Easy on Saturday morning

A very bad parody of Lionel Richie’s “Easy on Sunday Morning” so by now you should have gathered it is Saturday and for some reason Judi is up probably because she wants to get an update on the Tennis. The rain in New York has upset the rhythm so we are still waiting for Nadal’s game to be completed so whilst we hang around we plan the weekend. We need to shop for food as we sort of ran out a while back and have already consumed the meager contents of the fridge and the “emergency Pizza” when a while back.

I want to branch out and go somewhere new as we should not be dependant on a single place. You would be surprised what you find when you step off the beaten path and branch out a little. I get over ruled, although I question if the cat really has a vote given Eric never actually accompanies us. So the plan is Shop back for the UK football, then Tennis, Sunday filing (seems Judi is not entirely confident of my new process) holiday planning then more tennis and a home cooked meal. Well I can live with that. I actually though I would be traveling Sunday but is has been pushed back a week.

I am designated drive and the trip starts well, stop to get some cash (as you know everyone pays cash at the supermarket). About 3 miles from home just as we are trying to escape the city we come to a grinding halt. For some reason the traffic is choked up. It is reminiscent of our days in Brussels when on the odd occasion the whole place ground to a halt and mayhem takes the place of transit. I can see police redirecting traffic and it is not an accident so out of the back of my mind comes a though, I read there was a road race this weekend and it looks like our current route takes us along it. Well I say along it there is no way we are doing down that road today. We try a couple of alternative back roads only to find the police have beaten us to it. I can see runners stripping down so my guess seems well founded. So we eventually head back to the Garden ring (remember the ring with NO gardens on it).

We go round for a while until we can stop and regroup to find somewhere else to shop. Gavin our pet GPS system suggests a place 11 miles away and off we go maybe I will get my wish to visit somewhere new after all. The road is big and busy but we make good progress until we hit another jam close to our destination. Not a problem the big malls (and there are many of them) all have jams as the “relaxed” driving style of the Russians means lane discipline goes by the wayside. Only one problem there does not seem to be a Mall around. Judi says there should be an IKEA which is synonymous with a supermarket as there are always built together. Not a Mall in sight, maybe Gavin is just taking us for a ride so we turn around although we have to travel another couple of miles and do this outside a very large army barracks. There is a police checkpoint which always makes Judi nervous so probably not the time to tell her I had forgotten to bring my driving license which is a cardinal sin over here. Anyway we are not pulled over but many are and there is nothing you could put you finger on to say why. I think it is every 5 car or some simple process but maybe there are on a quota for the day and want an easy afternoon.

Ok so heading back towards town and come across the motorway so we can use this to get to our normal shopping center which we do but by now we have been traveling for about an hour and a half. First thing is to get a coffee and regroup. We wander around the shops for a while not buying just chilling then we agree it is time to hit the supermarket.

I am designated trolley man which means I need to follow someone to their car and get their trolley when they have finished. They don’t seem to employ people here to collect them and bring them back except at the end of the day and why should they when as I see all around people pairing up a full trolley with a new shopper which seems to work. The down side is my team seems to have parked as far away as possible I think for a moment they planned to steal it but with me in tow maybe they changed their mind. It takes the best part of 15 minutes to get back to Judi who is idly people watching at the entrance.

It takes another hour to get around the store, shopping here is not one of those pleasant strolls you get in the US where you can go several isles without seeing another soul sometimes wondering if you are the only one there or the place is actually closed. Here you are constantly avoiding people and they push trolleys like they drive which is dangerously. Anyway we get most of what we need and find a till with a small queue (4 people is a small queue). Pay what is quite a lot of money but we do have Printer cartridges and wine which are both equal to the price of Gold. Only one small issue, Judi has picked what she thinks is a cucumber and priced it at the weigh place and it is a pickle. (Paula you need to keep my jar I am sure it will get better with age) . There is no way we are going back to re-price it so it gets left behind.

We know we can not get home the normal way so we head along the motorway for a junction or two and then turn back into town. Even though I have no idea where we are I know the road. I cam along here at 4:30 the other week when my flight was delayed so it must be the road from Domodedovo one of our airports. So an easy drive home and we are back by late afternoon.

Judi decides to do the filing today (which when finished she declares was not that bad) and I set up the Pc to play through the TV so we can watch the UK football. Settling down Judi declares we have nothing for tea ?

Nothing for tea I have just carted 15 bags of produce from the car. It seems we have lots of things but not the right things so off to the local super market to find Lamb and Beef for tonight and tomorrow. I can do that I am pretty good at identifying raw meat. The girl behind the counter is not happy, you know that sort of “I really don’t want to be here and I don’t want to be serving stupid customers, I‘m too pretty for this and I should be on the fancy cakes counter” type of attitude. This only serves to make me smile more as I try my best to raise a smile on her face. It did not work and she dumps my purchases on the counter. Never mind maybe next time.

Back home to watch my team win away even when they go a man down, not a bad result and it seems there is life after the 80m pound sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid. We lie second in the table and it bodes well for the season.

So an easy Saturday really.