Trolley 467

An M&S food hall trolley picked up outside the exit to Waitrose, in the Ashley Centre. The visit to very quiet Waitrose, admittedly a little late in the afternoon, had been unsuccessful. No Bells whisky, no Craster kippers and no Bastides saucisson. As regard the first, they could only offer fancy whisky at fancy prices. And as regards the last, Bastides had been displaced by Waitrose own, tainted with either truffle or cheese, both of which I deplore in saucisson.

As it happened I was not after my Canadian wholemeal flour on this occasion, but I did notice that it was still missing. And that the space given to bread flour was maybe half what it had been a couple of years ago. One supposes that the surge of home bread making at the start of the plague has mostly fallen away again and that Waitrose store planners have responded appropriately - and have taken the opportunity to remix their offering. Happily, for white bread flour I can stick with Ponders End of reference 3.

After returning the trolley to the M&S food hall entrance, I took a look inside, where the aisles appeared to be almost entirely given over to highly flavoured ready meals. Certainly no whisky, no kippers and no saucisson. Not that I could see, anyway.

Marched on to Costcutter in Manor Green Road, where I did better. The only failure there was that they only had one white roll left, which I left, wanting four. Two yes, at a pinch, but not one.

On the way, I was slightly surprised that, not only was TB shut on Mondays and Tuesdays, hardly the sign of a thriving hostelry, but all the lights in the extensive accommodation upstairs were out too. What was going on? At least they were still alive, as discounted meals were offered on a chalk board for Wednesday, that is to say the day after tomorrow.

PS 1: I could have Bastides from Waitrose on click and collect - but only if I spent £40. Which is not unreasonable given the overheads involved, but which is new and is more than I want to spend on sausage, even if it is the right sort of saucisson. Which can be seen in all its glory at reference 2. Maybe a visit to Borough Market is called for.

PS 2: checking with Wright's at reference 3 below, I find that they do still operate at Ponders End, from where I remember them, by the River Lea, which was likely the way their supplies came in in the olden days, but they also have a facility at Harlow, a little way to the north, on the other side of the Lea, snapped above. On the left, a large anonymous shed for Wright's, which could be anything if you missed the sign, and on the right an even bigger shed for Poundland. But then, it is Essex. Unlike the Ponders End facility, the Harlow facility is not on a canal, but it is not that far from the Stort Navigation, mixed up with the River Stort, a tributary of the River Lea, for which Bishops Stortford is named. With this last being one of the two stops of the trains from Cambridge to Liverpool Street, in the days before electricity and Kings Cross were invented.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/02/trolley-466.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/02/steam-rising.html.

Reference 3: https://wrightsbaking.co.uk/.