In the past few weeks I must have walked past, but not bought, Easter eggs 46, 290 times. Or thereabouts. My reasoning was 'I'll do it later. Maybe tomorrow'.And then Later became Tomorrow and Tomorrow became Today and tomorrow is Easter Sunday and The Teenager asked if I'd remembered to buy some eggs for The Younger One. Ooops.
So we went out.
But they were all gone.
Gone. Swiped. Bought. Empty shelves. And I couldn't understand why? Does the credit crunch slash recession mean people are thinking Well, if we can't afford to go out this bank holiday, we're damn well going to eat our body weight - and then some - in chocolate?
We went to Tesco. There were two horrible looking Disney things, a Green & Blacks (broken) and a cake with an egg on it.
We went to Sainsbury's. (small branch). There was a Kit Kat Chunky egg (bleurgh) with a dinked box and some grubby looking white chocolate on sticks.
We went to Sainsbury's (superstore). There was a sign on the door. Only six Easter Eggs per customer. Cripes rationing, so maybe hope of finding some? All shelves naked.
We went to two other supermarkets. Nothing. We tried the local Co-op. Three horrible looking tiddly Disney things. Two broken.
We tried fourteen (or thereabouts) garage shops. Only daffodils and Red Bull. Didn't think The Younger One would be that thrilled.
We tried twenty two (or thereabouts) corner shops/village shops. They've cleaned us out this year said all the tired looking shop assistants and I started to harbor a severe grudge against the greedy they.
After clocking up thirty miles (true), we began to admit defeat and were contemplating how we could cunningly get round the problem. Melt a few bars of Galaxy and mould them into bunny shapes? Roll some hard boiled eggs in smelted Toblerone? I was actually getting quite excited about the possibilities as we pulled up at last shop. And Behold, there were shelves of eggs - bog standard, normal, unbroken eggs. It was wondrous. It was probably a miracle for now the Easter Bunny will arrive fully loaded. And when he rings the doorbell and runs away, I will try to catch him and have a quick word. Words to the effect of ... next year get your damn fluffy-tailed act together and stop - please stop - leaving things to the last minute. Because where chocolate is concerned, you can never, never leave things to chance.
Happy Easter chaps.
The photo is my brother, 1960's. In those days the Easter bunny was organised and you always cut your egg with a knife. Check out the wallpaper.
39 comments:
Well done! Unfortunately I couldn't bring myself to do the 30-or-more-miles hike...do you think some mini eggs might be OK?
Happy Easter!
lx
Eye, Eye, Ms Lane is back in Blogland ;-)
I say, "Bring back Woolies" - no shortages of Easter eggs then!
BTW Hope your eye is better :) TFx
I blame Woolies. If they could've hung on 'til Easter, they'd have been fine.
And pretend pink shrimps, where are we going to get those now eh? Not that we wanted them when they were available but still...
Happy Easter, lovely Lane XXX
What a great post, Lane! You've made me smile on this rainly Easter Sunday. Happy Easter! x
Definitely Woolies to blame. The supermarkets had to buy up all the eggs Woolies would have had, cheap. Then they sold them so cheap that people were taking them away in wheelbarrows. Well done for finding some.
Either that, or we're all so miserable about the credit crunch that we need to OD on Easter Eggs.
That's a lovely photo of your brother xxx
SMS - hi and welcome. I think The Teenager was 'egging' me on. I'd have given up after a couple of miles:-)
Liz - And to you too Liz x
TF - The eye is ok at the moment ta. Tough wood - or as it's Easter, touch choc:-)
Spiral - I'd forgotten about pink shrimps! I miss them now, even though I don't think I ever ate one:-)
Amanda - Happy Easter to you too:-) x
Helen - aaah, is that the reason. Makes sense.
Lovely photo isn't it:-)
Happy Easter! I did exactly the same trek yesterday! I think everyone was determined to have none left over this year. I started looking Wednesday and found none, but thought that was just the shops I was going to. Ended up in Europe's largest supermarket (Tesco in Slough, don't go, it's so large it's scary) which had about 20 left. Madness!
The Easter Bunny Teenager will not be denied! Um-mm, one challenge down so hate to bring this up, but have Peggy F and Teas been asking about a date for official opening of the trampouline? Seems like something that needs to be done in April, along with hunting down chocolate eggs.
Lane, good to hear from you again - hope the eyes keep improving. I too have had terrible trouble buying eggs - like you, I left it late on the assumption that eggs would be there - but sure as eggs is(n't) eggs - they weren't. What is going on? They want us to spend our way out of this recession, don't they? Give us stuff we want to buy, then! I've cobbled some inferior eggs together but am now officially a Bad Mother - and Auntie, :(
I couldn't buy Easter Eggs either yesterday - had pretty much the same experience. I hope your eye is better now. I've been wondering how you are.
I love the photos of your brother as a child - I think we must have been a similar age. The formica in our kitchen was yellow with little squiggles that mum said looked like threadworms. Funny how these things stick in your mind when you are about eight and ask your mum what threadworms look like.
I presume they are your Farleys rusks in the background, and your lovely white pile of newly washed terry nappies?
When my brother and I were little we used to be rationed with our Easter Eggs. We weren't allowed to just pig out. I used to like the little ones filled with toffee.
Have a lovely Easter, Lane and family. xxx
Ah, but the Easter Bunny came though, and that's what counts. :)
Cripes, I'm the easter bunny in our house this year. No kiddies to disappoint when they awake, but I'm hoping for find a couple of treats to present to my partner and a friend tonight at dinner. Okay, so maybe I'll have to be a little creative this year. (grin)
Great photograph, love the wallpaper and the countertop.:) ... And it's good to see you posting again.
((((((HUGS)))))))
Dar :)
Glad you got some Easter Eggs
would have send some Cadburys over otherwise.
happy Easter to all of you.
P.S. What did the "eye-people" say?
Wow, that's what I call persistence. And it paid off. :)
We actually didn't have any Easter eggs in our house, believe it or not. But we did have lovely beef & Guinness stew and some lovely cake instead. Oh, and some ice cream. :)
Happy Easter!
(Oh, and I LOVE the wallpaper!)
Your brother was a real little cutie in his (looks like) hand-knit sweater. But cutting it with a knife? That's - wrong.
Great wallpaper. Truly great for a kitchen back then.
However - you're going to have to admit it - you're never going to be organized. Are you?
I don't understand. Didn't the Easter Bunny leave any in the garden?
Have you checked?
We had the same problem. We bought the eggs for the kids and decided to get two more as some New Zealnd friends of my step son are staying with us. We managed to buy them each a multi-pack of Cadbury's cream eggs as there was beggar all left. I want to know which tubs of lard are knecking about ten eggs apiece this year. Greedy toerags!
Happy Easter.
This once happened to me and the chocolate advent calendar....what a pain. And the guilt!
PS Love that wallpaper. Glad you pointed it out. I probably wouldn't have noticed and it's so...perfect!
Welcome back, Lane, we've missed you! I hope your eye is better now?
I so love that photo, brings back a lot of memeories.
As for Easter eggs - I wonder if the manufacturers made less of them this year?
Oh and do you remember the sugar eggs with a scene inside that you peeped at through a window in the egg?
Right, so next year, you will go out and buy a gazillion easter eggs two weeks in advance. Right?
I remember the 60s and we never cut eggs with a knife - maybe it's something to do with the wall paper!
Gorgeous photograph, and I'm loving the wallpaper! My friend had the same sort way back, and I thought it was ever so cutting edge at the time :o)
I too left buying Easter eggs 'til the 11th hour, in the mistaken assumption that mine wouldn't be too bothered this year - they've been buying them every week anyway, since they appeared in the shops just after Christmas - but I was wrong! Luckily our local Sainsbury's came up trumps, but I admire your dedication :o))
I always do exactly the same as you, simply because Easter eggs are in the shops from Boxing Day and they just become something to ignore until nearer the time. Then suddenly, heck, it's hear and there aren't any left.
I do it every year, without fail.
Sorry, I mean "here" - chocolate affected spell-check!
Glad you finally found some after that adventure! I went looking for some Cadbury eggs a couple weeks ago and had trouble finding them even then. The recession must drive up chocolate sales!
I got a grand total of zero eggs this year. But I did get a few margaritas...which is a lot better in my book, he he.
LOVE the wallpaper, btw. Too cool.
I noticed the shortage of Easter Eggs this year too, WTF?!
Maybe it's not so much greedy buyers, more that the supermarkets are under-stocking because of the credit crunch? They are perhaps less inclined to be left with unsold stock that they have to sell at clearance prices. (I used to buy my Easter eggs half-price after the event - but they were just for me!)
Denise - Large supermarkets are scary enough but Europe's largest?? *shudder*:-)
Faye - we've already had the official opening. Peg and Teas were very pleased to get back up and have a bounce:-)
Lorna - seems like this was a common experience then. You'd think 'they'd' realise that one thing we need during a recession is chocolate:-)
Annie - yes, those must have been my Farleys and nappies. Well spotted:-)
I can remember the squiggles on the formica too. If we still had those things now we'd be very fashionably shabby chic:-)
Dar - the fact the Easter Bunny came through was all down to The Teenager:-)
Hope you had a good dinner. It's quite a responsibility being a bunny;-)
Felix - so you had no shortage of them over there?
As for the eye - ocular migraines as suspected and a complete overhaul of specs needed.
Babaloo - I LIKE the sound of your meal. Very much!
Aims - Thank you. And no, sadly I will never be organised but I will try:-)
Fiona - Nope, I checked. I even rang the 'Hopline';-)
MOB - Seems t'was a widespread problem. I hope those who bought up them all are suffering the after effects now:-)
Sueg - ah the guilt. That's the worst bit.
I love that wallpaper although I don't think I'd want it in my kitchen now, although....:-)
Pat - a window in an egg?? I'm intrigued and have never heard of them! Are you sure?:-)
Hope T&T are settling down well. x
Absolute - Maybe that wallpaper demanded a certain sort of etiquette:-)
Karen - exactly - they'd been on the shelves for so long. Glad you found some:-)
Swearing Mother - hi there. Do you think we'll do the same next year? Very probably:-) And chocolate effects my spelling check abilities too:-)
Angie - even there! As long as the price doesn't go up too:-)
TBNIL - a few margaritas, he says? Are you sure just a few....:-)
Choc and alcohol don't mix anyway:-)
DJ - WTF exactly!:-)
Queenie - aah you could be right. Well they certainly haven't got any to sell slashed priced this year:-)
neither of us can eat chocolate so easter eggs arent an issue here but I did try and get a friend one on Sat morning and they'd sold out there too! Hope yuou had a good Easter.
No, Lane we've lost money to the banks, common sense is gone too, but Easter eggs and Politicians are still plenty
Isn't that weird? Smug missus here bought hers aeons ago (I'm either mega organised or woefully inadequate) but the local shop (which is usually putting on easter egg sales up to Christmas) said they sold out on Maundy Thursday - unheard of in the annals of Dulverton.
re your comment on mine - yes, Blackden is special, it really is. If you ever get the chance to visit you must - if nothing else to see the mind of a writer that has encompassed and is an inextricable part of his environment. I could have spent hours looking at his books and images and artefacts. Just pure literary gold.
God! That photo is priceless - that wallpaper! As for your brother cutting up his egg with a knife? Yes, I seem to remember trying to find innovative ways to eat mine an atom at a time so they lasted longer! Glad you finally tracked the easter bunny down.
There's some very greedy gluttons out there. Think half the population's eggs are in my pantry.
CJ xx
only 6 eggs per person - that made me laugh and then the photo of your dear brother made me cry. Yes - I'm in that sort of state.
Hope she enjoyed the hard-won eggs.
As we were away, I didn't have to buy the usual 10 ton of easter eggs this year (such a relief).
Love the photo of your brother. x
Hope you had a great Easter Lane. We didnt bother too much with eggs as shock horror! they dont eat them. They just like the novelty of opening them and thats that:)
D'ya really think next year you'll be more organised. If so, please email me with your secret! I'm a busy girl - things to do, blogs to read. Maybe there's an easter egg buying service somewhere....or maybe there really is an easter bunny and a father xmas! Now there's a thought....Fx
Cool wallpaper. There was still some like that here when we moved in. Phew! Glad you got your eggs in the end. Sorry for being late, missed this one for some reason. Smacked wrists, must try harder.
I have some easter egg moulds, some from my own childhood and some new. Can't wait till Jamie is old enough/intrested enough to make some. You can get them from Steamer Traiding by the way, and ones for making chocolates. Mum used to soak raisins and cherries in booze for months and then we would make chocs at christmas, ummmm. Why don't I do that anymore...?
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