I thought I'd brave the drizzle and venture out to the Co-op on the Common this afternoon. Once you've managed to bypass the Big Issue seller and then the obligatory charity fundraiser that hangs around by the entrance, it's actually a pretty decent store for its size. The shelves are always well stocked, the place is clean and the staff seem friendly. It's really only the queues - which somehow always spontaneously appear at the checkout just as you are ready to pay - that let it down. Anyway, it was the usual scene - a few vaguely familiar looking faces and the high proportion of tracksuited people that is the norm for Plumstead - when suddenly there was a bit of a kerfuffle and then some thug got frogmarched to the back of the store for shoplifting. The entertainment value made up for the fact they were out of my favourite wine.
In other supermarket-related news, I see that the Somerfield by Woolwich Arsenal has finally closed down. About time really, it always felt like you were shopping in the communist block whenever you went in. It is going to become a Wilkinsons, apparently - though the pharmacy will stay. Wilkos will be handy for cheap Christmas decorations and the odd tin of paint, but I'll miss being able to nip in to buy dinner before catching the bus home!
