2 December (Part 2) - Small Business Saturday
There
is a special day, and sometimes a month, for everything. Does anyone take any notice?
Bexley Council is purporting to encourage us to shop locally while in reality doing the opposite.
Amazon delivered me this year’s 192nd package today so I am on course to pass through
the 200 barrier before the end of the year.
My disenchantment with Bexleyheath for shopping began at least 20 years ago when
the only buses to take me there were the 229 and the 469 which took slightly
different circuitous routes. I could quite literally walk home - it is mainly
down hill - more quickly than be on a slow bus. The Freedom Pass at age 60 and
laziness put an end to that. (Before the 469 terminated in Erith obviously.)
Then there is my possibly irrational fear of parking fines. My driving licence is a
little over 61 years old and I have never been given a parking ticket and I have no wish to start now.
Some of that may be illogical in 2023 now that we have the 301 bus which can get me to Bexleyheath
in 15 minutes but old habits die hard. I long ago got out of the habit of local
shopping except for a bit of DIY stuff in Toolstation (Belvedere) and the like.
While the slightest mistake with parking payment can cost £60 or whatever the going rate is
now, not to mention the plethora of yellow box junctions, little shops will
have to go bust while Bexley Council thinks it is a good idea to place obstacles
to shopping locally in my way.
The only exception I make is for birthday cards for which I go to Card Factory
rather than pay £2·50 a go from the rubbish selection to be found in the
local Sainsbury’s. With luck the 301 can get me there and home again in an hour.
Note: 192 deliveries, two refunds - one; batteries past
their sell by date and two; a loudspeaker stand that wobbled far too much. I
have no idea how they did it but the money was back in my account only 70
minutes after I dropped it off at the Post Office. There was also a £14 refund
for something that I neither complained about nor returned. I decided that
sorting that out would be more bother than it was worth. Thanks Amazon.