Finding Its Feet

Lidl and Aldi are gaining ground in the war to control England’s Supermarket custom. Their quality is very good and their prices very low. There is no finesse in their layout of goods, and there is no guarantee that an item on sale in the central aisles will be in stock the next day. General groceries are usually in regular supply.

This morning, on a regular shopping trip to Lidl, Jackie bought me a linen/cotton blend shirt for £7.99. She would have bought another had she been certain that XXL would fit. It did. This afternoon we returned for another. She left me in the car and entered the store to investigate. The stock had been replenished.

She returned with five more. As she was about to drive off she casually mentioned that there was a linen jacket she hadn’t bought because I would have had to try it on. I took the hint and left her in the car so I could attempt the purchase.

By this time the jackets were strewn all over the racks. None were in their boxes because they had all been tried on.

My rummage revealed that there was just one that fitted me. I bought it Jackie asked how much it had cost. “£19.99″was my reply. “Crikey, that’s very nearly twenty quid,” was her response.

We continued into the forest where, at Frogham, we encountered more baby donkeys.

One was quite elegantly sedate.

The other was far more wobbly. As it slid along the back of the Modus it slipped and fell under the side of the car. Jackie turned on the ignition and I called out to her not to move. She turned the engine off and our little friend extricated itself, rolled over, and commenced clattering backwards and forwards along the tarmac, narrowly missing my sandalled feet. It was certainly finding its own.

It then sandwiched itself between another vehicle and a walking couple who eventually continued their trip along the road. The local woman expressed the view that this creature had probably been born today or yesterday.

From the high point of Abbotswell we looked down on ponies, foals, and cattle basking in the sunshine;

field horses did the same thing beside Blissford Road;

and, nearer home, ponies were silhouetted on Birchy Hill.

This evening we dined on creamy, tangy lasagna with plentiful fresh salad. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Squinzano.

111 comments

  3. That poor wee donkey seems to have been looking for some support – did you spy mumma donkey Derrick? Good rummaging on the shirts and linen jacket -you’ll be looking most sartorial in all future photos no doubt!

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  6. A good find in clothing (that fits!) is hard to pass up! Glad you went back to buy the jacket—looks great on you. The baby donkey, my goodness, what can I say! Too cute for words!

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  8. Amazing prices, Derrick, and a very good buy with the jacket, I think. A bargain, in fact, just over $40 for us. Mr MG would probably buy one of those very quickly if such a thing was available.
    The baby donkey is very appealing indeed.

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  10. I’d never get Bill into a linen jacket, but if I did 20 quid would be good buying. It looks good on you. We do all our shopping at Aldi, with just a top up at Woolworths for the few grocery items we can’t get there. It’s not the same WW as in the U.K. It and Coles are the dominant supermarkets here. Not easy organisations for suppliers to “partner” with (that’s sarcasm) as I learned when I worked in the rice industry. Hope that newborn donkey made it through the day. He was off to a shaky start!

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    1. Thanks very much, Gwen. I don’t think we have Woolworths any more, although it was an important part of my childhood. No doubt we will seek out the donkey again.

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    1. Thanks very much, Yvonne 🙂 Lidl once had a slogan saying they were cheaper. This deterred me from entering until I learned that this did not apply to the quality

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  14. Your shirt is gorgeous. No wonder you bought 5 more. Looks very classy.. and the jacket, too. Those baby donkeys would be worth the price of a plane ticket to see. Absoutely adorable. Thanks so much for sharing..

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  15. I’ve not heard of Lidl, but there’s an Aldi’s in my area now. I’ll have to have a look, and see how it is. You certainly did well at Lidl, with those shirts and the jacket: very smart. As for the baby donkey — what I can say? It’s adorable. Actually, they all are. I laughed at the photo of the one kicking up its heels.

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  22. Well done on the shopping spree. Unsure where the nearest Lidl is, but an Aldi has opened not too far away on the site of a former Homebase store. I called in and bought a couple of boxes of own label coffee pods for my bedroom coffee maker at half the price of my usual Nescafé Dolce Gusto pods.

    I imagine you must have found it difficult to drive off and leave the little insecure donkey foal. I hope her mother as upped her mothering skills!

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    1. We have bought all our coffee from Lidl for some years – not only cheaper, but better. The mother donkey wasn’t taking any notice. Thanks very much, Sue

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      1. I’ve seen pictures of you in linen jackets before – you seem to be a bad influence on them. I just assumed you’d saved time by buying them pre-rumpled.

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  25. Jackie made some great finds! You look handsome and dapper in your new clothes! They look comfortable, too! 🙂

    The baby donkeys are so cute! They will be kickin’ up their heels in fun soon enough! 🙂

    HUGS for you and Jackie!!! 🙂
    PS…Your meal sounds delicious! Tonight I plan on fixing grilled chicken, Thai salad, and some asparagus! 🙂

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  26. That’s you all set for the summer, Derrick, and looking good! I love your expression in the second photo … you look like a little boy who got the bike he wanted from Santa. ☺
    Thank you for the photos of all those baby donkeys. So sweet. 💞

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  27. Smart buying Sir, in both senses of the word! 🙂

    I’m not sure the threat of possible ticks would stop me hugging that particular piece of gorgeousness! (and i mean the little wobbly wonkey donkey, not the guy in the Jacket!) 🙂

    Great photos from you both!

    I had the pleasure of being able to snap another egret similar to the one in your header at my local hospital yesterday! Hope to post the pics soon. 🙂

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  32. Looks like a good day shopping. Add a Panama hat and you’ll be fully equipped for sitting in the garden sipping Pimms and telling stories like Somerset Maugham sitting at the country club.

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  33. I am pretty sure I can relate to the baby donkeys, finding my feet at different points in my life. I may feel like a clown but with no other ideas, I stumble along and eventually get it. Yay for cute fuzzy donkeys! Nice find on the shirt, as they look nice and the price is unbeatable. At least you didn’t pay 20 quid for the jacket! That would have been TOO MUCH. 😉

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  35. Convenience stores such as those have been mushrooming all over the planet. Usually, the products available with them offer maximum bang for the buck but do lose their sheen quickly. You look gorgeous in both shirt and the jacket!

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  39. Linen is a salvation. It’s quite expensive and it wrinkles, but other materials do no breathe. Fortunately, this apartment is air-conditioned. The system is old and noisy, but it works beautifully. It sits under a window and is almost invisible. It’s very hot and humid. So, I’m staying indoors. During the night I open both sets of patio doors. 🙂

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  41. I reckon they’d have to pay me more than 20 quid just to take that jacket, The shirts look okay though; then again perhaps it’s the model wearing the thing

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  44. Great addition to the wardrobe. I like LIDL. It is the only shop offering continental food I miss so much. The cheeses and all 🙂

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