when I first arrived here I made a baguette box at the gate and put five euros in it ,the first week we had one baguette a day ,at the start of the second week there was three different vans delivering ,the bread box was always overflowing ,one day we had four baguettes in it... so much for my lazy plan.....
Pretty much agree with you Para ,as a "tighter than rod stewart" jock>me) I cost everything >so for myself,keeping a camper is a total financial no brainer>,decided to cost cost of my time ,clothes/footwear as in wear and tear re walking to shops against price of running a fridge(leckie cost) so eliminating said walk though still had everyother day walk anyway,for supplies> also ,having to give uncertainties a financial value (difficult!)i.e. member of public collapsing adjacent to myself and having to assist(happened Friday eve) things can get seriously out of hand both in my financial and life calculations! Financial astuteness aint an easy gig !>fyi > fridge is edging ahead at the mo. >girl who collapsed? done the nec and ambulance turned up (whew!)
Our milkmans tops, delivers before we go to work and has stood our bills for months at a time. Gaurantees him an extra fine malt at xmas I suppose. Can get a sack of spuds and pop off him too. Never seen the guy in nearly 20 years.
A huge percentage of people live in urban areas, you'd drive past several supermarkets in a radius of 5 miles, of course this is different in non urban areas. It depends on time of day you go as to the crowds. My local shop is a supermarket, why would I walk in the newsagents next door to pay more money and have less choice of milk? Same for town centres, why struggle to find parking and have to pay for it, when business parks take 5 mins longer to get to and have free parking and lower prices? I get the support local vibe, and agree with the moral argument. Free market economies dictate though - I only make more of an effort with meat, the local butcher and farm shops have discernibly better quality products than local supermarkets.
When I was a child our milkman had a horse and cart. The Clydesdale knew exactly where to stop along the route so that the milko could replenish what he carried.
