April 27th – I had to pop into Lichfield on my way home, and took the opportunity to nip to Waitrose for a bit of posh shopping.
In the fields surrounding the bypass and store, to the south of the Darwin Park estate, the fields are full of healthy, plump spring lambs and their mothers.
On a dull Friday afternoon they made for a lovely sight.
March 17th – I popped into Lichfield to do some shopping on the way home, and in the failing light, noticed the field of lambs and their mothers on the bypass near Waitrose.
Healthy, happy sheep and their new offspring graze, play and doze contentedly. These guys really do have cute in shedloads, and really are worth stopping to see.
After a really grim, groggy week, seeing this fresh life enjoying being alive was a tonic to the heart and soul.
June 28th – At Waitrose in Lichfield, an intriguing shopping list left on the clipboard of a discarded trolley. ‘Dr. P (Doctor Pepper, I assume), Cream Soda, Flake, Bounty, Marathon, D/eck (Double Decker?).
That’s a wicked chocolate and pop binge, or one hyperactive children’s party.
All these years, and Ye Olde City still can’t bring itself to think of Snickers either…
February 9th – I’d seen the little dog at Waitrose before – tethered to the trolley rail, he waits patiently and forlornly for his master. He’s a gorgeous little dog, but he does look so very sad. I could have taken him home.
The cat, on the other hand, clearly found me nothing more that a curiosity. Sat on a shed roof in Wall, he was surveying the comings and goings in the road below, and seemed a bit peeved that I’d spotted him. I think we met a couple of weeks before in the churchyard. He’s a lovely friendly boy.
There’s more than a hint of the Cheshire cat about the marmalade fellow, I think…
September 18th – I don’t know who he is. He was tied up outside Waitrose, waiting for his boss. He is a study in patience, and I fell in love with him. He’s a dear wee dog.
April 7th – I don’t know who he is. All I know is that he was tied up near the bike stands outside Waitrose in Lichfield, and he was very patient and rather gorgeous. I think I’m in love. How could you ever refuse big, sad eyes like those?
December 22nd – Doing a Christmas shop by bicycle is much easier than you’d think. You need good, spacious panniers and be skilled at packing, but with Waitrose’s great bike facilities, it takes some of the pain away from the process. Certainly, there’s no faffing about parking. The supermarket itself was mad, though; Christmas does bring out the very worst in some folks. Hopefully the exercise of pulling 30 kilos of shopping up Pipe, Summer, Spring and Shire Oak Hills counteracts some of the pork I’ll put on over-indulging…
August 20th – I keep seeing interesting bikes parked at Waitrose. This again, is the steed of a lady of a certain maturity, and frankly, I find it a bit baffling. It’s either a refurbed Raleigh 3 speed of the classic variety, or a modern copy. Authenticity is good, and that’s a real Sturmey Archer hub gear. Note the rod brakes and steel rims. I can’t for the life of me think why anyone would choose to ride a bike with such a crap braking system in this day and age. The carrier is also rather heavily engineered. It’s a nice thing, to be sure, but I’m not sure I’d fancy riding it.
July 7th – It’s not just the car park at Waitrose that tends to be full of posh vehicles. This Pashley is one classy bike. Weighing a ton, they tend to glide gracefully rather than race. Fully enclosed drive system and relaxed, classically upright position appeal very much to the more mature lady, which would be an excellent description of the rider who locked it here. A fine steed indeed.
Edited a couple of hours after posting: Thanks to reader Ziksby’s sharp eye, I now know that this isn’t in fact a Pashley but a Raleigh Elegance, a knockoff Pashley copy. I should have spotted the lack of hub brakes. Still an elegant steed, and it does look heavy. Must put the glasses on next time… D’oh!
May 20th – Waitrose isn’t the greatest supermarket for selection or price, and it’s certainly not the closest (although it’s only 15 minutes from here by bike), even if the do sell the best Earl Grey teabags (their own brand, surprisingly enough) – so why shop there? Easy. They give a shit about people on bicycles. Secure parking right outside the front window – so you can watch your steed whilst browsing, and free cycle trailer hire, too for those big shops.
All the other local stores don’t care – Tesco Brownhills has no cycle provision whatsoever, and at Morrisons in Burntwood and Aldridge it’s tucked out of sight, as is the cycle shelter at the new Tesco store in Lichfield. Haven’t found the one at Tesco Walsall yet….
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