GOING TO...

...Heighley Gate for lunch today - with James who's on his way back from Brum. This will also give me an opportunity to stock up on stuff for the dogs as they have a reasonably good pet department there.

Mind you, I have a horrible feeling that when we get there we'll be faced with lots of Christmas stuff and I'm simply not ready for that yet.

It was the same in Boots yesterday - in fact I think they've just dragged out the stuff they had on their Christmas shelves last year. It looks exactly the same and only seems five minutes since it was last there. In fact, why don't shops just leave Christmas stuff out all year round,it hardly seems worth the effort of packing it away one week, only to be bringing it out again a month later.

Morrisons also have all their chocs, biscuits and Christmas puds out on display. Not that I could have got near these even if I'd wanted to because it was like a geriatric magnet for those who presumably have some doubt about even making it as far as December 25th and who are wanting to get stocked up now, just in case. Not that they would personally be able to consume such products of course, should their demise occur before the big day, but their grandchildren wouldn't go short. "Have another Werthers dear - I can't eat them. They play havoc with my false teeth."