Denis: Secrets revealed in a shopping basket

Oct 16 2009 by Denis Kilcommons

OLD friend Margaret Brier of Linthwaite was amused by my confession that I tried to gauge the lifestyle of shoppers by what they put in their trolleys.

It helps pass the time in supermarket queues. Margaret, too, always peeks at other people’s purchases.

Mind you, you do get odd combinations. As I said, one Saturday evening my basket contained a pack of Tetley bitter, a jar of curry sauce and toilet rolls. What would a casual observer make of that?

Margaret says: “It was a coincidence that the day before I was in the queue and noticed the chap in front had six bottles of beer and a tin of marrowfat peas (but no toilet rolls).

“If you see me in the queue, I am the lady who is trying to get some weight off and my trolley consists mainly of WeightWatchers yoghurt and Special K. Oh, for a can of Tetley bitter and a dish of marrowfat peas, but sacrifices have to be made.”