We took the aged ones out today, and I am pleased to say that they behaved themselves quite well. Both my Dad and Andree have visited Curry’s separately in the past week, Dad for a camera and Andree for a TV, neither were impressed with the service, and so today we took them to that icon of retail quality and service, John Lewis. Lucy would be proud.
We used Park and Ride from Enderby, which we would pass on the way to Leicester anyway – free parking and just £3.50 for a group ticket to Leicester for all four of us. Bargain. Buses leave every 15 minutes, and one was boarding passengers when we arrived, so no waiting in the cold wind. The bus was almost full, but Dad and Andree settled into the seats reserved for “elderly and infirm” near the front, leaving Chantal and I to sit further back in peace, watching Dad and Andree put the world to rights between them.
Chantal doesn’t “do” buses, except on top of a London double decker. She had to sit amongst The Public, that great body of common and disease-carrying folk, and there were dark mutterings every time someone coughed or sneezed, as Chantal grumbled that she could already feel the onset of pneumonia that was by now inevitable. She was relieved as we pulled up at the bus terminus 20 minutes later.
John Lewis was a short walk from the bus stop (in distance, but today not necessarily time), and we made our way through Highcross shopping centre to the Temple of the Gods of Retail, John Lewis, taking the lift to the third floor where, fortunately, TVs and cameras resided cheek-by-jowl. Dad and I went to browse cameras, soon finding the favoured model, but with just one camera-orientated assistant available on the shop floor, it took 20 minutes to discover that “having a play” with a charged and ready-to-use camera was not an option. It seemed that the John Lewis service was no better than Curry’s, although the assistant, once available, redeemed the situation by being particularly helpful, and even acquiesced to Dad’s suggestion that he throw in a free memory card to compensate for the wait. Dad purchased the camera.
Meanwhile Chantal and Andree were having a similar experience, unable to find an available assistant from the TV section, but eventually being served by someone from another section, but who had recently worked in a TV shop elsewhere, and so was very informative. Andree soon had all of the information that she needed to make her mind up, but decided not to do so anyway. She and Chantal will be re-visiting Curry’s tomorrow.
The experience left us all desperate for tea (in my case) and coffee (for everyone else). Fortunately the restaurant was also located on the third floor – perhaps it is accepted that purchasing expensive electrical items will be stressful, and tea and cakes need to be readily available. Dad and I soon selected our cakes. Chantal decided that she was on a diet and so definitely would not have any cake, but chose a large slice of “millionaire shortbread”. Andree wasn’t hungry, and so definitely would not have any cake, but ate half of my cheese scone. I should point out that I offered it – she didn’t steal the item from my plate.
And so, suitable fortified we headed back to the bus stop, where once again a bus was waiting to take us back to my car. We did actually all quite enjoy the afternoon.
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
