November Blues

November Blues

It was ‘Black Friday’ last week and although a sales event it clashed with Christmas, which starts commercially as early as the summer previous. I don’t suppose there are many who love crowded places and especially the lawless, self-determined direct paths some trolley users employ as they take the most direct line in a supermarket to the next purchase. 

Don’t get me wrong I am no saint, but venturing out mid-morning last Friday and hoping to gather my groceries in a relatively calm shopping trip I was confronted with a car park jam-packed and a store equally as crowded.  Some of the local schools had decided to merge a ‘Christmas shopping day’ with the aforementioned commercial event.

I shop in a place that his hardly Harrods and the isles were clogged with families and folk not seeking a once in a while ‘bargain’ but the weekly shop moved one day forward.  I was never given the luxury of a day off mid-term when I was teaching and to be honest would have spent it preparing for the rest of the week or catching up on the week preceding. I saw folk under pressure as never before.  Prices seldom come down and I imagine a lot of people dreaded and still do dread the financial implications of the so-called ‘festive season’

I started that day in a resentful fashion as the first two paragraphs show, but upon reflection I felt pity for those struggling to keep their heads above water.  If we have strong, graphic warnings on tobacco and alcohol products then I would propose a similar warning on ALL advertising ‘Warning- starting Christmas in November can be bad for your health’