Progress?

 Went to Sainsburys this morning, to get a few things needed for our caravan stay.  For the past few weeks, it's been clear there's something going on in our store (a large one), there are fewer and fewer tills open, big gaps on the shelves, a cordoned off area at the front of the store, the cafe is no longer open (it was shut all through lockdown anyway, but I think it did open up again briefly earlier this year).  This morning there was only one manned till open.  I asked the checkout operator what was going on - she said that they are planning on doing away with ALL manned tills, meaning everyone will have to use the self service ones.  The cordoned off area will be an Argos store (Sainsburys and Argos are of course amalgamated now), there's a large Argos store on the same retail park but that is to be closed down.  The cafe is to be refurbished and will be simply a coffee shop rather than offering meals as it used to.  The entire store is being refurbished too, all works should be completed by November apparently.

I don't mind using the self service tills for just a few things, but not for a trolley load - the reason being their self service tills constantly flash up messages basically saying you're doing something wrong, and a supervisor has to be called - this happens almost every time, sometimes 2 or 3 times in one shop - and not just to me, I see it happening to everyone else too.  It's downright annoying.  I went into Matalan the other day - they've had self service tills for ages and they are a total pleasure to use - easy, no fuss and I've never needed a supervisor.  So why Sainsburys are such trouble to use I don't know.

The checkout operator said that all supermarkets are moving the same way - no manned tills.  That's all very well, but I think it's going to be awful for older people, or others who have learning disabilities or anxiety problems, e.g..  I know for example that my mother would NEVER have coped with a self service till.  And there are still people who pay by cash (I rarely use cash nowadays) - will the self service tills accept cash?  Or are they planning on phasing cash out altogether too?  I know things change and we have to move with the times, but it seems we're being railroaded into accepting big changes.  And it's not even as if we can boycott one shop if we don't like what they're doing and use a different one, if they're all moving the same way.  No doubt conspiracy theorists will have a lot to say about this!

It's going to be hot again for the next few days, it's already hot again now.  Fortunately, it shouldn't be as scorchingly hot as last month, and there is some rain forecast for next week, thankfully.  We're still going to the caravan, we have 2 fans there and are taking a 3rd, Betty has a cool mat both here at home and at the van (not that she actually lays on either of them!  She might put her head on one occasionally).  We have 2 sunshades in the garden, I'll put tea towels wrung out in cold water on her when she lies down (she does shrug them off after a few minutes though!).  She has unlimited fresh cold water, which she does drink regularly, and I give her diluted chicken stock frozen ice cubes which she happily crunches.  So I think she'll be fine.  Obviously, she only gets walked early mornings and in the evenings, if she needs a wee during the day we take her in a shady spot for just long enough to do her wee.  We put a towel on the fake grass for her to lay on in the van garden - not that it gets excessively hot anyway, husband put a deep layer of sand down when he was laying the fake grass.  I'm sure she'll be fine, we'll keep a good eye on her.