test please delete

[GreenMirror]

Company Christmas card photo shoot this morning. Breakfast was provided so not all bad.

The photographer could sing so I can assume it was not WTFH.....

[NickFitz]

The turning of the leaves on the chestnut trees outside didn't seem to have progressed much over the last few weeks, but now there's a distinct yellowing fringe to them. Not long to go…

Anyway, I'm off to the shops

[NickFitz]

Shopping done. It's a good job M&S customers don't need to take low-paid supermarket jobs because, judging by their performance on the self-checkouts, none of them would last five minutes

And Sainsbury's have had one of their periodic reorganisations of a large swathe of the store, leading to much wandering round in circles trying to find stuff. I don't think I bought anything I otherwise wouldn't as a result of these forced peregrinations, but I'm fairly sure there was at least one thing I've not bought due to not seeing it in its usual place

Oh, and M&S were out of stock of several things I fancied, leading to me finding alternatives which seem cheaper or as cheap yet equivalent in Sainsbury's.

Still sunny without being unpleasantly hot out

[DoctorStrangelove]

Being an I dunno how to use these here new fangled tills.

So I talk to the ladies* on the tills in a jocular fashion instead.

In fact I put an item back on the shelf in the Tesco Extra up the road because I couldn't be arsed to figure out how to pay for it.


*Other genders of till operators are available, several ticking other boxes in Morrisons.

Which reminds me I need to purchase further supplies of M&S breaded haddock or there might be a danger of me running out.

[NickFitz]

Late lunch of some Sainsbury's southern "fried" chicken bits

They didn't have any at the hot food counter, so I bought a packet and roasted them myself.

I'd forgotten that I already have chicken thighs that I've defrosted in the fridge, which I'm going to use for casserole. The same kind of casserole that I had out of the freezer last night

And I've got a whole chicken to roast too. It's going to be a chickeny few days

[DaveB]

Being an I dunno how to use these here new fangled tills.

So I talk to the ladies* on the tills in a jocular fashion instead.

In fact I put an item back on the shelf in the Tesco Extra up the road because I couldn't be arsed to figure out how to pay for it.


*Other genders of till operators are available, several ticking other boxes in Morrisons.

Which reminds me I need to purchase further supplies of M&S breaded haddock or there might be a danger of me running out.

Mrs B is banned from the self service tills. Whenever she goes near them it invariably results is multiple visits by the supervisor. This seems to be regardless off whether she actually did anything wrong or not. Just letting her touch them seems to induce spontaneous machine confusion.

[NickFitz]

Mrs B is banned from the self service tills. Whenever she goes near them it invariably results is multiple visits by the supervisor. This seems to be regardless off whether she actually did anything wrong or not. Just letting her touch them seems to induce spontaneous machine confusion.

Sainsbury's here have just updated their self-checkouts. Last week, it started getting confused by about the third item, demanding I put it in the bagging area as soon as I scanned it, then demanding I remove it again, then asking where it had gone. The woman who tends them calmed it down, but then it did it again, and again. She had to reset it at least half-a-dozen times, and said since they'd been updated they seemed to be even worse than they had been before.

I used the same one today and it was mostly OK, so maybe they've had them tweaked

[BR14]

I used the same one today and it was mostly OK, so maybe they've Backed out the Update

FTFY

[DoctorStrangelove]

This evening's entertainment began with the "Carbon Creek" ep of "Enterprise", to be followed by the railway walk thing on 5, this week about the Woodhead line.

At which point, being an , I think it's TFBSZ.

[NickFitz]

The chicken casserole was made, with a bit of leftover white wine I had in the fridge chucked in for good measure.

But not having had lunch until teatime, I wasn't really in the mood for a big dinner, so that will be left to develop its flavours further.

Instead, for tea I turned to the Scotch broth, which yielded one very full bowl for me, and four for the freezer; the one for tonight being supplemented with a few ends of loaves that have been sitting in the freezer awaiting the return of soup.

It was very nice, though not quite up to last year's (not the December one that was never eaten) and the one earlier this year

I think a little more salt wouldn't have come amiss. Also, one less carrot, as it's a bit on the yellow side, and it really should be a sludgy brown. Still, very palatable, and the rest of it will see me through a few cold evenings