Eggs and Snack-A-Jacks

Every slimmer knows the immediate allure of the Snack-A-Jack rice crackers that are like fat free(ish) crisps, but nowhere near as good. I can only hope that the person responsible for this particular piece of randomisation is tucking heartily into a bag of caramel flavoured ones instead of the promised courgette frittata that they could have made with James Potter's (Yorkshire) free range eggs. I can only hope that with their last two quid, they took full advantage of the multibuy option, thereby saving forty pence (almost a whole bag).

Shopping List (Huge)

An Inland Revenue Tax Credits Office envelope was used to create this masterpiece. Biggest shopping list EVER! The envelope is so large it doesn't even properly fit on my A4 scanner!!

Immediately of note:

• Dual shop list - Featuring two lists for the price of one with certain items highlighted at each shop. Savings aplenty by buying cold meats and fruit and veg at Aldi, and sticking with the better items like Sainsbury's coffee - anyone who has drunk Aldi's "Alcafe" will sympathise with this reasoning.
• Random layout - The seemingly random placement of items like "Pasta" and the "x2" above pesto for no reason. Also the use of the hyphens seems a bit random. Note that the Aldi list has only one hyphen, but the Sainsbury's bit is hyphenated to separate items in the list on the same line, or indeed just to start a new line.
• Our milk - Please be more specific or you'll just end up with a six pinter of semi-skimmed.
• Bana - Obviously as you were writing banana, you were overcome with the desire to buy "peppers x1" and couldn't wait to write it down.
• Peppers x1 - That's singular. Pepper, please stipulate red or green, or even yellow or orange if you're feeling a bit way out.
• Sandwich meat - I love the use of the term "couple of hams etc" for no specific reason than it works brilliantly, especially the "etc" caveat at the end, which covers chicken, salami, beef, even turkey ham if you so wish.
• - (Breaded fish) - The only hyphenated item on the Aldi list and the only item that appears in parentheses. I just find that a bit weird.

Shopping List (Susan's Lunch)

Strangely, I'm more interested in shopping lists now than I am in snapping pictures of randomly shopped items in the supermarket. All these lists are found in supermarket car parks or in supermarket shopping trolleys or baskets.

Immediately of interest:

• Susan's lunch - I take it that the items on the list don't actually constitute the global term "Susan's lunch" and that the shopper must be very familiar with Susan's lunch so as to not have to actually itemise the required components.
• I love the correct use of the apostrophe in "Susan's". Good grammar throughout with good capitalisation.
• Gum - Chewing gum? Bubble gum? Spearmint? Peppermint? Too vague for my liking. Please be more specific. I hate not knowing what was required.
• Item 4 - Ham Biscuit box - Can't decide if this is Ham and separate item Biscuit box or whether I am misinterpreting the word Ham!?!?! Judging by the excellent use of grammar, you'll notice the capitalisation indicates two separate items.... All that remains is whether you wanted sweet biscuits or savoury biscuits for a cheese board.
• Cakes - Please be more specific!!
• Turkey crown + gammon - What a treat. Get some pineapple while you're there!!

Shopping List (forgetful?)

It's been a while since I've featured a shopping list, and it's been a while since I picked this particular one up.... I think it was from Sainsbury's but I couldn't hazard a guess at when it was.

Things of immediate interest:

• Lovely little notelet pad (lined and spiral bound).


• Great abbreviation of broccoli to "broc".


• The list is so bloody short that you have to wonder whether they ought to be including some fish or omega 3 capsules to help their brain function properly. I mean, come on, did it really warrant a list? Thankfully, it seemingly did!!

Jammy Donut Jammie Dodgers

Oddly enough, this random shopping crime scene is made extraordinary through the very fact that these jam-filled, store baked donuts, come in packs of four or more.......

It therefore beggars my belief that someone would simply opt to leave a single donut amongst the Mini Jammie Dodgers.....

More disturbing than the fact that someone has blatantly violated their multipack of deep fried, sugar coated pastries (or are they breads?) is the fact that my childhood nostalgic biscuit treats (the Jammie Dodger) has been sullied by being forced into:
a) Mini versions.
b) Berrilicious version!?!

Mexican and Marmite

A beautifully incompatible collection of goods thrown together by some deranged random shopper. Imagine.... Marmite.... peanut butter..... chilli style beans..... all washed down with an Old El Paso Mexican meal kit.

I can only hope that the shopper in question was a little light in their pocket, and decided that they couldn't afford the luxury of the spread you love or hate and/or the lovely SunPat Crunchy Peanut Butter..... as for the Chilli style beans...... I'd have thought it would have worked with the kit, but then maybe all the spices and stuff were included?

Hope it turned out ok for them.... personally, I'd have stuck with the Marmite and the P.B.

Mixed bag in Cat Biscuits

A rather eclectic mix abandoned amongst the pet products. I can only imagine that the items that are discarded are some sort of hangover cure, perhaps? There's a white bloomer (loaf of bread to the uninitiated; a pack of Co-op own brand paracetamol; some Ocean Spray Cranberry Classic juice.

I have to assume that the offending, hungover, random shopper's conscience was pricked when they realised they only had enough money left in their pockets to feed their animals, and they'd simply have to endure their headache after all.... either that or take a trip to a cash machine?

Note: I think that actually the card machines at the tills were not working and they were accepting cash only, so perhaps it was a panic stricken shopper who simply didn't have the means to pay for their shopping??

Biscuits and Ice Cream

A packet of morning coffee biscuits, unceremoniously ditched atop the Walls soft scoop vanilla ice cream (light).

It's particularly pleasing that:

a) The biscuits are Co-op's own brand.
b) This random shop actually should score negative points for actually increasing the shelf life of the randomly shopped item - biscuits in the freezer?? An infinite lifespan.
c) Vanilla ice cream LIGHT!! Don't make me laugh..... if you're looking for ice cream, no matter how you try, you're never gonna be a size zero.... just give it up.
d) Co-op random shopping features all too rarely.

Kebabs and Yoghurt

Flavoured chicken thigh kebabs?? Flavoured?? As opposed to the bland variety, perhaps? Anyhoo.... I love that someone has taken the time and trouble to queue up at the delicatessen counter to obtain this bag of flavoured kebabs, only to unceremoniously dump it amongst the organic yoghurts and fromage frais!! Kudos, random shopper!!

Lard and Apples

I like the contrast that this particular random shop provides. Lovely healthy fruit and veg corrupted by the unwelcome appearance of a block of lard! Lovely!! Reminds me of the episode of "Have I Got News For You" where Roy Hattersley's failure to appear resulted in him being replaced by a tub of lard.

Great Product

I can't think of any other reason than the fact that I've never found a better designed product than this, to actually go out of my way to post it on here. Suffice to say, I ate the whole box and I am still dancing!!

Shopping List (Skinny)

Unfortunately I always seem to start these items with the term "I love ..." This one should be no different, apart from the fact that now it doesn't, it begins "Unfortunately..." and I love that!!

What is great about this post-it-note based shopping list is the following list.... yes a whole list of brilliant things....

• It starts "weightwatchers tomato soup".... they're obviously on a diet, and that's presumably why they can manage to fit a shopping list onto a post-it-note.
• By the end of the very short list, the diet has gone out of the window, and we're into cream and "normal" soup!!
• I am left wondering whether I have only managed to find a single page of a multi-paged post-it-note based shopping list.
• The second occurrence of soup on the list is of a non-specified variety, and I like that a lot..... random soup!!
• It's true, good things really do come in small packages!!

Shopping list (abbreviations)

I love the keeper of this shopping list. Their abbreviations are great, and I spent a good while cracking their code.... F. Peas = frozen peas.... T.C.Toms = Tinned chopped tomatoes etc etc.... lots of fun. I particularly like the appearance on this list of "Fish?" - Can't make my mind up, but I'll put it on the list and see if anything takes my fancy..... I think judging by the amount of meat on their list they either need lots of fish or a colonic irrigation!! Note also the addition of the item "oven gloves" - how lovely!! I was worried that, because they didn't add "P.T.O." at the end of the list that they forgot "creme fraiche" and "tarragon" though!!

White Wine with Mayo

Oh, it's so classically Tescos. A bumper bargain jar of Hellman's mayo, dumped, unceremoniously, amongst the cheap Italian Pinot Grigot!! The amount of random shopping that occurs amongst the aisles full of booze are endless.... people must suddenly realise that they'd rather get slaughtered than make that giant chicken and mayonnaise sandwich after all.

Pepperoni and Muesli Bars

A bizarre combination right there. Fine sliced Italian salami sausage, ditched amongst the muesli bars.... you know the kind of bar.... they're meant to be healthy... they look healthy, they're packaged to look healthy, but they're chock full of enough calories and sugar and salt and fat to actually warrant them being labelled as "meal replacement" bars. I can only imagine that the lure of saving a quid on the "Kellog's multigrain oat bake choc" offer meant that they didn't really need a pizza or antipasti after all. I know which I would prefer.... if I wasn't vegetarian of course... in fact, I wouldn't want either!!

Handwash and Olive Oil

A Sainsbury's random shopping incident is quite rare. Their shelf stackers are far too diligent to allow this sort of behaviour to represent the norm at their stores. This incidence is pleasing in so much that both items are quite luxurious..... I mean, liquid hand soap (Pure Calm scented) and extra virgin olive oil?? A rich random shopper.....? I like the thought. One extra special feature of this shot is that, uncharacteristically for Sainsbury supermarkets, the olive oil actually appears to be in the wrong place (the shelf relates to "rich and fruity" brand, but that's not what's in the bottles).

Shopping list (mental).

This is one crazy assed shopping list. Not only did I find this shopping list on a public footpath in the middle of a field during a walk, but.... well, see for yourself. Not only is it a shopping list, but it's also a list of things NOT to buy..... Genius.... absolutely genius. I love the writer of this list, and their methodology more than they will ever know. God bless 'em, and look out for chillies.... they want some, but they don't want some..... if they spot this, they just might explode in the local Co-Op.

Paint roller and liquids.

I often wonder what on earth prompts the thought process of dropping an item of shopping so impulsively, this is no exception to that rule. You're suddenly walking down an aisle full of washing powders and fabric conditioners when you suddenly realise that you don't in fact need to paint the bedroom, what you really need to do is to wash the kids' school uniforms, and ensure that they smell like someone's thrashed them to within an inch of their lives with a lavender switch!!

Burgers and ?

I am not quite sure which items have been "randomly shopped" here, but I am sure there's some element of tomfoolery abound. To the best of my knowledge, the bagels, the fruit and malt loaves, and possibly even the soft flour tortillas are all on a special buy-one-get-one-for-free (BOGOF) offer. Undoubtedly, the speedy snacks flame grilled beef burgers (despite being labelled BOGOF) should be in a refrigerated compartment somewhere. Top marks to this random shopper for creating such confusion.

Shopping list (super)

Well, who is this posh bugger? Pinot Grigio? Pinenuts?? Liquid soap?? Brilliant, and I thought yuppies were a thing of the past!! I particularly like the way they start their list with "super" like they would forget to get their shopping from a supermarket otherwise!! Also worthy of note in this example, is the fact that the list was written on the back of a "1000 places to see before you die" tear off calendar. The date was for 28th August, and was Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic.