Shopping, shops and more shops

Doing the weekly food shop at my local Sainsbury's on Thursday morning was quite an eye opener. If the media is to be believed, we are all busy counting our pennies, tightening our belts and generally hunkering down for a long, hard recession. Maybe some of Sainsbury's customers know something the rest of us don't but I was amazed at the sight of all the extra deep trolleys piled high with food and drink everywhere I looked. At the checkout next to mine a 'mature' couple had two trolleys, one full of food and the other full of bottles and cans and they were not the only ones to be struggling with two overloaded trolleys. I began to wonder if I had done a Rip van Winkle and woken up the week before Christmas.
Mind you, anyone who has money to spend or suffers from shopaholic tendencies is now spoiled for choice in the fair town of Wrexham. Not content with a bustling town centre and various other small retail parks on the outskirts, we are now blessed with Eagles Meadow. I haven't ventured in there yet although it opened last week but I am told that by no means all of the units have been let. Apart from the fact that we have suffered two years of traffic diversions, road works and widescale disruption for this white elephant to be built, many of the shops which are opening up there are closing their branches in the town centre, which leaves us with the strong possibility of that area becoming a ghost town with the attendant problems that boarded up shop fronts generally attract.
However, it was interesting to note this morning that the queues of traffic were not making their way towards Eagles Meadow. Maybe they were still all stocking up at Sainsbury's.

Lest we forget

This year I was at home this morning to watch the BBC's coverage of the Armistice Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in London and found it incredibly moving, particularly the laying of wreaths by the three centenarians, Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and Bill Stone, all sadly, wheelchair bound now but still retaining a strong presence and dignity. I should imagine that the occasion was a challenge for all three and it was obvious that memories of former friends, companions and experiences were as if from yesterday.
As I watched, I wondered if the dispicable thieves who stole the four bronze plaques from Mountain Ash in the Cynon Valley and all the other thieves and vandals who have despoiled war memorials throughout the country were watching.
Sadly, I'm sure they were not.

Sixty? It's the new forty.

Over the last couple of days, I have been looking at some of the comments, posts etc on the internet about John Sargeant and his situation on 'Strictly'. From what I've read, he still has a lot of support out there but what REALLY annoyed me was a comment on one site which referred to him as 'an old man'. He's 64, for heaven's sake!! Don't they know that 60 is the new 40? In case I haven't got my message across - 60 is NOT OLD!
Oh, and Arlene Phillips, one of the judges who has been less than polite towards him, is the same age and apparently, doesn't dance at all any more.
By the way, anyone who thinks I have a personal axe to grind here on this age issue is definitely barking up completely the wrong tree - completely.

Yesss!!

Yes!!! He's back to fight another week! You just can't keep a good man down...