a side effect of getting older (I hit 50 back in July), but as the years go by, I am becoming more and more intolerant of Other People. Especially the stupid ones.

The arseholes who can't make their minds up about which side of the pavement they want to walk on, and weave about all over the shop.

The folk in supermarkets with their snottery faced weans in tow. The kids having that weird hacking cough that sounds like they're about to hack up half a lung or something.

[Dot]

Am I the only one who doesn't think I will be trying the new sparkling Ribena?

[The Creeping Spleen]

Somehow I don't think I'm the only one who wishes certain family members would just fuck off and mind their own damn business.

To wit, by brother's missus.

Now, my poor wee mum passed away on Sunday. Funeral arrangements are in hand, but not 100% finalised.

On Tuesday afternoon, she and my brother collected some of mum's effects from the care home and dropped them off here. We then spent a wee while sorting out what clothes we wanted mum buried in etc.

Then sis-in-law asks to see my room - it'd been renovated a year or so ago, and she hadn't seen it.
She said nice things about my choice of carpet and wallpaper etc., then she spots the tiny patch of water damage in the ceiling (which doesn't bother me because it's not growing or anything), and out comes the snippy remarks.

I just suck it up, silently fuming.

Woman, I'm no' one of yer four brothers, neither am I one of yer two kids. I'm yer husband's brother, and as such my life is fuck all to do with you.

[Henrysix]

Spleen so sorry to hear about your wee mammy, remember her every day and have sweet cry on birthdays, anniversaries, I do know what you are going through

Keep well