I was a man on a mission today, determined to finish my Christmas shopping. Here’s my log of the day.
11.46am – I arrived at my local station minutes after a train was due to depart, but hurrah – a helpful announcement said it was running ten minutes late! I took up position on the platform next to two old dears.
“It was supposed to be here at quarter to,” said the first.
“It must be late,” replied her friend.
“You’d think they’d make an announcement,” she tutted.
12.20pm – Safely deposited in town, I arrived at Wilkinson, looking for replacement Christmas tree light bulbs and the odd bargain. Buy one get one free on packets of Blu-Tack? Result!
12.40pm – Crisis struck in Thornton’s:
“Our PIN terminal’s broke, have you got the cash?”
And I did – just. You expect better from Chocolate makers though, really.
12.55pm – In WHSmith I picked up some mass-produced humour courtesy of jokey Christmas cards featuring penguins in amusing situations. The man on the till seemed especially miserable. Even a cartoon penguin on an iceberg couldn’t cheer him up.
1.10pm – In JJB Sports I desperately tried to find some golf-related gifts. My eyes alighted on a special gift set (18 balls, 50 tees, 2 gloves). I picked it up — and caused the rest of the display to topple over. I decided a hasty exit was the best policy. Unfortunately there was a massive queue at the checkout, and I was genuinely worried that while waiting to pay I would receive a tap on the shoulder from a security guard for causing damage.
1.25pm – Argos is the only shop that makes you queue up twice to obtain items. In this case it was a gift for my dad — a toolbox, which was bloody heavy. I was glad that I only had to go across the street to get my train home.
I was in town for about 90 minutes in total, and it was enough to remind me why I prefer to do my Christmas shopping online.