What Goes Around

When I was small, we had our groceries delivered each week. This was in addition to separate deliveries for meat, milk and bread. The deliveries were from the neighbouring village of Tutbury from Parrick's the grocers there.

On a Friday evening, Mr Parrick and his assistant (whose name I cannot remember - but we will call her Miss Roberts) arrived on our road. Mr Parrick, appropriately - I now realise, visited our wealthier neighbours, whilst we had Miss Roberts. Miss Roberts took down the grocery order from my mum, although the most exciting bit, well for me, was being allowed something from her sweet basket.

On the Saturday, Mr McGiven arrived with the groceries. I must have asked why he smelt funny, as I wouldn't have known then what stale beer smelt like. I remember him sitting at our table, smoking his pipe and saucering his tea, whilst my mum checked off the order.

Ocado delivery in Middlewich

It seems we have now come full circle. For the last nine years, we have been using Ocado for our grocery deliveries, and we wonder why we ever had to suffer with actual supermarket shopping, especially the time it wasted.

On our boat, we are very slowly becoming more confident with the Ocado delivery, but this week using our mobile data connections proved very frustrating. We wasted hours watching blank screens. 

Where was Miss Roberts when we needed her?

Of course we now realise we should have done the entire order in a pub. The penny dropped last night on our return trip to The Badger at Church Minshull, with its open WiFi.

We ate again in the slighty gloomy Tap Room. This time Jonesy was uninterested in the stuffed badger. 

There were just a handful of people in the only 'dog friendly' room. A couple at the bar; two boating lads who couldn't afford a map book and had only a vague idea where they were and where they were going. And in the corner, on his own, an older man with an unlit pipe. Could it be Mr McGiven with his pint of mild?