Monday, October 12, 2009

Old Age galloping on

Heading into Sainsbury's on Saturday and got caught up at the entrance. A few more people coming in and out, but the real problem was a couple with trollies standing in the entrance having a natter.

"Hey let's all stand in the entrance blocking everyone, what a great idea"

pause

Did I just say that aloud? Yes. Bugger! Actually no I'm not going to apologise, not going to try to defend myself I'm just fed-up of it all. When did this start to happen, I don't remember this in my youth, hell I don't remember this 10 years ago, but go out today and I can't recall an instance when someone hasn't decided to block off a pavement, an aisle, or simply stop dead in the middle of a street without a single thought for those around them.

Yes, yes I'm a bit odd and fussy, but some things you just expect everyone to do; like drivers driving on the left. I mean a couple walking down the middle of the pavement meets another couple walking up the middle of the pavement. Simple solution each couple moves to the left (or sometimes the right) and with me following the up couple I mentally prepare to move in either direction - they split-up with one to the left and one to the right which provoked a mild mental hiccup as my brain ready to move left or right to follow them tries to do both.

Walking along Vicar Street low sun in my eyes yet I and others still seem to be the ones expected to get out of the way of all the people with their backs to the sun with a clear sight of us all. Almost made me want to stop and shout "Look! That big bright thing in the sky means I can't see you clearly so understand that and accommodate that" fortunately for me my social overlay was still intact and I thus remained silent.

People in the supermarket searching the aisles with trolley set perpendicular to the shelf blocking it off; just put it to the side, put it behind you, how hard is that?

It was quite interesting to note the mild look of shock or surprise when I reached one of these narrowings and allowed someone heading in the other direction who'd reached it first to get through. I'm sure they were expecting me to barge my way along and expect them to get out of my way.

All-in-all it was a muttery day for me though; so for anyone encountering me that day I'm not mad (well only as much as the majority) I was just fed-up with the general lack of thought being exhibited.

Thought for others folks, it ain't that difficult.

3 comments:

Orphi said...

My mother is infuriating when she gets into Tesco. It's like she's the only person in the universe or something. “Oh, I'll just stand here dithering over which packet of baked beans saves me 0.001p per Kg while wandering blindly up and down the isles and stopping in the middle to do taxing mental arithmetic. It's my shop; everybody else should just get the **** out of my way.”

Of course, the only reason I have to go with her is so that I can push the trolly. Wouldn't want her to actually extert herself or anything. She's got her gravity-lensing figure to think of. Of course, she can slip through narrow gaps, but I can't. I've got the trolly. And she's certainly not above just physically barging people out of the way if it's not convinient for her to walk around. (It is her universe, after all.) I'm more polite than that. I don't think it's acceptable to barge people around, and I definitely don't think it's acceptable to ram them with a metal trolly loaded with a quarter of a tonne of vegetables.

And yet, mum constantly complains of “where are you? Come on, keep up. I'm not carrying this stuff myself.” And yes, she does that thing where she'll be walking along at full tilt, and suddenly some special offer or other will distract her obsessive-compulsive little brain and she stops dead, right there, to compute how many trillionths of one percent she might save.

I think this kind of thing is completely inconsiderate.

I really hate shopping with my mum, by the way.

FlipC said...

But is that just her, or is she reflecting the culture around her. If the only way to move is to barge then the bargers get through and the polite types like you and I get stuck. In that respect she'd be right and we'd be wrong.

Anyway "inconsiderate" that's the word I was looking for; it's the Me Me generation growing up; no I should say getting older. If it doesn't impact directly onto my sphere I don't care.

Now hey, I'm like that too; I'm not likely to rant about the road problems you've discussed in MK because they don't affect me; but the difference lies in distance.

Okay just deleted a load of comment there heh; back on track.

Sounds like I'd be swearing under my breath if I ever met your mother in a shopping situation, sounds like you're swearing under your breath too :-)

Orphi said...

As far as I can tell, almost nobody likes my mother. I know people who have friends, so maybe it is just that my mother is an inconsiderate twit.

I might also suggest it depends on where you live — or even where you shop…