Oatcakes & big brother is watching you.

It seems wherever we have lived we end up changing which supermarket we go to, preferring to shop at our nearest. 

In moving to Banbury we sort of had a choice but have opted for Sainsbury's. There are other supermarkets available!!!

We are all aware that such companies gather information about our shopping habits. This can be a little disconcerting to know so much information is held by such companies. 

So I should not have been surprised when a message came in on their app revealing a breakdown of our shopping habits since we moved here. It's amazing as it breaks down the number of total shops we have made. It tells us how much we spend on various areas from fruit and veg , dairy, bakery, household and cleaning. Then it told us our top three purchases through these weeks. 

But we laughed out loud to see that we are the number one buyers of Staffordshire Oatcakes in Banbury. They represent part of our past. For we had lived in the potteries at one stage for twelve  years and Oatcakes were part of the local culture. We could not believe it when we saw on the shelf packs of oatcakes which quickly ended up in our Banbury shopping trolley.  We were not able to buy them in Sheffield, though we were able to purchase 'Derbyshire Oatcakes'  which while okay, are most definitely not  Staffordshire. Sometimes old friends when visiting would bring us some but by and large we have for fourteen years been deprived of these family favourites.  So you can imagine our delight on seeing them on the shelf in Oxfordshire. These healthy oatcakes are so versatile, our daughters and now our grandchildren eat them up with cheese, bacon, mushrooms or just heated and rolled up. As we would say "whats not to like?" So we tend to buy them and freeze them in case they stop stocking them. Or are we buying them so the store keeps stocking them? Are there other ex pottery folk now living in the area buying them as well ?

The big question is 'Do we now have to keep our number one spot?' Will they tell us that someone else now has that position in the table? 

There is of course a more questionable side to this holding information on you. They see what you buy and make suggestions and offers for next time. Sometimes its fine because you want those products but sometimes there is a subtle  offer . 'Buy this pasta' and save 'ex amount' only when you look carefully on the shelves a similar product is actually cheaper. Whether it's being retired or the economic crisis, we are more careful in our purchases and also seek out to have as little packaging as possible. The trap is of course you end up buying because you think you are saving. But as Martin Lewis would say "It's only really a saving if you actually need it". 

Sadly we are now told that many people in January will find themselves in debt as they sort to have a good Christmas. This is nothing new but is now made worse by the cost of living crisis. Our buying of goods which we don't need fuels the pace of damage to a planet which can not sustain life if all we do is take from it. The more we allow ourselves to be manipulated by those who hold information about us the damage will continue. So while I will keep an eye on the app, and our offers, we will stay focussed on what we actually need - thankfully that does include oatcakes!!!!

Creator God

we give you thanks for the 

abundance of your creation.

It's rich diversity sustains life.

Help us then to cherish our planet,

to only use what we need,

to farm in a sustainable way,

and to share justly

that all might be fed. Amen       (c) Mark Goodhand 20th January 2023