Supermarket Chaos

 

Two days of shopping left before Christmas, counting today which is already half gone.  All schools are now on summer break and most service industries are closing up for the next two to three weeks.

That is a lot of people wanting to go on holiday all at the same time – not only do late gifts and Christmas food need to be bought, but also everything that might be wanted to take away on holiday.

The result is total retail chaos, and this is nowhere more obvious than at the supermarket.  Son and I went there this morning at 8am and the place was already packed out.  Thankfully we were still able to find a carpark.

Patience is needed to shop in conditions like this – one has to cope with scarcity of available carparking, crowds of shoppers with trolleys, school children running riot, lots of store workers putting out fresh goods, queues at all the check-outs.

There was no social distancing and no masks being worn.  It was just like a 'normal' Christmas, only busier, and certainly did not have a joyous feel about it.    

The supermarkets are closed on Christmas Day and then will be open again.  Next week should be much quieter!

We bought only what we will need for the next few days and have no intention of joining the hordes of holiday-makers on the roads, most of whom will be heading for a beach somewhere on our lengthy coastline.

On a brighter note, in the middle of the supermarket carpark is a small flowering Pohutukawa tree.  It is often called the Christmas Tree as its unusual red flowers always appear at this time of the year.

The tree had several honey bees visiting it, totally oblivious to all the rush going on around them.

Don’t you just love nature?

Margaret 😊