I was polled by t3scos

[Annpan]

At Toddlers this morning they had a lady doing market research for T***o moving into the next village to us. So she asked most of us 1 to 1 how we felt about it (and I know for a fact that most people would love to have one here)

Now, I said I wasn't too happy about it, I don't want jobs to be lost in the village, I don't want the high street becoming a ghost town... It is always busy but the shops are crap. I don't shop in the village, I live 3 hilly miles away, have a toddler, and only have a bike so it's just the odd packet of ginger nuts from the co-op (which do by far the best ginger nuts, so I'll still by them)

I grow stuff, buy as much as I can from Farmers Markets and have a milk man too but we still need a supermarket (or a really good local shop) for sugar, flour, tea, coffee, veg and fruit I can't grow, boxes of cereal, etc,etc Our nearest supermarket is a 20 min drive away, which is a whole morning at the weekend, or a very late evening for us all if we do it after work*. Plus the cost of petrol (they are also considering a petrol station, which would be considerably cheaper than the local Esso garage.


So tell me, what should I have done? It'll make my life easier, it'll increase the value of my house, it'll save me time and money... (I will be able to buy organic and freerange from 3 miles away) How can I possibly justify telling them to stuff it?








*for those of us who don't have a young child, 20 mins in the car is really 30 mins, then it takes 1 hour to get around the shop... so 2 hours minimum

[Green Aura]

I can't say what you should have done, honey.

In an ideal world we'd all have a lovely village shop like the one in that old Ronnie Barker programme, which stocked everything we required and wasn't overly expensive - as village shops tend to be.

In the real world, I don't know about you, but I don't think we could afford to live out of the local store (even though being so remote it is unusually well stocked). So one day a month I drive 250 miles (round trip) to either Wick or Inverness, stock up out of the dreaded T**c* and grow/make as much as I can.

I look on it as a once a month day out/treat/lunch thing and try not to cringe at the amount of petrol I'm using (hopefully it balances out as I rarely use it otherwise).

The only thing I can quibble at is that you should have told her was to bugger off and make way for Sainsbury - probably no better ethically, but a whole lot better to shop in!

[invisiblepiper]

You guys are so right - I would love to Quit T***o - but either I cannot find supplies locally OR local prices are too too high! But if we are self sufficient ISH then it must be a matter of balance - doing the best you can with what you have - and where you are.
No-one should ever feel guilty for doing their best.
Also look at how the public opinion has changed the supermarkets for the better.

[Silver Ether]

).

The only thing I can quibble at is that you should have told her was to bugger off and make way for Sainsbury - probably no better ethically, but a whole lot better to shop in!

yep a better choice would be great ...I recently started to use Waitrose when I need a supermarket ... Gods its like a different world... it does cost a bit more but I look for reduced prices and do ok....

Its sad but if the local shops are poor and you cant buy what you need then sorry but they will loose their customers anyway. I find I pop into supermarkets for a few thing, far less than I used to and the rest come from markets and Bridgnorth

[ina]

Would you call this an own goal?

Just had to laugh out loud, reading this...

http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/letters_ ... 0Tesco.htm

[Loobyloo]

Hee hee,

Good on her.

[Graye]

Please let us know if he receives a reply...

[lsm1066]

Where are they building it? Usually it's on farmland if you're in a rural area. This is the thing that really annoys me. When they've built all the houses and supermarkets on the farmland, where's our food going to come from?

[Annpan]

Where are they building it? Usually it's on farmland if you're in a rural area. This is the thing that really annoys me. When they've built all the houses and supermarkets on the farmland, where's our food going to come from?

No, it is on an old truck stop site. There are several old industrial buildings, a carpark and a large building housing the bar and facilities for the truckers.
And it will be right smack bang on junction 10 of the M74.
Don't know where the truckers are going to stop from now on though


Good on that man in Shetland, shop policies have a lot to answer for

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I think it is regrettable to an extent that people tend to focus on the negative aspects of supermarket development.

OK, it must be admitted that new supermarkets tear the heart out of town centres, increase congestion and pollution by putting more cars and lorries on the road; cause net reductions in employment and the amount of money circulating in the local economy; reduce competition & choice and do very little in the long term to reduce prices to the consumer and quite possibly cause them to increase once they have the market by the nuts.

But on the plus side, they do provide loads of free car-parking spaces.

[contadino]

Ho-hum...this old topic again.

The choice is simple really. If you care about the state of the countryside, agriculture, your health, your local economy and community, then you have to oppose a new supermarket. If you like being able to buy clingfilm-wrapped, chemical-laden food that can only be produced under sweat-shop conditions, want to see your farmers market dwindle and disappear, and aren't too concerned about your milk man stopping his round, then yeah, do nothing.

[missie moo]

Ho-hum...this old topic again.

The choice is simple really. If you care about the state of the countryside, agriculture, your health, your local economy and community, then you have to oppose a new supermarket. If you like being able to buy clingfilm-wrapped, chemical-laden food that can only be produced under sweat-shop conditions, want to see your farmers market dwindle and disappear, and aren't too concerned about your milk man stopping his round, then yeah, do nothing.

that's a rather warped and self-righteous view point. do try not to sound so smug and superior - it really doesn't help your cause.
jane

[contadino]

Ho-hum...this old topic again.

The choice is simple really. If you care about the state of the countryside, agriculture, your health, your local economy and community, then you have to oppose a new supermarket. If you like being able to buy clingfilm-wrapped, chemical-laden food that can only be produced under sweat-shop conditions, want to see your farmers market dwindle and disappear, and aren't too concerned about your milk man stopping his round, then yeah, do nothing.

that's a rather warped and self-righteous view point. do try not to sound so smug and superior - it really doesn't help your cause.
jane

Interesting. Please could you point out where I'm being self-righteous, smug, or superior. I can understand some supermarket junkie claiming it was warped, but the others....no.

And it really isn't a cause of mine. It's not my community that's gonna get shredded.

[StripyPixieSocks]

The problem is in the UK that alot of the 'local' corner shops are either non existent or the Co-op who quite frankly charge silly money for things.

I whole heartedly support our local green grocers who are wonderful and I spent alot of money there but unless I want to run around to several different towns or buy from Halal shops (something which I'd NEVER do) there is only Supermarkets left.

We have around £15 / week to spend on food, it doesn't go far at a farmers market I can tell you!

For those of us struggling Supermarkets are a necessary evil I'm afraid!

[missie moo]

The choice is simple really. If you care about the state of the countryside, agriculture, your health, your local economy and community, then you have to oppose a new supermarket. If you like being able to buy clingfilm-wrapped, chemical-laden food that can only be produced under sweat-shop conditions, want to see your farmers market dwindle and disappear, and aren't too concerned about your milk man stopping his round, then yeah, do nothing.

Please could you point out where I'm being self-righteous, smug, or superior. I can understand some supermarket junkie claiming it was warped, but the others....no.

And it really isn't a cause of mine. It's not my community that's gonna get shredded.

well, the place you come over as being smug, superior and self-righteous is in the whole of your first post and also the use of the phrase 'supermarket junkie' in your response. some (most?) people simply can't afford to live and behave the way you seem to think they should. the choice isn't simple, which was really the point of the original post.

when i said 'your cause', i was really referring to the 'green brigade' as a whole. reading things like you've written puts me off the whole green, environmental thing. i actually do want to do more, but not if i end up with an attitude like yours.
jane