I was in the town with my mother the other day and she suggested going into Woolworths to look at the reduced stuff. Half the store was already blocked off and empty. The place was full of people scouring the shelves for a few pre-Christmas bargains but it felt like we were all picking over the carcass of a dead animal. I felt quite stifled and repulsed and had to get out. Our little Woolworths was somewhere I shopped quite frequently because there is nowhere else quite like it, certainly not here. Ok so Tesco do a lot of the same stuff but it is a two mile hike down there and I could do Woolworths on my way home from work, or on a walk to town, far more easily. At the end of November it’s always been first port of call for little things to stuff in the pockets of the advent calendar, in the summer the little garden centre bit helped me find odd and sods for the garden without having to go out of town for the full garden centre works, and I could always be sure of getting a banana or shrimp fix in the pick’n’mix if the mood came upon me. I have been to Woolies for all sorts of everyday stuff from last minute birthday presents to bowls for the cat to eat out of, fabric dye to fairy lights, seeds for the garden to sweets for a rainy day. I bought my little cherry tree from Woolies several years ago and it is established and frothy with snowy blossom in the spring. A couple of years ago when we were trying to create some outdoor lights I managed to get some utensil holders in Woolies which we nailed onto posts and put tea lights in them. This year we needed to replace a knackered garden bench and toddled off to Woolies to get a small cheap one because the garden centre ones were either to big or too pricey. I always knew I could find something in there and I shall miss the familiarity and reassurance of its presence.