The Supermarket

Having secured somewhere to live, tonight I thought I'd make use of the cupboard and fridge space I've been allocated, and do a first proper food shop at a spupermarket, and I even found the place without my TomTom, using directions from Michel.

It was a pretty similar experience to home in many respects too. When you need glasses for distance as I usually do, and you don't understand the language, it's all to easy to set off down the feminine hygiene aisle in a quest for tissues, and I have done this a few times in Sainsburys too, but the main problem is the length of time it takes to figure out the layout of a new supermarket. At home I tend to settle on just one that sells what I need and then I can be in and out, and £120 lighter in 15 minutes flat. When the capitalist bastard owners decide to move stuff around to shove this seasons must buys in my face, I get really pissed off, as it upsets the routine and I forget stuff. Here the problem is going to be compounded somewhat by the additional time it is taking me to analyse every can or packet, both words and pictures, to see exactly what is where. Some stuff is easy enough, but it took a few trips up and down to find the tinned crab and noodles for example.

The fresh stuff revealed a few things I've never seen before, and I must get a picture of one of them sometime. The best description I have at this stage is it looks like root ginger in a side plate sized jellyfish shape. Which reminds me I've also had two vegetables in the work canteen that have thus far escaped me at home; sweet potatoes and artichokes - both gorgeous and both will be added to my next domestic list. Potatoes don't occupy 5 aisles here as they sometimes seem to do at home either.

I've convinced myself that I got all around the supermarket and through checkout without anyone realising I'm not French. Bonsoir, merci and au revoir are the threes staples required to pull this off, and unless you deliberately venture outside your limit, many tasks can be accomplished with these - so long as you don't need any help of course. Oh, and you can buy one time use breathalyser kits at the checkouts too for 1 euro each. It would be silly not too....

RHD=0