A Tale of Two Abbeys

On our recent holiday to North Yorkshire, we visited two sites of Abbey ruins, both managed by English Heritage. Clutching our new membership cards, acquired with Tesco Clubcard points, we were eager to make use of the benefits.

The majesty of Byland Abbey

Having visited the well-known Whitby Abbey on a previous occasion, we had planned to visit Rievaulx Abbey, having seen it on the BBC programme Secret Britain. However, before we got round to making that visit, we stumbled across a sign for Byland Abbey, which we had not heard or read about, but decided to explore.

The route took us along windy country lanes and we half expected to find a minor ruin at the end of it – a heap of stones or partial wall – but how wrong we were! As we rounded the final corner a stunning sight met our eyes!

The ruins are actually quite substantial, certainly ample enough to give you the feel of what the original abbey would have been like. There is also a small museum on site, housing a model of how the abbey would have looked in its heyday. The setting was quite something too, surrounded by peaceful countryside and overlooked by neighbouring hills, making it a very tranquil spot. Following this visit we knew that Rievaulx would have to go some to beat it.

The day arrived of our planned Rievaulx visit, so we packed up our picnic and followed the signs from Helmsley to the more publicised ruin (it’s given twice the space of Byland in the English Heritage handbook and has a large gift shop and café, whereas Byland just has a small kiosk). Our initial reaction was slight disappointment at the location – the abbey appeared to be shoehorned into quite a small area, whereas Byland enjoys more space. It’s true that a larger part of the original structure is intact, yet it somehow didn’t seem as impressive as we felt it should.

 

This also has a museum/exhibition that’s slightly larger than the one at Byland, but there was no model of the original abbey as we’d expected. We do know that the museum was about to close for refurbishment (strange at peak visitor time) so maybe it will undergo an improvement.

We still enjoyed our visit to Rievaulx, but felt it was a bit of an anti-climax after what we’d been lead to expect, whereas Byland was a surprising little gem.

Exploring Rievaulx

Much Ado About McDonalds

So what’s been happening to McDonalds? I’m not a frequent visitor, I just take my son there for an occasional treat or grab the odd breakfast if we go on an early morning journey, so was surprised to see some changes on a recent visit. McDonalds seems to have taken on a kind of Argos persona!

It’s true that service in McDonalds seems to have become slower over the years, possibly not helped by the increased range of items on its menu. I remember back in the 80s, if your order was not fulfilled within a certain time span, your food was given to you free! I actually gained through that policy on a number of occasions.

As time progressed that policy was shelved, to be placed only with a “Sorry for the wait”, if your food was slow to arrive. McDonalds has obviously become aware of the slower service and thought that something needed to be done, but I’m not sure that the new setup is the answer.

In some branches, you now go to an order point on arrival, where you select your food and pay for it, before being referred to another (much longer) queue to obtain it. In my experience, this two-step system produced a much longer wait, than the original choose, pay and pick up all-in-one format. Queuing twice is just doubly annoying, and although appropriate in Argos where items have to be located in the warehouse, does not seem suited to fast food outlets.

I can see it’s annoying having to wait for your food, standing aimlessly by the tills amidst the crush of customers, which is why some branches advised you to, “Sit down and we’ll bring your order to you”, if it was expected to be too long. What was wrong with that process?

On the day that we first visited an Argos-esque McDonalds this system could easily have been used, as one member of staff seemed to be employed in nothing more useful than giving out balloons – bringing orders to tables would have been much more helpful.

Of course, the new system could be likened to the drive through version, but I would argue that the drive through (or dreaded ‘drive thru’, as it is cringingly labelled) is rather faster than the in-shop process.

I even feel that a modified version of the system may have worked, but am not about to reveal my cunning plan for a more streamlined service in McDonalds here and now. If the fast food chain would like to hear my idea, then they are welcome to get in touch and I’ll discuss it with them.

In the meantime, the Argos ordering system in McDonalds gets the thumbs down from me!

A Move To Morrisons

Since moving to a new, more rural location last year, my shopping habits have changed somewhat.

At my old home, I did my main grocery shopping at the local Tesco Extra, with smaller top-up shops at Sainsburys’ and the Co-op, but all that has changed since the move.

My current nearest Tesco is rather smaller than the Extra at which I once shopped, with far fewer product lines on the shelves, making it impossible to replicate all my most common buys. Although the store can meet a lot of my needs, it falls short on others.

Similarly, I have neither a Sainsburys’ or Co-op within easy reach, so have needed to look elsewhere. Attempts at buying groceries in Aldi failed dismally, I couldn’t get on with their products at all, and although I like Lidl better, the journey to the nearest branch is too far to justify any savings. And when it comes to grocery shopping, I’m not a fan of doing it online, as I like to scrutinise the meat, carefully select the fruit and veg and take the time to mull over relevant offers.

Therefore, my weekly shop now tends to be divided between the smaller Tesco, and Morrisons’, as there is a large branch of this store near to said Tesco.

On my first few visits to Morrisons I tentatively tried a selection of own brand products, as well as selecting some well-known labels that were on offer. I decided that many of the products were of good quality and therefore represented good value, an opinion further enhanced by the introduction of the Match and More card. This loyalty card price-matches your purchases not only with other leading supermarkets, but also with Aldi and Lidl, converting any extra money that you have paid on your comparable Morrisons’ shop to points, which then accumulate until you have sufficient to be awarded a £5 voucher. Despite targeting many own brand and offer items in my shop, I always seem to earn points, and have received several £5 vouchers, further reducing my shopping bill.

In addition to this, Morrisons have been sending me a variety of additional money-off vouchers through the post – they’re really making an effort to gain custom!

I’ve now also become a fan of certain of their own brand products. Here are a few of my favourites:

Morrisons Laundry Gel (Bio) 540ml (up to 18 washes) for just £1.75 – just as good as the Ariel version in my opinion and much cheaper!

Morrisons Pure Fabric Conditioner £1.50 (up to 42 washes) is a great bargain buy that leaves my laundry really fresh.

Morrisons Bolognese Sauce 725g for 99p, we actually preferred this to many other makes that we have tried.

Morrisons Chilled 100% Fruit Juices, 1-litre bottles, 3 for £3 (£1.29 each), not only are these really tasty, but there is such a great range of flavours. In addition to the normal apple, orange and pineapple, I love the apple and mango, Clementine, apple and pear and red grape and berries.

I’m also a big fan of their deli items, such as vegetable samosas and olive selections, and am pleased to see that their meat tends to be sourced from British farmers.

It would definitely seem that I’ll be doing much more of my weekly shopping in Morrisons in the future.

Pontin’s – My Bargain Break

A few weeks back, I found myself packing my bag and heading off to Pontin’s at Camber Sands. Not something I thought I would find myself doing, as I’d heard some none too favourable reviews in the past, but my daughter had booked a cheap break, and I’d agreed to accompany her and my toddler grandson on the trip.

My expectations had not been particularly high, partly due to what I’d heard, but also because I knew that my daughter had only paid in the region of £60 for a Monday to Friday stay. The paperwork had stated that our accommodation would be available from 4pm, but as we were relying on a lift there, ended up arriving before midday.

My plan on arrival was to ask if there was somewhere comfortable that we could wait with our luggage, but when I approached reception I was met with a cheery, “Hold on, I’ll see if your accommodation is ready,” – and it was! So by noon we were in our holiday apartment settling in, which gave us, in effect, a bonus afternoon.

Our ground floor ‘apartment’ (requested to make it easier with a pushchair) was basic, but adequate for a short stay. There was one bedroom with a double bed and a sofa bed in the main area, a small kitchen area with new-looking fridge and tired-looking cooker, which actually worked very well. The bathroom consisted of toilet, washbasin and shower that were OK, but we discovered the shower cubicle was broken. However, when we reported this to reception a maintenance man was despatched and a repair made within about half hour, so that was good service

Our main gripe was the bedding. Having paid for the privilege of having bedding provided, it was thin and ‘shiny’ and tended to slip off the beds every night, leaving us a bit chilly. I’m unsure as to whether this was the regular bedding however, as towards the end of our stay, we saw ‘proper sheets’ being placed in the neighbouring empty apartments.

Site facilities are good. There are a number of outdoor play areas for children of varying ages, a pirate crazy golf and a swimming pool, featuring a main pool with slide and a lovely warm toddler pool with assorted floats. Of course, there was also the inevitable arcade and a children’s club, large clubroom, pub and restaurant. Being off-season, evening entertainment took place in the pub as opposed to the larger club, as there didn’t appear to be that many of us staying there. Despite that, every evening there was a quiz (which I actually won one night and was presented with a bottle of wine) a children’s dance session and other entertainment.

My grandson loved the dressed-up characters that appeared at 10 each morning and again at the evening session and made use of the soft play area and toys in the children’s club.

As were we fortunate to have such lovely weather during our stay, we were also able to visit the beach, which just involved crossing the road outside and walking down a short lane.

We went for the self-catering option and, although there was a Nisa at the site entrance, found the shop opposite and the post office/village store further down the road cheaper options for shopping. Although, in its favour, the Nisa did have a £1 section selling useful things such as children’s arm bands.

There is actually a half-board option available, whereby breakfast and evening meal are provided at the Sands restaurant, but even if you do not select this deal, you can buy a three-course evening meal for £8.95, which is worth remembering.

Overall I enjoyed our Pontin’s stay, some of the accommodation is a little tired, but a little sprucing up could make all the difference. The facilities were good, but with over 700 apartments on site, could get a bit packed during high season. We were fortunate that as much of the accommodation was empty during our stay, we had easy access to everything that we wanted to do.

Although we didn’t meet huge numbers of fellow guests, we did see quite a few rabbits (lovely) and a huge number of seagulls, with regards to which I must issue a warning. On our first morning there, we heard a rap on the door. When I opened it there was no one to be seen, however when I glanced down towards the ground I was greeted by the sight of a cheeky gull. It was funny the first time, but wore thin as the week progressed, with this happening several times a day. At no point did we feed the gulls, indeed the site requests that you don’t, but did return one afternoon to find our ‘neighbour’ feeding them – not good!

I’m not sure that I would have wanted to spend a long holiday at Pontin’s Camber Sands, but would certainly consider another short break in the future.

Fancy a trip to Pontin’s at Camber Sands?

Visit pontins.com/holiday-parks/camber-sands  

Death Of A High Street

Many High Streets have seen a large number of shop closures over the last couple of years, with some towns suffering more severely than others.

In some cases, closures have been the result of the demise of whole shopping chains, whilst others have been due to localised closures, where retailers have had to reduce store numbers to avoid total collapse.

I’ve visited some High Streets and shopping centres that appear to be holding up quite well, but others are ghosts of their former selves. One in particular that falls into the latter category is Chatham in Kent.

I was born and bred in Medway, having lived in various locations around the towns, often using Chatham as a place to shop. Although I have now moved out of the Medway area, I have made a couple of recent trips back to Chatham High Street when visiting relatives and can’t believe the change in the place.

As a child I loved to go and spend my birthday and pocket money in the town. There were some great toy shops (Youngsters and Gees) in the town and lots of big High Street stores such as Marks and Spencer, Woolworths, British Home Stores (as it then was), Co-op and Featherstones.

In the 1970s the Pentagon shopping centre opened (I remember going there to see the Wombles turn up for the official opening) and some of the stores from the High Street, such as WHSmith and Boots moved inside, as well as new shops arriving such as C&A and Etam.

Today both the High Street and Pentagon shopping centre are shadows of their former selves. Marks and Spencer and the now rebranded BHS moved out years ago and of course, Woolworths disappeared from all of our High Streets, but what is more concerning is the number of other retailers that have pulled out of the town, seemingly making it their first choice of towns from which to withdraw.

In light of the news that Tesco needed to close a large number of stores, Chatham was put on the hit list. Now WHSmith have also announced they’re shutting up shop and rumours are flying about who else is set to go.

Over the years national chains such as Next, Peacocks, Mothercare, HMV and The Early Learning Centre have, one by one, left the town, although all still exist in nearby Maidstone.

The only new shops that seem to be opening in the town are pound stores. Poundland, 99p Stores, Poundworld, The Mighty Pound, Around-a-pound – talk about in for a pound! Now whilst these shops may have their place, there are a hell of a lot of things you can’t buy in them and not all of us want to shop in them. It seems the more that the council allow these shops (along with betting shops, pawnbrokers and dubious ‘market-stall’ type shops) move into the town, the more the long-standing stores decide to leave. I always thought councils looked carefully at the balance of shops in a town, limiting numbers of any one type of shop, to maintain diversity.

shops are packing
up and going!

There was a time when people would have travelled to the town from all around Kent because of the great selection of shops on offer. Now the choices are miserable, the town looks dowdy and people not only don’t visit there to shop anymore, but even locals choose to travel elsewhere.

The decline of the town’s High Street is very sad and is largely due, I feel, to bad town management. It will take something miraculous to revive this dismal High Street.

How are High Streets near you holding up?

That February Feeling

February can be a gloomy month. The delights of Christmas are long past and spring still seems that little bit out of reach. Personally I dislike February even more than January, despite the evenings being slightly lighter, it just seems a bit of a tedious month.

Looking back over my posts for February, I realise that they appeared to give off a few negative vibes, seeming a bit gloomy. It’s true that I debated a few serious issues, with none of the light-hearted banter that I sometimes include, but I stand by my comments aimed at making pertinent points.

The post that I’m most passionate about is Are Ofsted Off The Mark? detailing my reasons for pushing for a complete review of Ofsted. Reports don’t always seem to reflect how students, parents and teachers perceive their school and are too subjective depending on which inspectors actually visit. I’ve read an article where Ofsted actually admit that opinion can vary depending on which team actually go into a school. Ofsted reports shouldn’t be a game of chance, there has to be a way of making them more reliable – involving parents more and ensuring Ofsted teams have a wider mix of inspectors from different backgrounds, for example. I’ve contacted the PM and various MPs and hope at some point to get some responses to share with you.

In Merging Into One I discussed how large companies are swallowing up the competition, reducing consumer choice in the process. If we want companies to stay on their toes and endeavour to deliver the best service and value-for-money, then these takeovers must be restricted – otherwise where do we turn for better deals?

My Thoughts On Half Term post may have sounded like a bit of a rant – I suppose in effect it was, but whilst I don’t want to be a killjoy I do believe we should be instilling consideration for others in our children. I’m a mother of three (the youngest now a teenager) and have always taught respect and good manners, expecting others to do the same. We should all be having fun with our kids, but not in a way that spoils enjoyment of an experience for others. You can have fun and good manners too!

So in March I’ll try and include a bit more light-heartedness in my posts, whilst still addressing the odd serious issue should it arise.

In the meantime, what things have made me happy in February? My local craft shop selling tapestry kits normally priced at £30+ for just £7, enjoying a pub meal with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary (not an impersonal chain, but a local, independent pub), spending time with my teenage son and catching up with friends.

You can also read my tales of doing up an old workshop in a countryside setting at www.ruraljoy.blogspot.co.uk

Merging Into One

I’ve recently heard about a couple of companies that are about to be ‘swallowed up’ by larger ones, which is bound to have an effect on consumer choice.

The Competitions and Markets Authority (formerly the Competition Commission, in turn formerly The Monopolies and Mergers Commission) is supposedly meant to strengthen competition in the marketplace, thus protecting consumer choice. Why is it then that in some areas our choices are becoming increasingly more limited?

One of the big issues at the moment, I feel, is that of mobile phone providers. I used to be a customer of Orange, which merged with TMobile (referred to in our household as Torange), which then became part of EE. It has now been announced that EE are to be bought out by BT – just the company I do not want to provide my service!

One of my concerns is that my current, excellently priced SIM deal will change. Originally taken out with Orange, but honoured by EE (although that stopped providing it to new customers) my immediate concern is that this will be scrapped. But from a wider point of view, I realise that if I’m not happy with the new service, there will be very little choice of other providers available. With it appearing that O2 is about to be taken over by the owner of the ‘3’ network, that leaves only Vodafone as a mobile provider on its own.

With our choices of mobile provider basically down to three, where is the incentive for the remaining companies to offer the best deals? With competition rapidly dwindling it certainly makes their life easier, but not ours!

Also in the news is the plan for Poundland to buy out 99p Stores – another bad move I believe. Certainly in my area, the 99p Stores are much better than the Poundland equivalents, stocking better products in a more welcoming environment. Of course, that may not be the case nationwide, but it’s still nice to be given the choice of where to shop.

Time and again shops and companies are being taken over by larger concerns, reducing competition and limiting our choices. Competition is healthy for businesses. It encourages them to deliver the best possible customer service, product ranges and consumer care. Insufficient competition can create complacency, resulting in poorer deals for customers and severe lack of service and care.

I’ve always believed that if I don’t get good service from a company, I should take my custom elsewhere. But if my choices are limited, where do I turn?

Are Ofsted Off The Mark?

It seems that Ofsted is mentioned in the news on a fairly regular basis, often with regard to schools that they have deemed to be ‘failing’, when judged by their existing criteria. But is the current inspection system itself in need of a major review?

There was a time when I may have taken an Ofsted report at face value. If a school was put in special measures, I may well have believed it was well deserved. Similarly, I would have lapped up every word of a glowing report, believing that it was the type of place that my children should attend. But not any more.

Following a few personal experiences, I would like to raise the question, what is Ofsted’s real agenda? Let me explain the basis for this reaction.

Several years ago, I worked for a school that had only just received a ‘good’ Ofsted report. On the basis of this I had no qualms at joining the support staff at said school. But within days of starting work, I was flabbergasted as to how the establishment had managed to be rated so highly. Behaviour was appalling, staff members were apathetic and results only vaguely reasonable. Perhaps the lad who turned to me one lesson and said, “They sent all the naughty ones out the day Ofsted came”, was not merely speaking in jest.

Following a particularly bad behavioural incident, I felt the need to speak to a member of the management team, who basically couldn’t give two hoots! Things got worse and I decided to leave, but not without communicating to Ofsted my concerns about the school – only to be ignored.

Fast forward to more recent times. I was pleased to get my son into a great grammar school, where the staff members were helpful, results good and the atmosphere friendly. The year after my son started at the school, it topped the results table for the county and I was really pleased with his individual progress.

Then Ofsted came along.

Overnight, the school was put into special measures, the lovely head disappeared without a ‘goodbye’ and new one blustered in like a bull in a china shop. The schools individuality was stripped, as the school became part of a trust that just seems to want to ‘clone’ the school. When it comes to education, one size does not fit all!

As a parent I protested, taking the time to express my concerns to Ofsted. Their first reaction was that I’d had my chance for my say by filling in their questionnaire. Have you ever seen the Ofsted questionnaire? It’s just a series of tick boxes, with no room to expand on or explain any of the issues that you really want to address.

I persisted with communications to Ofsted, including sending a letter to Sir Michael Wilshaw. Eventually I wore them down enough to get a slightly longer reply, including a promise to meet with me on their next visit to the school. Like that happened!

I’ve never agreed with the decision to put my son’s school into special measures, or had the opportunity to discuss it properly. The ‘good’ news is it is now deemed by Ofsted to be a good school, which is somewhat surprising as to my mind it’s not a patch on what it was. Communications and admin are far worse than they ever were, but fortunately teaching is good – just as I’d always thought!

Time and again I hear of more schools receiving poor reports and being put into special measures. Most recently, Durham Free School have hit the news, threatened with closure despite a recent Department of Education report, declaring it to be “A successful free school securing good teaching.”

It’s true some schools may be struggling, but others I feel are being judged too harshly. It seems that Ofsted wants all schools to fit a mould – any deviation from their tick box system, however good results and student’s and parent’s views of the school, and Ofsted storm in.

As a result of this our choices of school for our children will become more limited, as each one becomes slowly cloned, lead by a series of Ofsted’s ‘yes men’ (and women, of course).

None of us want our children to suffer through poor educational standards – we’d like them to achieve their best – but we also want them to feel happy and safe, and experience a sense of belonging in the process.

Come on everyone! Let’s press for a total review of Ofsted, and stop good schools from receiving damning reports that actually can mean a change for the worse!

Please feel free to leave comments on this post – I will be lobbying MPs and other appropriate bodies – and your support is appreciated.

January’s Highs And Lows

It’s been a strange month. The weather has been freezing cold one moment and unseasonably mild the next. With a general election looming this year, there have been debates on how and even whether there should be party debates and slanging matches have started between party leaders.

I’ve been trying to keep warm in the ‘glorified shed’ (you can keep up with the latest on that at www.ruraljoy.blogspot.co.uk) and despairing as to whether any party leader is actually fit to run the country!

 

Anyway, here are a few of my other highs and lows for the month.

Highs

Discovering a handy website for knitting patterns and wool, as I had been very frustrated at the lack of decent patterns available. My local craft and wool shop only seems to stock patterns that appear to belong in the 1970s and knitting magazines tend to print lots of patterns for small items, with only the odd cardigan or jumper that may or may not be appealing. I was very pleased therefore to discover www.deramores.com where you can sign up for a newsletter giving you access to free patterns as well as purchase reasonably priced patterns and wool. My order was processed and despatched literally within hours and I was very pleased with my purchases.

Grabbing some late sale bargains, including a pair of trousers from Wallis reduced from £30 to £10, a cardigan from Dorothy Perkins down from £25 to £10 and a perfume set from Boots for just £8 as opposed to its original £28! That amounted to £83 worth of shopping for just £28 – well £20 actually, as I used my Boots Advantage points for the perfume!

Receiving my first £5 Morrisons’ Match and More voucher, despite only purchasing quite minor amounts of shopping in the store and targeting offers most of the time, these points still added up very quickly!

Enjoying Father Brown on TV, although why it’s shoved into an afternoon slot on BBC1 I don’t know – it would make great evening viewing. In fact, that’s exactly when I do watch it, as I record it on my Humax box. It has a great cast and if you’ve never seen it I strongly recommend you start watching!

Lows

Finding out that Sainsburys’ online grocery shopping slaps on an extra charge for orders under £40, although I can report that Tesco only put an extra fee on the bill for orders under £25. My elderly mother-in-law particularly wanted to order some groceries from Sainsburys’ and enlisted our help. As she is only catering for herself, we checked that the minimum order for delivery was indeed £25. It was not until we got to the checkout stage, that we discovered the extra charge. Fair enough, there has to be a minimum amount to make delivery viable, but I don’t believe any supermarket should be charging extra for orders above the £25 mark.

The return of Broadchurch to our TV screens has been somewhat of a disappointment to me. I’d read various articles saying that the story was going to be really different and exciting, yet half of the programme each week seems to be going over old ground and dwelling on the court case relating to the last series. I would have much preferred more emphasis on a new story than dredging up the past – I can only hope it will improve as the weeks go by.

Reading ‘Natural Causes’ by James Oswald, which I’m not criticising for its writing or characterisation, but purely saying the plot was not for me. I like a good detective story, but this was too gory for me, with a higher body count than even a series of Midsomer Murders! It has some great reviews, but personally I prefer a little more mystery and a little less graphic content.

Where Have All The Shoe Shops Gone?

There’s no doubt about it, shopping for shoes is not the straightforward experience that it once was. Locating a shoe shop can be an ordeal in itself.

Way back in that hinterland know as the 1970s, my then local High Street was positively teeming with shoe shops, as was the shopping centre that opened there during that decade. We were spoilt for choice – Manfield, Saxone, Dolcis, Curtess, TrueForm, John Farmer – the list went on!

Are shoe shops becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs/

However, a visit back to that same High Street today is quite a different story. All that exists is a branch of Shoe Zone and a small Chockers store. Even venturing to an out-of-town retail park only yields a rather sad looking Brantano, which I view as a kind of shoe jumble sale – lots of random styles in random sizes, but not normally the one you’re actually seeking.

Of course, I realise that many High Street stores now include a shoe department – New Look, BHS, Matalan and Select to name a few – but many of these only offer women’s shoes. Where are you supposed to go to buy footwear for children and men?

This week I faced the unenviable task of buying new school shoes for my son. Needless to say, the choice was very limited. He may not be particularly fashion conscious when choosing footwear, but it would be nice to have more options available to him. My husband is also frustrated about the lack of choice – it’s not always an option to buy from premium shoe retailers and certainly shouldn’t be viewed as a necessity.

There are, of course, a number of online shoe retailers, but footwear is the last item that I would consider buying on the Internet. Finding the right fit can be a nightmare! How many pairs would I end up ordering and returning before I found the ideal fit? I want to go into a shop (or several if I’m honest), view a large selection of shoes and try on as many pairs as I like before making my choice.

I dream of walking down a High Street that hosts a range of reasonably-priced, well-stocked shoe shops and trying on endless pairs until I find my ideal style of fit. But tell me, where have all the shoe shops gone?

January’s A Good Month To ...

Avoid making a New Year’s Resolution. Yes, seriously. Many people find that the pressure of undertaking a big life change at New Year makes it more difficult to accomplish their goals. Deciding to lose weight, quit smoking, get fitter etc is sometimes easier to accomplish at a time of your own choosing, or when the weather is warmer to make you feel more optimistic. The only resolution I’ve ever made and stuck to, is not to make a New Year’s resolution!

Raid the ‘End of Sale’ rails. I’ve never been one to queue on the first day of a sale, or even turn up within the first few days of one starting. I’m much more the type of shopper that scours the shops for ‘End of Sale’ bargains. Past finds have included Marks and Spencer jeans for £5, M&S boots for £3 and toiletry gift sets from Boots at 90% reduction. OK, so there’s not so much choice towards the end of a sale, but the savings can be huge!

Fill up those charity bags. Now’s the time to clear out all of those cupboards and drawers to make room for all of the goodies that you received for Christmas. And if you received some unwanted gifts, why not donate those to a local charity shop too? Beware, however, of some of the so-called charity bags that are posted through your door. Whilst some are genuine, others most definitely are not. If in doubt, try to take your donations directly to a charity shop, to ensure that your gifts are helping the people that you intend to help, as opposed to lining the pockets of unscrupulous individuals.

Curl up with a good book. Whilst I accept that e-readers have their place, I feel you can’t beat holding an actual book in your hand, with it’s intriguing cover beckoning you to discover its treasures within. I love to turn the pages – sometimes with some speed when I reach a particularly exciting bit – enjoying the feel of the paper and weight of the tome. Snuggling up by the fire on a winter’s day, book in hand, is sheer bliss!

Celebrity Endorsements

Advertisements can often be controversial, but I do despair at the amount of celebrity appearances and voiceovers in TV commercials, which must cost a fair whack, money probably better spent on the products themselves – or reducing their prices!

I’ve touched on this subject before, see good ads, but I’m becoming increasingly irritated by the cheesiness and pointlessness of these so-called celeb endorsements. Do I care what Cheryl is (supposedly) using on her hair, which yogurt Nicole Scherzinger (allegedly) prefers or that Victoria Wood appears to extol the virtues of a Dyson? Does it make me more likely to buy these products? Actually, no.

In fact the insincerity of some of the celebrity ads makes the products appear less credible to me. Their only use is to play a game of “Name That Celebrity” – can you recognise that famous voice in the background?

Random kittens in blog,
Much like random celebs in ads

I mean, do we really imagine that Peter André regularly pushes a trolley around his local branch of Iceland and that Mel Giedroyc really believes that “You’re better off at Asda”? The amount of different Asda ads featuring our Mel’s voice in the course of one week probably earns her enough to be far more extravagant with her weekly shop!

Personally, I’d prefer more ads featuring ‘real people’, which would be more cost-effective to make and more believable. It’s not really the TV advertising that encourages me to buy a product or visit a certain shop anyway, but introductory offers for products and loyalty incentives in the shops.

The odd advert can be quite entertaining, with some of the recent Christmas ones certainly worthy of a mention. I loved the Waitrose ad with its traumatic tale of the girl preparing the gingerbread stall and the John Lewis commercial with the lad and his penguins. But whilst the Sainsburys’ World War One ad was a poignant piece of film, I rather wish it hadn’t been an advert at all, just a short film to make us all think.

So does seeing or hearing a celebrity on a TV ad make you more likely to buy a product, or do you think there presence is just a total waste of money?

A Year In Supermarkets

With only weeks left of the present year, I thought it was time that I started looking back at some of my shopping experiences for the year, and in particular, what has been happening with the supermarkets.

Tesco were in the news this year for dodgy accounting, which has resulted in a criminal investigation. Now whilst this is serious stuff, and we should theoretically be concerned, as a shopper, I’m more interested in what is actually happening at ‘ground level’ so to speak. All the while I can go into a Tesco store, find what I want at a reasonable price, get good service from the staff and earn valuable Clubcard points I will continue to shop with the chain. They certainly operate the best loyalty scheme around, with points amounting to four times their value when exchanged for days out and Clubcard send out a regular supply of relevant money-off and extra points vouchers too.

Sainsbury’s, on the other hand, announced that they are set to cut the number of Nectar points that you earn on your weekly shop. (Loyalty cards) With their loyalty scheme already offering a poorer deal than the likes of Tesco I don’t think this is a very clever move. They are, however, pledging to cut more prices, so we’ll have to see how all this works out in practice.

Morrisons launched their new ‘Match & More’ card this year, (I want more) an interesting twist on a loyalty card, whereby you earn points on items that you would have been able to buy cheaper elsewhere – a price comparison that includes the likes of Aldi and Lidl as well as the other major supermarkets. What pleased me about this card was that Morrisons offered three options when it came to registering the card – online, by post or in store – a refreshing change from companies that expect you to do everything online!

Asda has never been one of my favourite supermarkets, but they’ve certainly put themselves in the doghouse recently. My daughter placed an online grocery order with them, but the goods never actually materialised (Oh dear Asda) and despite phone calls, completion of an online form, a blog post and a Twitter conversation (which reaps results in most cases) the company failed to properly apologise for the inconvenience, or offer any explanation as to what went wrong. Needless to say it’s not an experience she has rushed to repeat. In fact, my prize for “The Worst Customer Service of 2014” is hereby awarded to Asda. Perhaps they’d care to take note!

Whilst I continue to give Aldi a wide berth, having rated previous shopping experiences with them at 2/10, I have become a bit of a fan of Lidl. For me, Lidl have been one of the great emerging retailers of 2014. Most recently I’ve found them a great place to stock up with Christmas spirits – port, cream liqueur and cherry brandy all costing around the £5 mark, and tasting delicious – and I love their Stilton too! I’m sure that I’ll have much more to say about them in 2015.

So wherever you shop, I hope you’ve had good experiences this year – if not, let me know, I’m always keen to hear your shopping stories too!

Memories At Manston

It’s been a while since we’ve had a family day out, what with trying to arrange our new home into something vaguely liveable (read more at ruraljoy to throw some light on this one) and the weather becoming chillier and gloomier. So when a Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, it seemed a good time to take my son out on a quest for material for his art project on ‘conflict”.

We trawled the Internet to find somewhere in our home county of Kent that would make for an interesting visit, whilst fulfilling the brief, so to speak, choosing the Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum at Manston.

Situated on the old airfield site, the museum is easy to find and both parking and entrance are free, although there is a donation box, which merits your attention! You can also purchase items at the shop (I bought an interesting wartime-related cookbook) and enjoy a cuppa or a meal at the Merlin Cafeteria attached to the museum.

Although small, the museum does have rather a ‘wow’ factor, displaying one of the few surviving Spitfires and a famous Hawker Hurricane, each housed in their own room surrounded by interesting and diverse memorabilia. Indeed, there are some very poignant displays, telling the stories of the men involved in air combat in WWII. There are also examples of everyday items from the World War II era, giving more depth and understanding of the time.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and my son was able to get some great photos to help with his art.

On leaving the museum we noticed another building opposite, which turned out to be the RAF Manston History Museum – another little gem, so we discovered. With admission costing just £1.50 for adults and 50p for children, this contains items representing the history of the airfield between 1916 until the present day, with examples of both military and civil aircraft.

Displays include a section of a wartime street (my son found this particularly interesting), film footage of the bouncing bomb, aircraft of various types and ages and military vehicles. There is even a doodlebug!

We found the two museums very informative and enjoyable and I can definitely recommend a visit to them both, as they each have much to offer visitors – an enlightening experience!    

I Want More!

When it comes to loyalty cards, I’m a serial collector, as many a blog post has demonstrated. It’s little surprise then, that when I heard about the Morrisons’ Match & More card, I just had to grab one and find out, well more.

Strictly speaking, this is not so much of a loyalty card as a price match tool. When shoppers get their card swiped at the checkout, the grocery spend is compared with Tesco, Sainsburys’, Asda, Aldi and Lidl – a selection of supermarkets that just sent the automatic spellchecker on my computer into meltdown!

Always looking to save valuable pounds!

If you would have spent less at these stores, then the difference (with an added zero) is converted to points and put on your card. My first shop with the card could have theoretically been 54p cheaper elsewhere (despite the fact that I targeted offers), and so earned me 540 points. Once I have accumulated 5000 points I will qualify for a £5 voucher.

When I first heard the details about the card, I was unsure whether the benefits would be worthwhile, but considering I’m already a tenth of the way to getting my first £5 following a relatively small grocery shop, it could prove quite handy.

In addition to the ‘match’ points, I’ve spotted a few items in store for which extra points are awarded and you also get 10 points for every litre of fuel that you buy at a Morrisons’ garage.

But what really struck me when I picked up my new temporary card and accompanying leaflet, was that Morrisons actually provide customers with a choice of ways to register – either online, by post (postage paid) or by dropping off the completed form to a box in store. Following previous posts bemoaning companies that only expect customers to communicate with them online, this was a breath of fresh air. After all, there are still people (some of my more elderly relatives included) that either do not have or cannot use the Internet. Well done Morrisons!

Oh Dear Asda!

Personally, I do not opt to purchase my food shopping online – I’m much too fussy a shopper to elect someone else to make specific choices for me! However, there are many customers that find this a convenient way to shop.

My daughter often buys her food shopping online, as she has a young son and relies on public transport, so having at least the heavier items delivered can be a big help. Buying groceries from Tesco using this method had proved reasonably reliable. Although the occasional item was missing from the delivery, the shopping did at least turn up and mistakes rectified where appropriate.

However, she recently decided to try home shopping with Asda, which in her case turned out to be a big mistake!

Online shopping may not be the key

Despite receiving two confirmation emails relating to her order, stating the delivery time slot, the shopping never arrived. After waiting a suitable amount of time (sufficient to allow for unavoidable delays), she contacted Asda. The first customer service adviser that she talked to was somewhat brusque, intimating that the order may not have been properly confirmed, despite the receipt of two emails.

She was then passed on to an adviser in store, who at the outset appeared more helpful, but did not go on to fulfil this promise. Despite their assurance that they would track down the relevant order and inform my daughter as to what was happening, they never did get back in touch. And the shopping never did arrive!

My daughter contacted Asda again the following day, when she was told that they would not take the money for the shopping! Did they think they were doing her a favour saying this? They can hardly charge for something that they’ve literally not delivered!

When my daughter expressed her displeasure at the whole debacle, the adviser decided to offer her free delivery on her next order – as if she was going to trust Asda again in a hurry.

I relate this tale as an example of what I consider to be appalling customer service. My daughter was left without vital shopping (including milk for her young son), no explanation has ever been made for the error, and their half-hearted apology doesn’t go far enough!

I was so incensed that I contacted Asda myself via Twitter - a method that has had favourable results with other companies in the past. Although Asda did respond, it was all a bit half-hearted, only providing me with the suggestion that she spoke with the store in question. Not very clever, when I'd mentioned that she'd already done this! Asda home shopping is definitely not an experience that I would recommend.

What online shopping disasters have you experienced?

I Love My Loyalty Cards

Like many shoppers, I was quite incensed to hear that Sainsburys’ are halving the amount of Nectar points that they award to customers as of April next year. They will only be awarding one point per pound spent, as opposed to the current two (two points are only worth 1p ).

It’s true to say that Nectar points always have been slightly inferior to those awarded by Tesco Clubcard, with the exchange rate of the latter being four times their face value when converted to Days Out vouchers, and each point being equal to 1p .

There are some shoppers (misguided in my opinion) that question the value of loyalty cards, but I believe that any reward you are given for shopping is better than no reward at all.

Less effective than a loyalty card

The argument goes, that if stores are operating reward schemes, they subsequently have to set their prices a little higher to offset these incentives. However, I would refute this, as many good value items I buy are purchased in shops that offer reward points.

Many of the products that I purchase in places such as Tesco and Superdrug, are not only cheaper or at least comparable to those offered at other shops, but earn me points. Over the years I have acquired so many points under the Clubcard scheme, that we have been able to pay for several family days out each year, including trips to expensive theme parks, which we would not otherwise have afforded. Even if I have occasionally paid a few pence more for the odd product or two, I have received this amount back umpteen times over. It’s true to say, that if I could have bought some items slightly cheaper elsewhere and put the pennies I’d saved into a savings account, I would not have accumulated anywhere near enough to pay for the equivalent number of fun outings.

I regard all loyalty cards (and I can boast a considerable collection) as mini saving schemes that allow me to enjoy life’s little extras. Unless prices are considerably higher in a shop that offers a good value scheme, I am unlikely to shop for identical products somewhere that does not offer me these extra benefits.

So my message to Sainsburys’, and any other stores planning to reduce or withdraw their points schemes, is that this may result in a customer-cutting exercise as opposed to your intended cost-cutting one!

Great Value Crafting

I’ve long enjoyed working on various craft projects and am always looking for good value stockists of craft materials.

A small, fairly local, craft shop is a reasonable source for certain materials that I buy, but choice can be limited and prices sometimes rather high. At the other end of the scale, I’m not a fan of Hobbycraft with its impersonal warehouse set-up, which still doesn’t result in low prices.

So despite my erstwhile reluctance to buy products online, I recently found myself trawling the Internet in the hope of finding some reasonably priced blank coasters for cross stitch, in addition to other useful materials. My research was greatly rewarded.

I’ve discovered a great company called Willow Fabrics www.willowfabrics.com that supplies a range of fabrics, threads, wool and needlecraft accessories at very reasonable prices. For example, a pack of five round coasters costs just £7 (I paid over £2 each in the craft shop), and I bought a large piece (50cm X 60cm) of tapestry canvas for just £3.70. What’s more my order arrived in just under 48 hours and I was really pleased with the products.

I’ve also recently taken up a great deal in Cross Stitch magazines, with Cross Stitch Crazy and World of Cross Stitching running subscription offers whereby you receive five editions of either magazine for just £1 per issue (normal price £4.99). These are great magazines containing lots of lovely charts and they usually come with free mini kits too!

What recommendations do you have for great value crafting?

Shopping Habits

Despite my recent move, which means that I’m now much further away from the nearest supermarket (see ruraljoy ) I’m not about to change from doing my weekly shop in person, to ordering online.

I’ve heard tales from friends and family, bemoaning incomplete orders and poor substitution of products, which certainly don’t inspire me to join the online shopping revolution.

OK I know that for every negative story that I hear, there are probably many positive experiences to be shared, but my aversion to online supermarket shopping goes much deeper than all that.

The problem is I’m a very fussy shopper (you may have realised that by now if you’re a regular reader of my blog) and take great pains to select the right items fit for my shopping trolley. I turn over many a bunch of bananas, bag of potatoes, pack of meat etc before making my final choice. The thought of someone else making these decisions for me brings me out in a cold sweat – I need to be in control of the shopping!

Well, maybe that sounds a bit extreme, but there’s no getting away from the fact that I like what I like – and I quite like to shop. So no matter how much longer it may now take to get to the shops or how far the distance involved, I will continue to trawl the supermarket aisles and fill my trolley with exactly what I want.

Are you a fussy shopper?