GRUMPY OLD PERSON

This morning I went out to try to buy and look at various things for the house.


First of all I wanted a replacement large rechargeable torch to replace the one given as a Christmas present the year before last. Can I get what I want? Of course not! I can get the same one again, which, truth to tell was a bit heavy and not altogether convenient to use but why would I want to buy an identical torch which has only had some 15 months wear before becoming unusable? Stuart's taken it to see if he can juggle with it for use at the stables. So, no torch.


Then, I'm gradually getting irritated with my washing machine which I bought from John Lewis on-line. It works perfectly well but has an annoying feature which, truth to tell, I wouldn't have picked up on if I'd been looking at it in the shop.


You can't tell how far through the cycle the washing's actually got. There's no indicator on the 'dashboard' to tell you whether, for example, it's still on the wash cycle and you haven't put in enough soap or whether it's gone into the rinse cycle and you just don't need any more soap.


There's one expensive model which counts down the minutes to finishing - so what good is that? You still don't know which cycle you're in. I want to be able to stop during rinsing and spin so that I can go out...


Then I thought about updating my almost 6 year old laptop - silly me to think I can get what I want. I bought a Fujitsu about 4 years ago as a stopgap when this HP went away for repairs but hated Vista so much - AND the shiny screen which reflects everything behind it - that it's lived on a shelf in the workroom almost since I bought it. Oh, and it didn't have any way of turning off the integral mouse, which I loathe! So, that idea came to nothing, too.


Why do we have to put up with manufacturers who decide what's going to be 'out there' for us to buy, with no choice offered?


One last grumble, which has been on-going for several decades - I like round-toed shoes with flat heels and consequently have decent feet for my age.

I bought these 'Desert Island' shoes more than 25 years ago at Hampton Court flower show, while I was still teaching. They cost about £30 a pair and the children, sitting on the carpet in front of me, loved them too. They were made by a pair of hippies who worked in Glastonbury and these were the only ones in my size at Hampton Court.

Some time later I was on a coach trip to Glastonbury, found the shop they had opened in the meantime and ordered a pair of shoes in the colours I chose - a sort of cyclamen for the heel part, turquoise and purple for the upper and the toe cap was, originally, red and yellow with white stars. Those wore off with all the polishing! I had them resoled about a year ago which cost almost as much as the shoes since women's replacement soles don't fit and men's repairs are much more expensive.

So, why can't I buy round-toed and colourful shoes in a shop?? I usually wear trainers as they are at least comfortable but I won't entertain women's shoes in the shops, too cramped in the toes and such boring colours...

There, I feel better now!

So, what irritates/annoys/frustrates you when you're shopping? Some things you just can't buy on line, you need to try or handle the goods. Let's have a few grumbles from you!!