Waitrose v locals

Waitrose has come to represent more than just a premium food store but symbolic of the liberal metro intelligentsia. In the Rust and beyond a Waitrose shopper means you are a Remainer, elitist, indelibly middle class.

The most recent remain demo was labelled as a Waitrose one in the media. There are even websites hosting ‘Middle class comments overheard in Waitrose’ jokes  – see here – from the website of – THE SUN

Yet I bet more Rusters shop at Waitrose than any other store. I do. I appreciate the smoothness of the operation, the quality of the food and wine, the helpfulness of its staff even if I was once charged £161 for a banana!

Bob Tickler invited me over over to spend Easter in Nice.

He informed me that to preserve the integrity and existence of its market and small tradesman the larger supermarkets like Leclerc are out of town and the nearest to a British one in the locality was Monoprix.

I accompanied Bob shopping on Easter Saturday morning.

Our first port of call was the butchers where we waited 15 minutes. There were two servers and one on the desk.

One server meticulously packaged up a gigot of lamb with string. This took 5 minutes.

Our next stop was the wine merchants.

Here there was one server and no one on the cash desk at all. When Bob said there was no one here, the assistant said he was serving and if you wanted someone call for them as they are back of shop. Bob walked out.

At the next two, the newsagent and bakery, we had to wait till they had finished their chatting and deigned to serve us. The market was so crowded that we walked on the outer pavement down which a lorry was forcing its way.

Bob’s fruit from his favourite stall, admittedly of high quality, cost near enough 50 euros and his beloved Theresa apologised for the expense.

By this stage, and about an hour after we set off, I was missing the Waitrose experience in which I am in and out in 30 minutes. I may be the liberal elite but I’m impatient too!