Walking against the tide
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I was recently reminded of what it is like to shop in town when it is busy. Since I stopped working in the city centre, I haven't had much cause for it. While I sometimes miss being able to pick up any essentials in the middle of the day, my lunch breaks these days are free of the hustle and bustle of a busy shopping district and the obstacles that go with it. In the last few months, however, I have had reason to make more frequent visits to said districts and the memories of how inconvenient they can be have come flooding back.
The crowds are probably the biggest issue for me. I don't mind there being lots of people around. In the current climate it's nice to see a shopping district being busy. I'm just not a fan of having to navigate it. I walk fast and I like to be able to take the most direct route from point A to point B. It's efficient and it seems illogical to me to do it any other way. When there are lots of people around, however, that's not always an option. I have to weave. I invariably need to overtake the slower walkers, dodge the lethal pushchairs and avoid the pensioners that feel it necessary to stop suddenly for no reason. I have nothing against the individuals. They're just in the way.
It's worse when you have to carry something, especially if it is big or oddly shaped. When free of such a burden I can usually travel almost without issue. Sometimes people even move simply because I'm a very tall guy with a full length, billowing leather trench coat. But it's not so easy when you're carrying an ironing board or a bag full of cushions. Suddenly the gaps in the crowd you might have been able to weave through are too small, and no matter how long your trench coat is, you'd be surprised how domesticated and unintimidating a bag of soft furnishings will make you.
I had a decidedly different experience the other week in Tesco: my go-to place of choice in the event of a zombie apocalypse. For whatever reason, I happened to go quite late on a weekday evening. The main Tesco in Coventry is one of the largest in the country and not far from where I live. It is massive. But at that time of night, it was almost deserted. There were people there—in fact, given the size of the place, there may even have been quite a lot of people there—but at times one could safely stroll from one aisle to the next without seeing another soul. It was bliss and, I should add, a highly recommended way to shop. There is nothing more convenient than being able to pick up everything you need without having to dodge pedestrian traffic and rogue trolleys, not to mention not having to queue at the checkout or in the car park.
I don't dislike shopping. I would have to admit, however, that I'm probably more of a traditional male shopper than I once was. I make lists in advance and plan my route in my head. I like shopping when it's quieter and I don't have to double the length of my journey between shops by weaving between groups of other shoppers that haven't set themselves the same pre-shopping homework as me. So as much of a reminiscence as my recent excursions have been, in future I'll probably stick to shopping trips that don't leave me walking against the tide.