Lately, I have been trying to buy more locally-grown fruits and vegetables in the market, as opposed to buying produce that is trucked or flown in.  This is for freshness reasons as well as for the rising fuel costs that are  driving food costs upwards.  Because England is such a small country and is in such close proximity to the Continent, I am unsure what counts as being local or too far.  For instance, East Anglian leeks are most definitely local, as we are in East Anglia.  Polish blueberries, however, are less local because Poland is a bit further afield than the next farm over.  It's closer than South Africa (where apples sometimes come from), though, and so I found myself in a dilemma this afternoon, as I was at the market and saw these beautiful blueberries.  I ended up buying them, and do not regret it. 

There are a few large supermarkets here, and they seem to have class distinctions attached to them.  There is Waitrose, where children are well-behaved, the produce is very nicely arranged and the atmosphere is generally civilized.  Mark's and Spencer is centrally located by the market, but though it is civilized, the produce is pricey and it does not offer as much variety in its food market and most of the food offered there is ready-made.  Sainsbury's is in the middle of town - prime real estate - and students, tourists, and others tend to shop there for its convenience.  It tends to be busy, and can be a frustrating experience because of the volume of people there at any time of the day.  Tesco is further out of town and this attracts more of the locals, though the children tend to be bratty and parents tend to be shouty.  It has a similar feel to Sainsbury's, in terms of busy atmosphere and type of food offered.  Finally, ASDA is the craziest of all, with aisles that seem to close in on you and bargains everywhere.  The produce isn't very fresh, and the offers tend to be designed to attract bulk-buying without much value (ie: 3 for £2... when one thing costs £.68, you end up saving only £.04).  I am also disturbed by the fact that I saw a pregnant woman buying a large amount of beer.  Sure, it could be for someone else, but it's still a disturbing image. 

People tend to rank the supermarkets according to socio-economic status (SES) with Waitrose and Marks being at the top, Sainsbury's and Tesco in the middle, and ASDA at the bottom of the barrel.  Out of curiosity, we have shopped at all these places and, with the exception of Marks, have found the prices comparable across the board.  So why shop at ASDA when you can get the same product - for the same amount, better quality, and a much more pleasant experience - at Waitrose? 

The open air market is another story.  I have found some stalls to be better than others in terms of service, and thankfully, the friendly veg people are the cheaper ones too.  Every once in a while, I experience a bit of something... I'm not sure what to call it - is it discrimination? Or worse... is it racism?  I like to believe that in this day and age, these things don't exist, but something does, and it's not pretty.  One day last week, I stood at a produce stall (it was not busy at all and I'm still not invisible), waiting to be served for a good 5 minutes, during which time the produce sellers looked straight at me, ignored me, and did not respond to my friendly 'hello, there' in an attempt to buy raspberries.  Another woman approached the stall and got immediate service.  That was when I realised they were not blind, nor were they deaf, and were practising blatant stupidity.  Geoff tried to intervene (and he's both tall and loud), but to no avail.  So I put the raspberries down and left in search of a friendlier vendor.  I don't think I am that demanding when it comes to service, but that was both surprising and hurtful to me.   I would have liked to have said something, but what (in a nice, tasteful way)do you say to someone who obviously doesn't want your business?  This is also one negative incident out of many many positive interactions I have had.  The guy around the corner is very nice, and his berries are better quality and cheaper.  Moral of this story is: don't buy from the vendors on the southeast corner of the market.  The guy with the prettier veg in the middle stall is both cheaper and has better stuff.