The Sales: not what they used to be

On Saturday I went to the sales. The Sales used to be a Big Thing twice a year and you could get some amazing bargains – people used to camp outside the department stores for days to grab stuff really cheaply. And most things were reduced. But now there are sales on all the time and most of what you get in the sale is the tat that didn’t sell before Christmas, and there’s a good reason it didn’t: ’cause it’s tat. I say this every January but I still go just in the hope that the old days of something worthwhile being there for a song might have come back. They haven’t, sadly. Admittedly, I’m two weeks later in going sales shopping than I should be.

There wasn’t much worth viewing in Covent Garden, things seem their usual pricey selves in the boutiques, and the chain stores have a lot of junk. Leather trousers are back in fashion and I’d like to get a smart pair, but the decent ones are not reduced. Oxford Street was surprisingly quiet. Debenhams has been refurbished and completely rearranged so, oddly, men’s stuff now on the first floor interrupts the women’s departments since the accessories, lingerie etc are now on the lower floor with a revamped café. Anyway, I had a gift voucher to spend so I bought a fleecy cardigan – boring but necessary!  One thing that’s amazing is the new sharp angled corner windows in the bedding department that give you a view all up and down Oxford Street.

The other stores are much the same as they always are. No bargain bags worth speaking of. The perfume that is reduced is being sold cheap for a good reason. Phew! St Christopher’s Place and South Molton Street just off Oxford Street are always nice to visit but not without a bulging purse.

I also like to treat myself to a bit of fancy food – well, actually, I just like wandering round the beautiful food halls. Selfridges, however, has just sacked its butcher for unhygienic practices and although I’m sure the new guys are fine, it does put you off. That, and not yet having quite got over the Mad Cheese Woman ten or so years ago. (By way of clarification, it was the woman who was mad, not the cheese.) I used to eat lots of fancy cheese once. The Mad Cheese Woman sold cheese in Selfridge’s food hall by day (she often served me) and was a crazed stalker by night. She was jailed and it still gives me the creeps. Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly is still beautiful but is just really expensive now (they didn’t use to be so costly) and to be honest some of their own blends of tea or marmalade or pickles are not all that great. So in the end I went to Harrods on a horribly packed, sweaty tube – ugh! It still has the best Food Halls and I did get some cheese at a good discount. People were going mad for French fancy cakes – I guess it was tea time. So sad to see the Fish Hall reduced to just a ghost of its former glory, though, with just one counter actually selling a small selection of fresh fish and prawns. The rest is food outlets. And the stunning fresh fish sculpture made every day with wet fish is gone. This is very sad. But in my view Mohammed Al Fayed turned the place into a fairground and the new Qatari owners really don’t care about the more unique, traditional aspects of the store. I was, very briefly, an employee there years and years ago, so it means something to see the special side of things dwindling. Oh well.

So not a very successful day, truthfully. But I may make it to lunch with friends next weekend or the weekend after.

Sue x

By the way, despite the cheese, weight is now 11 stone 9, a loss of 3 pounds since the last post. Bridget Jones says: good.