Shopping with my eyes closed
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 06 November 2006 22:33:40
Today was an interesting experience.
One of our local garden centres is renowned for its wonderful Christmas displays and raises a lot of money for the local hospice as a result. Every Advent we make a special visit to see them and to have a meal in the lovely cafe there - it is our favourite garden centre anyway and we spend a lot of time there during the year, even though you can't tell by looking at my garden. Or maybe you can tell - we spend a lot of time there, but not a lot of money!
Anyway, I was appalled, yes appalled, to discover them beginning work on their Christmas display right at the beginning of October and, as every year, I resolved to avoid going there until I felt ready to become Christmassy - i.e at the beginning of Advent. Even mention of Christmas in our household is banned until Advent, with one present less in the stocking on Christmas morning for every mention of it by small people who should know better.
Today, however, my friend M wanted to go there after swimming as they had a special offer that the first 1000 people to hand in a particular voucher from the local press would be given a rather nice candle plate and she wanted one for church. As swimming is always followed by coffee and cakes (well, we have to replenish those lost calories somehow or we'd waste away) and time was limited, this entailed going to the cafe at the garden centre too.
I was forced to negotiate the entire complex with my eyes closed.
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Join the Oxford Street Christmas Lights Campaign at the Cartoon Blog.