We've just come back, didn't buy much but wanted to have a good look around and price a few things up. Think of the biggest shop you've ever been to in the UK, then treble it to get an idea of how big this building is. They sell everything, from 5 gallon containers of vinegar to workshop lathes, gym equipment to the latest german vacuum cleaners; you name it, they've got it! There was a vast amount of space dedicated to tinned pilchards, so I'm guessing that must be as popular as Heinz beans in the UK.
When you get to the checkout, and there's 26 of them, you come from a single queue; so it may seem long but it's always moving. You don't have to look at the contents of other customer's trolleys at every till, then look at how fast the operator is and how much they talk before you take a chance, only to find that their till roll's ran out. You're just directed from the queue to the next vacant till. Staff everywhere and you don't have to find them, if you stand just for half a minute and look puzzled, a helpful voice will always be there with, "Can I help you?" If you took all the stock from all the shops in Carlisle, added quality, and customer service, halved the prices and trebled the staffing, you still wouldn't come close to Makro in Johannesburg, and they are dotted round all over the city. On the down side, Beverley did get hit by a car, a Chinese man who jumped out to say sorry, bowing his head and making prayer like gestures with his hands. I think his wing mirror came of worse than her bruised hand but he missed her toes by a whisker.
Sunday lunch on now, a piece of roast beef as big as your cat for £7, really looking forward to that later. Food that you recognise is lovely as a treat sometimes. Funny how I saw some 'Deep Heat' cream on the shelf and wanted to buy it just because it seemed like a 'best friend'. At lunch yesterday I was going to order the hake in batter but I noticed 'kingklip' on the menu. Well worth the gamble, a lovely fish like cod but a bit more chunky and a distinct flavour. It's good to experiment out here, though my stomach must be wondering what the hell is coming down the hatch next!
Had a Skype from Chantal this week, nice to see her and Q so cheerful and chatty. Don't forget to ask Tom to give Alex a shout. Also Chantal can you teach Paul how to connect on Skype cos he's not come on line yet and it would be good to catch up. Sunday is always a good day for me as Sundays are probably going to be a 'stay at home days'.
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