Hell


I'm exhausted.
Christmas Shopping with the Prof!
He loves it.
I hate it.
Chester was a nightmare of seasonal plastic bags, tired middle aged men standing outside clothes shops and couples arguing " well I think your mother would love it!" at the nightie counter in Marks.
The children singing carols right next door to the Salvation Band was all a bit much
" Is it December yet? " I shouted, but my cries were drowned out by hundreds of tired feet on cobblestones.
Thank god we went to Waitrose afterwards.......some semblance of order and sanity and not a commoner in sight

61 comments:

  1. The holiday season is a perfect time to hibernate.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Holy shit!!! I was the first one to comment today!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:37 pm

    I love that sign on the bench. It is all getting to be a bit much isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good time to hibernate!

    TA'

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the sign and share your love of shopping.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Someone has a marvellous sense of humour - what a great sign !
    Hope Waitrose had a special offer on a bumper pack of scotch eggs, after all your suffering !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No scotch eggs just one of heston's famous puddings

      Delete
  7. No Christmas shopping for me this year and it feels fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me neither and I can't believe the weight that has been lifted off my shoulders!

      Jo in Auckland, NZ

      Delete
  8. Just dragged out of the loft, 3 big trees, enough decs to fill a warehouse. A gazillion miles of tinsels and more mini trees than any sane person would ever want to admit to owning. WE LOVE CHRISTMAS. It will all go up over the next few days. Already bought the goose (on offer in Lidle) never had a goose for Christmas before but there is a first time for everything

    ReplyDelete
  9. I only endure christmas shopping, at best.
    What is Waitrose?

    ReplyDelete
  10. If money was no object I would enjoy shopping. A chauffeur driven limousine to the luxury shops, somebody to wrap the presents and carry them for me and being driven home afterwards. The reality is walking to the shops in p*ssing down rain, looking for original presents that don't exist on a limited budget and knowing that it has all been a waste of money. Bah humbug!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I hate loathe and despise shopping. Except for books and plants. And will be Christmas shopping later today. You have all my sympathies. Unless you have finished, in which case I hate you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I adore book shopping, but chester's bookshops were too overcrowded even for me

      Delete
  12. Thanks to the Internet and the fact that I am (at the moment) living in the middle of nowhere .. all my Christmas shopping is being done on the internet. No crowds, no traffic, no weather ... just 2 sleeping cats and me with a bit of Tango music playing in the other room.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I avoid shopping malls and shopping districts between mid November and the the second week of November. My christmas shopping i done, the last Amazon delivery should arrive later this week.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'd kill for a trip to Chester. Or a trot round a really well-stocked supermarket. Living right at the end of the supply chain, we don't suffer from a surfeit of choice.... I haven't seen a banana since before the war....

    ReplyDelete
  15. I make it a point not to shop from Thanksgiving until after Christmas . Only necessities and food items.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I make it a point not to shop from Thanksgiving until after Christmas . Only necessities and food items.

    ReplyDelete
  17. How come Welsh Taffies are streaming over the border to shop in England? When we build the wall there'll be none of that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately most of wales was in chester today

      Delete
  18. I'd like to hibernate from right after Thanksgiving until mid January. That way I'd miss all the weight gain from five different family birthdays (mine, my husband's, two grandkids, and a son-in-law), Christmas, New Year's and two anniversaries. I'd also miss the extensive drama of step-daughters not talking, trying to appease my family and his, shopping!!!!, all manner of decorating, the annual Christmas letter and card, and celebrating in general. Can you tell don't have the holiday spirit?

    ReplyDelete
  19. I hate shopping too. I did what little xmess shopping I had to do online; it's already been delivered.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous9:00 pm

    I sometimes think that Christmas is the most awful two months of the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RAMEN, bro! if I ruled the world, november and december would be replaced by a second helping of september and october.

      Delete
  22. LOL Graham .. anne marie ... me too :) I am living up in NY State near Albany at the moment and shopping here is .... let's just say ... Not what I am used to.
    Thank you god for inventing Amazon ~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WOW! I have some good blogger friends in that area!

      Delete
  23. I love the sign on the bench! I don't mind Christmas shopping, but I don't do it all at once. That would be too hard.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous9:52 pm

    Dependent on what time you were in Waitrose, there may have been a commoner in there with you, two in fact.....my husband and I were in there at about 3-30, and you can't get much more common than us!
    We only popped in for some food shopping, the city centre is off my list from now until halfway through January!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were there at the same time..whete you the sweaty bird with the sweat pants on?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:29 pm

      I admit to being a bit on the warm side, but as for sweat pants, not a chance in hell!
      I didn't spot either you or the Prof, but if you saw a tall blonde woman in a red dress, grey boots and jacket.....that was me!

      Delete
    3. Chris said he saw jerry hall
      Was that u?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:53 pm

      Definitely not.......I wouldn't have ever shagged the revolting creature that is Mick Jagger! X

      Delete
  25. Bah Humbug!! When I worked for Waitrose in the 70's my job one Christmas Eve was to give out posh mince pies to the queueing masses at the checkouts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, so you did hate us all just as I thought.

      Delete
    2. If thats directed at me...of course

      Delete
  26. Just be glad you don't have to work in retail this time of year. At least you can go when it suits you, and leave before closing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm with you, John, on the shopping front - hate it! If I can't get it easily on the internet or in a real shop in the very small market town nearby, I don't need it. No city shopping here at all! The very thought of it makes me cringe...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love the fact that the TWD morgan has left a message on Going Gently xxx

      Delete
  28. Hello, John. I came across your blog via my dear friend Z. We'd been commiserating about the decline in the blogosphere - great to see that it's still alive and well in your neck of the woods. Cheers, Tim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers john ...........nice to keep the tradition aliveeh?

      Delete
  29. I am so chuffed that Black Friday in the UK was a dismal failure. Maybe that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train after all.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I cancelled Christmas last year except for the get together which is what it's all about. Youngest grandson was 18. They were all a bit shocked at the time. I would rather make a fuss for their birthdays. This year they are all looking forward to getting together and seem very happy to invest in the food on the table and quality time with the people they love. Even my 91yr old mum has come to terms with the idea.

    ReplyDelete
  31. My husband discovered Christmas when he married me .. The Southern girl who counted to be sure everyone got the same amount of presents. Including stuffed stockings.
    He got more into it than I did ! He loved all the shopping and gift wrapping and hiding presents .. stuffing stockings was his forte .. how lovely for me that Tiffany boxes fit perfectly in my stocking ( that I have had since I was 4... a lady made it for me and it has lasted that long ... it is an antique ! )
    Even Christmas in Buenos Aires was fun ... in the middle of summer.. when most of the residents of the city went to the beaches or mountains, we took over the city.
    No tree but lots of presents and dinners out and wine and walks in parks and love.
    It was a magical time for us .. I don't remember one present but I remember every minute of those happy days .. which is something to keep in mind for Christmas .. It isn't about the presents. It is about being with loved ones.
    This will be my 3rd Christmas without him.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Is there only one such bench?

    ReplyDelete
  33. I've perfected the art of Christmas shopping. After 2 coffees (during which you check your 'list') you head to Trade Aid - do you guys have Trade Aid up there? It's wot it says on the label .... anyway, go in with an open mind and get everyone you possibly can there - and preferably give the same type of present to everyone (kitchen implements one year, tea towels, hand towels another) That way it's easier to remember what you got next year. Go and have another cup of coffee, and some cake - you deserve it - write up the list, and then head to a high-quality department store for those few impossible-to-buy-for people you didn't knock of at the Trade Aid store. Pick up take-aways for dinner on the way home, so you've time and strength to wrap the presents immediately.

    See - it's done and dusted for another year!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I avoid the shopping madness. That sign is pretty funny and applicable to many men I believe.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I'm smiling at the sign....it hits home.
    We shopped in Chester last month, it's a busy, busy place, with lots of selections.
    I can only imagine the bustle of Christmas shoppers.
    ~Jo

    ReplyDelete
  36. My first observation must be "Why are you Christmas shopping in November?". My advice is to ignore everything until December 20th, and never, never, buy clothes for anyone..... far too personal. They end up at the back of a drawer.

    ReplyDelete
  37. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  38. You will never find me anywhere that has crowds 'shopping' in city centers or large towns.
    I only buy a token present for my little niece and nephew and I'll do that in our village. There is a new shop in our village, you see. Haberdashery, knickknacks for the home AND old fashioned/retro toys.
    For food over Christmas I only need fruit, veg and cheese. I have meat in the freezer. And as a Belgian, we don't have the ' traditional' turkey and trimmings, so I can cook and eat whatever the hell I like. :-p

    ReplyDelete
  39. I feel your pain. I did the exact same thing yesterday (but not in Chester) and was so exhausted when I got home - I could have cried. BTW - love Chester. One of my favorite towns in England! :)

    ReplyDelete
  40. THAT'S why is has been so quiet in Llandudno over the weekend .... everyone has done the usual and gone to spend their money in Chester. Oh well it meant lots of parking spaces and room in Waterstones to browse AND drink coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I LOVE to shop. I HATE to shop in December.

    ReplyDelete

I love all comments Except abusive ones from arseholes