Tuesday 9th September 2025

Some of you, I know, are big fans of Whitfield Tesco, so here is news from the store.

Yesterday, all trolleys were being swapped for new ones.

There were trolleys everywhere, most of the old ones being arranged to be loaded on trucks. All shelters in the car park empty of trolleys as the new ones were unloaded and distributed.

As I had several bottles to buy, I took a large family one, and I can confirm its wheels, all four of them, ran true and silent.

I was shopping as Jools had been dropped off at the sports centre for an Aquacise session, and in the time she was there I would do the big shop.

All children are back at school, at least those over 5 years old, so the aisles and checkouts were pretty empty at even nine in the morning.

I pay and drive back, have enough time to pack stuff away before going back to collect Jools.

So, by eleven, both major events were done.

We go home, have a brew, but instead of eating at home, we drive to Deal for fish and chips.

The town was busy: the blue skies and warm sunshine must have brought out more people than usual.

We take one of the last two parking spaces, walk through Five Step Alley to the chippy, and take the seat in the window where we could watch the world go by.

I order skate and chips, Jools has haddock. Skate is a ray, has no bones just cartlidge, and has white flesh with a weak fishy taste.

Ten minutes later our lunches arrive, crisp golden fish and a large portion of freshly fried chips.

It went down a treat, doubly for Jools who hadn't had breakfast.

After eating, we walked along Middle Street, then cutting to the High Street to see if that branch of No Name Shop had also closed.

Sadly it has, as well as the main branch in Sandwich. So, there goes our main supplier of stinky French cheeses.

So it goes.

We walked back to the car, as we had to get back home to check on Scully.

Back home along the main road, busy with traffic, and hot in the afternoon sun.

We check Scully's sugars, then give her some low carb food, and the afternoon is hours.

Too hot to work in the garden or walk, with storms forecast for Wednesday, it felt like the last day of summer.

Which it may well be.

I pour myself a beer, while Jools snoozes in the sun in the shelter at the bottom of the garden. Scully sleeps for two hours beside me, not bothered about food.

An improvement.

We had burger for tea, and after settling down there was international football as England travelled to Serbia for another qualifier.

I hostile conditions, England cruised to a 5-0 win, and look very much the challenger for the World Cup we hoped them to be.