Heh, alliteration.
Since we’ve moved (in my case, back) to Bristol we’ve made a conscious effort to change the way we shop. We are not big fans of supermarket/cheap food/etc, and we both have ethical concerns about the push to make food cheaper (e.g. cows not being allowed out to pasture at all – after all the crap we’ve done to cows, not even allowing them outside…). So, independent little local stores and ethical stores are the order of the day, as far as possible*.
And it’s interesting, I’ve never hugely enjoyed the whole supermarket shopping experience, it’s largely bland and soulless. Shopping at the little independent stores has been delightful. Lots of interesting new foods, lots of lovely people who actually seem to care about the food they’re selling. And actually, it’s quite a lovely way to spend a morning; less so as it’s got colder, but still going and picking up fresh produce (not in bags or wrappers), eating really great food that’s carefully prepped, and meeting sellers who know who you are**.
So, I recommend it, it’s just a nicer way to shop.
As a side point, the BBC’s Turn Back Time – The High Street is a really interesting series.
* We drink Lactofree milk, which seems to be a supermarket only thing, largely, and the milk appears to come from a Co-Op farming scheme, which is good… I suppose.
** Although we’re apparently a memorable couple, many of the staff in Sainsbury’s Taplow seemed to know who we were, which is odd.
