[wraymond]

I wouldn’t want to denigrate the Coop, the history is noble and it has a different ethos to its competitors. The phrase ‘pile it high – sell it cheap’ is not really the best recommendation, is it!

Then, when you see the extent of their operation and their altruistic business dealings with other entities, it sort of takes on a rather different light. Once, it was the only one and served us rather well. Now it has lost its market penetration and some of its appeal but a pound or two on each trolley is a cheap price to pay for the continuing tradition.

They also these days give school leavers and young workers a good grounding in the brave new world of work that follows education. We all ‘need a start’ and the Coop is a good starting point to learn charitable principles.

For me, anyway, a pound or two amounts to payback for my eyes-wide-open childhood introduction to open biscuit tins, canisters sailing across the tramlines in the air to cross the sales floor and the white marble counters with the irresistible smell of loose butter, corned beef and Spam. Oh boy, my keyboard is getting rather damp.