Lockdown 2 has been lifted and everyone can go non-essential shopping again. East London breathes a sigh of relief because it finally has something else to do other than stay indoors and wait for the courier, plus there are now only 23 shopping days to Christmas. Westfield is the obvious magnet, despite not having been built with social distancing in mind, its narrow malls and limited escalators unintentionally ideal for enhancing viral spread. A one-way system of sorts has been set up, which appears to consist of a lot of signs saying No Entry above the most convenient doors and a weary employee shouting semi-intelligible directions. A few would-be-shoppers set off past TK Maxx (maximum capacity 146) and the empty unit where IKEA used to be, ignore the next set of No Entry signs and push inside. But they've made the usual Westfield error and arrived too early because nothing much stirs before ten, even at times of national retail crisis, so I hope they enjoy protracted browsing. Wenlock and Mandeville wait to welcome masked punters to John Lewis, particularly those who can't cope with online shopping or prefer to see their homewares up close before purchasing. If the rain ever stops it might even be busy later.
Friday (E3)
I like to go to the supermarket early but this week I have excelled myself. At this point in the day most of the handful of shoppers in Bromley-by-Bow's Tesco are workmen here to buy a snack and a can for breakfast, often opened before they've reached the exit. This means only a handful of aisles are cluttered and if what you need is frozen, healthy or inedible you'll likely have a clear run. I make a successful circuit of the store, pleased that none of the fruit and veg I'm after are out of stock for once, and chucking a Chocolate Orange into the trolley for festive consumption. I also add the pie with the latest sell-by date, top up on cup-a-soup and go back for an extra packet of pasta in case the Brexit negotiations go badly. The lady on the till is delighted to finally have someone to talk to. She says it's been quieter since all the other shops opened, but it's bound to get much busier this afternoon and she's pleased to have the entire weekend off. Somewhere on the way home my cucumber slips through a hole in the bottom of my Bag for Life, so it may still be lying on the pavement beside the A12 or have been kicked into the gutter by some blazered schoolkids. Fridge filled I reward myself with a mug of tea and a mince pie, comforted by the knowledge I won't need to hit the shops again for ages.
