Friday 9 January 2015

All stocked up again

Hiya campers. It was a good haul at Tesco last night even though there was a bit of argybargy going on around Carol, the fruit and veg lady who was marking down. I had to say something out loud to the effect of, sharing it and there's enough for everybody, when it was obvious that the same two greedy grabbing people were piling it into their trolley. I shamed someone into passing me some mushrooms when I exclaimed, I only want one packet. I think in future I will go on a Tuesday, because that seems the quieter night. Thursday is popular, probably because it is coming up to the weekend. Anyway I stood my ground and got what I wanted. 
Someone gets very excited when I bring my bags into the kitchen. Anything for me in there? Yes, there's cooked chicken and beef slices, reduced from the Deli counter. 
Bread has gone into the freezer, £1.14 for these, plus I had a treat of five ring donuts for 6p. 
A good selection of salad, fruit and veg. Celery, grapes, bananas, prepared fruit, salad bowls, snacking dips, fine beans, jacket potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, baby kale, mangetout peas, and celeriac.£3.24 for all these.

I did buy some things without a yellow sticker, but I choose my items wisely. 6 small flavoured yogurts £1, Fresh milk 49p. Pet food 49p. Soft cheese 60p. Olive spread £1.50. Carton juice 65p. Plain yogurt 45p. Leerdammer cheese £1. Eggs £1. 2 tins baked beans 24p each. 4 tins rice pudding 15p each. 2 cream crackers 27p each. Quiche £1. Bran flakes 88p. 2 bags dry cat food £1 each. Total shop was £24.45. 
No fancy puddings in pots for me. No expensive juice. No brand name tins or packets. Only buy pet food on offer. 
I did treat myself to this cheese grater, (£3), I have been looking for one of these in all the discount stores but never found one. I had one of those box type efforts with multiple graters on each side. It was such a pain washing it. and I only ever used the one side, so I cut it down with a pair of secateurs. I have managed with that for a while, but the edges are a bit sharp and it was hard to keep hold of it while I grated. Now I have this supadupa version and the old one has gone in the metal recycling box. 
I was ages doing my shopping, chatting to the assistants, they are a friendly bunch. It has been announced in the news that Tesco are going to close 40+ not profitable stores. I think ours will be safe, it's in a prominent position, close to the motorway and football ground, and they have just opened an M & S nearby. I read that the new Imingham store will not now open, sad because they could do with the jobs in that area. As I was browsing last night, I did notice some lower than normal prices, so I think they are taking note of  trends and matching Aldi and Lidl. The quiche I bought is normally £1.19 in Aldi, Tesco have theirs at £1. All this is good news for the shopper.

There is a table at the front of the store full of donated books, put a few coins in the charity box if you want one. I glanced over them, didn't have time to rummage. This huge Readers Digest book caught my eye, well you couldn't miss it could you. Looks in good condition.

As well as the maps there are pages of interesting places to visit. Worth a couple of quid I thought.

The filling station was just about to close down for the night and I wanted some petrol. It is a 24 hour service but you have to put your card into the machine to get a fill up outside of opening hours. I have never done that before, so I asked the nice young man about to lock the door if he could talk me through it. Yep, it worked fine, so I might be getting my petrol that way in the future. Although I don't like the self service check outs in the store, it is a bit annoying when the pumps are busy, there is a queue to get in, and another queue in the shop to pay.

The weekend is upon us, doesn't time fly. I hope you have a good one. Catch you soon.
Toodle pip.

49 comments:

  1. Nearly all our fuel stations here offer pay at the pump our use your card options. The one I use issues a key ring fob that you sign up for and is liked to your credit card, just touch the fob to the tigers tail and away you go. Easy to report if lost and as the stations all have CCTV, no problem if it's used after it's reported.

    The next province over, you have to prepay or use a card. No more people going in after they've tanked up. A sad sign of the times really.

    The price per litre has dropped dramatically. Makes you wonder why the price of jet fuel isn't reflected in the price of air tickets.

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  2. I find my cheese grater very annoying. I want a little box grater like you have. Sharing and harmony is the best policy. Natalie

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  3. Serve yourself petrol is one of the few 'modern' person-less services that I actually enjoy. I hate going into the shop to pay for my petrol with all the chocolate bars and snacks everywhere, it just annoys me, they must make a fortune!!

    Lots of lovely bargains for the fridge and freezer, they should keep you going for a while.

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  4. Good haul there, you are always very lucky x

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  5. "greedy grabbing people piling it into their trolley" You seem to think that wasn't you! The sheer amount of food you've crammed into your trolley and bags for just one person is absolutely ridiculous. Greedy doesn't even cover it. There are people with families with little money who miss out on those bargains because of your sheer greed.

    Then for you to slag off others for their "argy bargy", you're such a hypocrite.

    I'm done with this blog.

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    1. Good, now buzz off.

      You weren't there. It was the same two people blocking the way for others to get a look in, their trolley's were piled a lot higher than mine. They were taking ten of one item, I only wanted one or two. I was handing out food to others who couldn't get close enough. There was enough for everybody if they shared it out equally.

      I bought enough food to last me two weeks, so I won't be going again anytime soon. What I have in my trolley is not only yellow stickers, but other shopping at normal price. So put that in your pipe and smoke it, Miss Smarty Pants.

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    2. I'm so glad you told her off! I haven't been reading this blog for long, but you make it clear how you stock up on sales for later. That just makes sense! Why people feel the need to criticize, I will never understand. If you don't like a blogger, then go read a different one! You keep on what you are doing, I enjoy reading all about it.

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    3. It really isn't a ridiculous amount of food for one person. Fresh produce soon 'squashes' down to nothing really but is expensive and also necessary to be healthy. I hardly think the 'evidence' you see regularly on this blog would lead anyone to think that Ilona is greedy with the amount of food eaten. Nothing is wasted and look how neat and trim she is! So no, no greediness at all, not in the selection of food nor in the eating of it. As also stated, this is not all yellow stickered food. Not that it would be our business if it was. So Jan what did you buy and eat today? Casting first stones and all that. I know I am not so careful and am guilty of waste sometimes.

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    4. Yeah, shuddup Jan. If you don't like this blog, why be nasty? No one makes you read it. Ilona, you are an inspiration :) from a regular and satisfied reader x

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    5. Frugal and beautiful10 January 2015 at 11:19

      Isn't it a bit odd that the commenters who stick up for you and slag off the dissenting commenter don't have blogs of their own or they post as "anonymous"?

      Makes one wonder how many of those comments you write yourself. You're so quick to defend your actions to one dissenter, perhaps the truth hurts?

      There's not a single one who could be traced as being someone other than yourself. Writing comments pretending to be someone else? - get a life Ilona, this blog and it's comments has become childish.

      Time I went off to pastures new too - I'm "buzzing off" so don't bother to reply, I won't see it.

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    6. So, Frugal and Beautiful, a typical troll comment from a bitter and twisted mind. Won't you tell us your real name? I don't need to write my own comments, I get enough. I don't need to bolster myself up with lies. I'm just wondering how low you can get. You have said before that you are not coming back but you did, twice. So why don't you buzz off for good.

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    7. Frugal and beautiful, well that isn't your real name is it? So who are you? If you have a blog I didn't find it. So, aren't you just as anonymous as me. I can call myself Freddy or Cinnamon or anything but we are all pretty anonymous unless you provide your full name and or picture and many bloggers don't. It's rather silly to suggest otherwise, but I know it is a common attitude. You are hiding behind a made up name. Anonymous is simply no name. Pot calling kettle black!

      I am anonymous as I have no online id. I don't want one, I tried it and you just get adverts following you around. I could sign a name, even my real one which I frequently do but no one believes it when you do though - just like you say you don't Frugal and Beautiful. You don't use a proper name, so I don't see how that makes you somehow real and me not? Silly argument really.

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    8. This sounds like Dear Reader

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    9. Jan also sounds like Dear Reader

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  6. A good shopping trip Ilona, I like your style :)
    Twiggy

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  7. Well, this Jan thinks you did well, both in what you bought and that you stood up to the greedies. JanF

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  8. I bet some of that stuff will last you a month...well done! The book was a bargain too! But do you realise... you are getting hooked on technology? Only last year (well, 30th Dec!) you were lamenting that we would lose the power of speech...now you are envisaging using your card in the petrol pump!

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  9. It's a good job that Jan does not see me shopping, if there is something on a good price that I use I will empty the shelf. I do not empty the RTC section though, even if I am on my own there. I just have some of what ever I will use. I say "well done again" Ilona. You keep on living your life just how you want it, I certainly do.

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  10. I am so happy that you have found your supadupa grater, as you might have seriously cut yourself on the old one, girlfriend. Looks like you had an excellent shopping expedition. We have been running a card and pumping our own gas for ages.

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  11. Well done Ilona for being assertive. Some people are just far too greedy and selfish. Unlike you a lot of their bargains will end up as food waste in the bin. I dread to think how many tonnes of food was thrown out after Christmas. Kristel.

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  12. Yes, I also belong to the yellow sticker club, there's 3 stores locally, Morrisons, Tesco & Asda, all of which are good hunting grounds at the right times for bargains.

    There's a few regulars, we all know each other and share the booty when it becomes available. Sadly there's also a few gannets as we call them, the grabbers who don't think anybody else should get anything; one member of staff in Tesco refuses to do the mark-downs if they're about, he loads the lot onto a big trolley and takes it in the back to do them, he says he's seen them fighting over some things and he's not prepared to suffer it.

    A classic case of a few greedy inconsiderate people spoiling things for the sensible ones.

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  13. Well, well, well, Jan certainly has a bee in her bonnet.
    You are always an advocate for fairness and sharing, so I am at a loss as to the criticism, unless, of course, Jan is the troll.
    You shop wisely, use resources prudently, and are not wasteful. Here in the U.S. tons of food goes to waste and is thrown out each day. Keep up the good work, Ilona.

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  14. Gosh, it looks like I missed all the excitement on the blog!

    Anyway, you got a lot of healthy bargains, Ilona. Love the new cheese grater. I have one of the old box ones but I'm going to look for one like yours because it would be a space saver in my small kitchen.

    The new British Road Atlas looks great.

    I use my card at the gas pumps all the time. But, Ilona, please don't go to the gas station after hours when there is no attendant. It's dangerous, at least here in the U.S., to be alone at the station.

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  15. I wonder if troll is too strong a word, Jan is entitled to her opinion although she was far from diplomatic.
    We like to get yellow stickered food and believe in the share and share alike principle. If no one else wants something then taking more than one or two shouldn't be a problem.
    The amounts or contents of trolleys have nothing to do with other people, they could be doing a monthly shop or shopping for more than one person.
    In your case Illona nothing will be wasted or thrown away.
    Don't let the naysayers grind you down.
    Dave.

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  16. Great selection of healthy food. The only items I seem to see in our local store are high cal, high fat items .... nice now and then :) Lovely seeing Rocky guarding the bags. Barbara, South Shields x

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  17. That anonymous comment really made my blood boil - aarrgh. Glad you gave her short shrift. Then I read the other comment and am even more cross. I am definitely who I say I am and love, love, love your blog. So pleased that you have topped up your cupboards. It was lovely to see Rocky waiting for a treat.
    Wendy (Wales)

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  18. Hi Ilona.If I may be so bold....I comment on your blog as Anonymous because I do not have a registered Facebook account,Google account and don't know what an url even is let alone try to visit from that .(still learning the ropes and am very cautious as had a vicious malware on my computer)I am a real person, not fabricated,and live in Brighton Ontario Canada and comment as "Anonymous" but always sign off with my name because it's easier for me to do it that way.For the rude person to suggest you created others and me is absolutely untrue. Last I checked I'm alive and well..big smile.Very good photos yesterday, seeing your outings always a treat.We have to buy big brown paper recycle bags to put compost stuff in here in Ontario and it can get pricey if you have a lot of leaves,twigs,etc.I have a mulching lawn mower and then spread that over the garden beds instead,could use your big brown bin thingy on wheels..Fantastic buys at TescoI healthy and such great prices.You have done well,kiddo.It's a very good thing that you spoke up when it became unpleasant and it's nice that (greedy)others had to learn how to share.Whatever happened to politeness and civility, and why is that behaviour acceptable when it's not?Glad the staff have figured it out too.Vultures.Aww..Rocky is too cute, such a sweetie.Thank you so much for all that you do and say in your blog it is much appreciated by many of us who know authenticity,honesty,and quality when we see it.Your blog inspires.Regards, Destemona

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  19. I am definitely who I say I am, also, and I appreciate Ilona's blog.
    What is with those two women - geez!
    Good communicators can disagree politely and respectively. It is not necessary to be rude, accusatory, or arrogant. People who legitimately disagree can state their viewpoint 'nicely.' Cowards spew hostile messages, then run away because they don't want to read anyone's opinion that disagrees with them.

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  20. I am also who I say I am. Born in Yorkshire, lived in Northampton and Devon and moved to Wales seven years ago. Hope to move back to Devon when my husband retires this year as our daughter and grand-daughter are there. Devon is also our favourite place to be.

    I came across your blog, Ilona a year or so ago and I have read it from the beginning. As we are roughly the same age I have always been interested in what you were getting up to next, and I envy you your little adventures and independence. Yours is the one blog I shall miss if you ever decide to stop. So please don't.

    I sign myself anonymous because I don't have an account and I appreciate you giving people like me ie anonymous, the chance to comment.

    Joan (Wales)

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    1. Carry on commenting Joan, I appreciate your contribution.

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  21. Forgot to say that I don't think any of your faithful followers will take a blind bit of notice of the trolls, or of the people who try to put you down. I certainly don't.

    Joan (Wales)

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  22. Hello , I have just read the Article on your lifestyle online in the yorkshire post , I didnt realise it was about you until i got half way down the article , well done xxx

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  23. From Salvatore-Coburg-Victoria-Australia

    Ilona you are smart lady!

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  24. Goodness there are some bitter, angry folk out there! If I don't like a blog I don't read it! If there is lots of reduced food to go round and everyone gets a share then why not stock up? Unless the person commenting was actually there I don't see how they can call you greedy. There is a terrible lack of community mindedness sometimes, life is difficult enough why not just help each other out a bit? Be kind!

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  25. Clearing out, cutting back, cutting down, being frugal all seem to have become the new hobbies with some folk. It is sad that a lot of those who can afford to make choices choose to grab all from those who can't. Clearing shelves and stock piling is greed not being clever. People on a low income can not afford to stock pile. Taking only what one needs and living simply is a way of life that some of us choose, but for some there is no choice.
    So pleased that you have highlighted this Ilona.

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  26. Hi Ilona, Geez, why are people so angry? I read your blog because I like it and find it interesting. If I didn't, I wouldn't read it. That's the solution! Love seeing what you get on the yellow sticker shopping days. I wish I could find those bargains here in the US. I would take advantage of that but of course because it's just two of us here now (kids are grown up), I would take my share and be fair about it. And, Ilona, I don't think you should have had to explain yourself to those people. Blogs are like diaries. They're not forums. It's your life you are writing about and no one should "disagree" with it.

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    1. You are right Kearnygirl. There are blogs I am not really interested in, I ignore them, don't read, it's as easy as that. I would never dream of going on someone else's blog to have a go at them.

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  27. I'm a real person too last time I checked. Natalie

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  28. I too am a real person :-) who doesn't have any way to comment except as anonymous.

    Toni

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  29. Anyone can comment under Name, by filling their name in that space. It actually says Name/URL, but if you just put in your name and leave the URL blank that works fine. I wouldn't be able to comment either, if that choice was not an option. Many blogs do not have that choice, so I'm grateful Ilona's does.

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    1. You are dead right, Glenda. Ignore the URL bit and just put your name in the box. Easypeasy.

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  30. When I was in Tesco one night, I visited the RTC section, and took a few items, thinking I should leave some for other folk. While I was waiting at the checkout, one of the assistants removed all of the remaining RTC items from the fridges. I assume they were destined for the bin. I wish I'd taken more!! I'd rather people took the items than see them ending up in the bin. I hate to see food being wasted. Fortunately, I've only experienced politeness and kindness and sharing at the RTC shelves and fridges. People have even swapped items with each other.

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    1. It's usually quite civilized in our Tesco, I have swapped items with people. I'll try a Tuesday next time.

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  31. I was in tescos last night and there was a family of three, mother getting everything going, dad in the way with a trolley, daughter on the side with her arms full and tipping over of reduced stuff, it was so frustrating, then had to smile as I turned around and my bread was on at 14p each so got three, did two aisles came back and found some lovely half price biiiig cookies that we had for our pud. god people annoyed me allthe way round yesterday, bumping into me, baby screaming all the way round, think I may go back to online shopping. Julie

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  32. I like many other of your readers think your great, very practical and down to earth. Keep up the blog, I really enjoy reading about your day and your walking adventures with the doggies. Rachel

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  33. Get a grip Jan.... If you don't like what you are reading on a blog don't read it - Simples!
    Ilona, always enjoy reading your blog. Maggie

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  34. I can't believe people are so rude!! Playing nice is so much better. Keep up the good work Ilona!!!

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  35. I saw my first ever trolley scrum at Waitrose this week. Around 7 pm. There seemed to be about 4 in particular who were grabbing it all. This was all bread, cakes etc. Sadly I can eat none of it as it gives me chronic indegestion. I did manage to get a couple if boxes croissants at 10p each for my son! I only ever see a measly 20p off any fresh veg so I would rather pay the extra for the fresh product. Fantastic haul there Ilona. Well done.

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