Monday, January 15, 2018

The most excitement a woman can have

I realise I forgot to tell you the most exciting news of the weekend: I shopped in Waitrose!

Let me explain for those unfamiliar with the name: it's a food store but a posh food store. A level up from M&S perhaps but definitely down from Harrods. Swansea is too poor an area to be considered for a Waitrose so when they opened one in Egham near Elder Son's home I couldn't wait to visit it.

Turns out it's just food but a bit more expensive. That's probably an over-simplification. They undoubtedly stock items not normally found in our local Sainsburys but I was with GrandDaughter1 at the time so slightly distracted and not able to appreciate their Harissa Chicken, Cauliflower and Chickpea Meatballs or their vegan Sweet Potato and Chipotle Sandwich. But I did manage to pick up a copy of their free Waitrose Weekend newspaper - in which I found those delights I missed.

It's a newspaper with the emphasis on food especially that sold by - yes, you've guessed it - Waitrose but it does have interesting articles and snippets. One feature suggests 12 New Things to Try in 2018, one for each month of the year. The idea for August was the one that intrigued me.

Try open-water swimming
Try an open-water swim.

Now I've heard a lot about wild swimming over recent years and I've been intrigued and slightly puzzled by it but it seems that open-water swimming is simply swimming in the sea, lake or river. Which is what most of us grew up doing.

Now however the article advises that you consult your doctor to find out if open-water swimming would be safe for you. Because it's cold. Colder than a swimming pool. (They obviously haven't swum in our pool.)

As I've said before, I grew up swimming in Swansea Bay before it was declared polluted and they forbade us to eat cockles gathered in the bay. (I did that too.) And Husband who lived in the Midlands spent his youth swimming in murky rivers. And we've both survived. Whether it affected us only you can judge ...

5 comments:

Sharon said...

I've only heard about Waitrose, It does sound like a fancy place. Did it meet your expectations?

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

I'm impressed. I'm always happy to go shopping somewhere else ; they might have exotic tomatoes, better bread or lovely cheese. And then it would be a shame not to try it .

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Oh , and I forgot, I'm a pollution survivor , too.
Apparently your feet fall off if you swim across the harbour I learnt to swim in , too (on Dublin Bay). We lived dangerously and ate the mackerel, as well!

Liz Hinds said...

Not really, Sharon. But it might have done had I had more time to browse.

I'm glad you're impressed, Sonata. It was like that thing that was just out of my reach for so long. And they made us tough back in the olden days, or maybe we had to be to survive.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

I love shopping in Waitrose ..and if you have a Waitrose card you can buy something and then get a FRee coffee, and a free magazine (monthly) Waitrose Magazine. They have brought some of their prices down , even getting something for a pound and there special offers are great.

I haven't done much open swimming in my life time ,, mostly swimming pools. Is the Newspaper this months , I will go tomorrow and see if I can get one.