or at least, one of these:
You also had to
either finish your shopping before lunchtime….or wait until mid afternoon…….and
you could never shop on a Sunday.
Times are
changing……….
 |
| This can be seen in so many shops now |
But, I always thought I knew how I felt about these ….
Old lady
trolley shopping baskets.
The evidence is that they should no longer be known as old lady shopping trolleys....young, old, male & female seem to be everywhere with them.
My mum’s one was wicker work, with a walking stick handle.
I never thought the day would come when I
decided they are brilliant.
Hahah this is a great post mum!!
ReplyDeleteYes..but would you be prepared to walk down the street when I was pulling the spotty one behind me ?
DeleteI want a trolley too! We used to have miniature ones like your Mum had, so ideally would love a grown-up vintage one. I like the fact that shops in France shut at lunchtime and Sundays, with the exception of the trocs, which I think should be available whenever I happen to pass (it always seems to be lunchtime when we do...boo!)
ReplyDeletex
I have found it interesting to plan life around troc opening hours ! I remember hating my mother's basket on wheels...but would love to find one now. Jx
DeleteWell I've had one for a few years and they are great. However, mine is now gathering dust in the shed because I can't get it up the uneven surface of the lanes to the house. Perhaps I should search for one with heavy duty wheels...or a kind of 4-wheel drive trolley?
ReplyDeleteI love it.... a 4 wheel drive shopping basket... probably not environmentally friendly enough though, but it would make shopping trips easier. Jx
DeleteOh dear Janice, France is now going the way of the world. There were times when we drove through France in the middle of the day and wondered "what on earth are they up to" with their shuttered windows!!! and it wasn't even possible to buy fuel for the car. Think ahead was our slogan then.
ReplyDeleteSome of those trolleys actually look quite trendy.
The trolley market is certainly no longer just aimed at women over a certain age. The designs of some of them are completely crazy. As for changing shopping habits....more convenient, but, seems less French, but maybe that is just a pathetic old Brit being nostalgic for something that seemed quaint and different. Maybe my French neighbours are delighted that things are changing...this sounds like a possible conversation in the bar ! Jx
DeleteI recently bought a wicker one a lot like your mum's for taking my art materials around in. I saw someone using it and had to ask her where she got it (the Container Store..... very chic!) They haven't caught on over here for general shopping, at least not here in the suburbs where it's all cars and massive supermarkets, but I've seen women in business attire using smaller conservative ones as rolling briefcases which makes a lot of sense. The idea of lugging heavy suitcases around instead of rolling them seems so impractical now, change is often for the better..... but sad to think of France's idiosyncratic ways eroding. I want "abroad" to always feel foreign!
ReplyDeleteI know a few people who would love one of the wicker ones..so your plug for the place you got yours may be useful. I used to hate my mother's one....but would love it now.
DeleteAs for French opening hours....I agree with you about wanting abroad to be different.....but feel as if its just a matter of time before everywhere is open 24 hours a day !
Dash it all, Janice! You beat me to this post!!! And to the purchase of a shopping trolley too. I have been secretly coveting one, trying to convince myself that they were chic and definitely necessary.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post, it made me laugh out loud as soon as I saw it - and it's absolutely spot on, just like your trolley.
Axxx
Have you avoided buying one so far, because, like me, they made you think of little old ladies who cant manage their shopping bags anymore, or worse still.....have been told not to drive any more because they are a danger to all around them ? I am changing the way I think.....and it came into its own last weekend at a vide grenier. I had it filled with useless treasures in no time at all, and then it was so easy just to wheel it back to the car. Jxxx
DeleteAbsolugely, Janice - I really wanted one but felt I wasn't quite 'mature' enough just yet. But if you've got one, I want one too. Ax
DeleteDamn this laptop! Absolutely, is of course what I meant. What an ugly word 'absolugely' is! Ax
DeleteJoin the club!
ReplyDeleteWhat else would the stylish teacher (usually of a certain age) use to carry her piles of school books in? ;o)
I think I was too vain ( and too protective of my image of myself as youthful)to have used one when I was teaching nearly 30 years ago, but I like to think that I would now...what a brilliant idea. I wonder if I'll be able to persuade my soon to be a student teacher daughter that this is the way forward. Jx
DeleteI used to curse these trolleys when trying to get to the veg stall on the local market...gaggles of women with these blasted things blocked every access while enjoying their weekly gossip.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I see lawyers' clerks using the things to wheel their masters' files into court....
No, they are not for me. They turn over like turtles beseeching the arrival of prey at every curb or change of pavement level, wrenching my wrist...it's the rucksack for me.
I do understand the frustration, but I think I maybe a convert. I have never been a rucksack carrier, and now I recognise that I'm not good at carrying heavy weights in pretty little baskets over my arm, well, as I say, I maybe a convert. Jx
DeleteThis was a great post....something I never really thought about. All our stores are open here 7 days a week and some are 24 hours/7 days.
ReplyDeleteYes, France has always had interesting shopping hours...but it does seem to be moving to what we consider to be more normal shopping hours in some places.
DeleteAbout 20 years, I took our younger daughter Katy and a friend shopping at Oak Brook shopping center, which is one of the premier outdoor shopping malls in the Chicago area. I let them go their way, I wandered around on my own and came upon a wicker cart just like your mum's. I had to have it, not for shopping, but, for the garden. Bought it, wheeled it around a few other stores, filing it with a few items I bought, and headed back to where the girls and I were to meet. It was a little squeaky, but, worked splendidly. I got to the spot, couldn't see the girls, and leaned over a rail. There was Katy, looking up, saying to her friend "See. I told you that was my mom with something new making all that noise walking through the center". I still have it. Need to dig it out for the garden. Katy still teases me about it.
ReplyDeleteI love yours and loved this post. Enjoy it, Janice. They are so practical, especially if you are walking a lot when shopping.
This is a lovely story Penny. I used to hate my mother's basket on wheels, and she used to make me use it when I ran errands for her...but it was incredibly sensible, and I would love to have it now. Jx
DeleteNo longer for old ladies, are they? We bought our first one recently, purple spots, to go around the local farmer's market. And it is really good - but I would sooooo love a wicker one like your Mum's...it is very, very stylish!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a wicker one now. I wonder what happened to my mother's.....long gone I'm afraid. Jx
DeleteHaha, I used to hate those "old lady" trolleys too, till I spent 2 months in a hilly Spanish village inaccessible to cars -- the trolley was invaluable for getting shopping home up the hill! I have the number 2 in your post, but with an extra set of straps for carrying it on your shoulder.
ReplyDeleteSmall village shops in France normally are open on a Sunday morning, but it used to be that by law supermarkets could only open a few Sundays a year. I'm not at all keen on them opening regularly on Sundays. Not coincidentally, our only village shop recently closed down.
It is going to come into its own when I am able to bring all the things I have forgotten from the supermarket shop, up the hill to our house, from the little Vival that has opened at the bottom of the hill. J.
DeleteWhat fun, Janice. I can't say I remember seeing very many shopping trolleys around in our little local market towns lats year, but a lot can change in 9 months. I'll be on the lookout for them when we do our first big shop. :-) I can't see myself getting one though, as we have to drive to the shops all the time, the little shop in our commune having closed several years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt's been interesting to watch opening hours gradually changing over the 10 years we've had our French house. 10 years ago the local SuperU closed for lunch every day. A few years later it started opening over lunchtime on market day (Friday) and this was followed by Saturday all-day opening. Last year we found that lunchtime closing was gone for good, but it was still firmly closed on Sundays. Who knows what this year will bring? :-)
Honestly, the Saturday veg market in Carcassonne was heaving with them last week. I stood by the central fountain for about 4 minutes, and took photos of about 15 of them, and could have taken more. It will be interesting to see if they have made their way to Normandy for this year . Jx
DeleteI've got one too and it's bright green.
ReplyDeleteExcellent. I had trouble choosing a colour and pattern, once I had made the decision to have one. J
DeleteOh .. I love the wicker one too. I still have my original shopping basket. I think the 'old lady' trolleys are making a comeback these days due to smart shoppers shopping at farmers markets instead of the big supermarkets. I think I even saw a post somewhere about how to give an old one a new lease of life. Happy shopping girl! Hugs Sue
ReplyDeleteThey do seem a a sensible option for buying more at local suppliers, rather than supermarkets. I may need one in Yorkshire too ! Jx
DeleteAlways considered getting one of these when i was teaching---but resisted.Now i am seriously considering one to carry all my camera gear in.Have you seen any camouflaged ones Janice?I have recently purchased a bucket seat which i use when sitting for long periods bird watching--it has a camouflaged padded swivel seat.So i would be all accessorised with a shopper!
ReplyDeleteThis post was really interesting to read.As always i love the colour images you give us. x Maria
I have seen camouflage patterns on some Maria...so they must be available somewhere. You really will be a very well coordinated photographer ! Jx
DeleteI am resisting these even when "Bargain Hunting", but feel much better about them after reading this post & the comments. I think the trick may be to start using one at a youthful 50, instead of waiting until over 60 when the little old lady look is harder to avoid!
ReplyDeleteIt really was very useful at the last vide grenier we went to Nilly, but I know what you mean. I feel as if I have been resisting them for some time.... but as we now know 60 is the new 40, or something like that, perhaps its ok...or does that mean we should wait until we are 70 ? J.
DeleteI, too, had a change of heart about these shopping baskets. Like yours, there are so many great colours and choices and all ages use them.
ReplyDeleteI am your new follower
Love your blog
Helen
Hello Helen, welcome ...it's good to hear from you. I have popped across to your blogs, and am fascinated....and will look in again ! I am very interested in seeing what the 3 of you get up to. J.
DeleteThe first basket and your Mom's trolley are the only two that I would give houseroom! When I use my wicker basket and it makes me feel very Miss Marple. (It was just the thing when I took it to a 40's event last summer!)
ReplyDeleteThere was something nice about non-shopping Sundays, although I can remember it being very frustrating at times.
I understand your reluctance to entertain owning..or even pulling one of these wheeled beasts. However, the aesthetic flaws and the association with being ancient can be put aside. I am living proof of that ! They are actually very useful, so my loathing has subsided. J.
DeleteI've never had a pull-along shopping basket and I hope I never will! But I do have a rather nice basket that has lasted for years and does the job. When we first moved here in 97 absolutely everything closed at midi - even the big supermarkets. Things have changed a lot since then. But we still have to warn British guests that if they don't get into town before 11 am they won't get everything done and will then have to wait for 2 hours before it all opens up again. But I like the more relaxed attitude - and they do stay open later in the evening. It's just a different culture and you have to get used to it.
ReplyDelete