Securing a supermarket delivery slot has never caused such delight

Whoever thought that being able to secure a supermarket delivery slot would cause such excitement?
Supermarket delivery slots are hard to come by. Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) PPP-200324-103048003Supermarket delivery slots are hard to come by. Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) PPP-200324-103048003
Supermarket delivery slots are hard to come by. Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images) PPP-200324-103048003

But indeed that is what happened as my phone went metal when one of my friends revealed she has secured this holy grail of 2020 lockdown shopping.

With great delight she shared the news with us all on our group chat, followed up with a question asking if anyone else needed anything adding. This was followed by a flurry of messages as we joined in a communal shopping experience which we seem to have created to cope with getting our essentials.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Such excitement which would never have been seen just a few short months ago.

For my own part my requirements were small – a large box of washing powder. That will keep me going and means I won’t have to struggle to carry one from my local shop, or face a trip to the supermarket myself.

I gave up long ago trying to secure a supermarket delivery slot and have instead got a new shopping routine to get the essentials.

Maybe it would be different if I didn’t still have to work or didn’t have to take my children into the shop with me – which means that I’m avoiding large shops as much as possible.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At the moment I’m surviving on a combination of supplies from my nearby farm shop, the nearby greengrocers and the local Tesco Express. 
This is supplemented by food drop-offs from my parents and friends who are topping up for me, or getting the bits I’m unable to at my three primary sources of everything.

The other day one of my friends grabbed pegs for me which I needed – yes pegs, the high of excitement – much to my grateful delight.
This was only topped by my wonderful neighbours who presented me with a gift (over my fence, obviously) of a new washing line pole which they picked up for me because they knew mine had broken.

Now I have no idea if my excitement is such a sign of getting old or a symptom of the difficulty with lock-down shopping. Judging by the group reaction over my friend’s supermarket delivery slot I’m going to go along with the latter because it makes me feel better!

But what is wonderful to see is the current situation is encouraging more people to use their smaller shops more, with some people visiting the independents for the first time instead of just grabbing everything from the biggest supermarket.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is also great to see the real sense of togetherness which is being fostered as we all help each other out through these uncertain times.

Let’s hope we don’t lose that when the times of pressing that refresh button on a supermarket website delivery page have long gone!