Trip Advisor vs People who eat in supermarkets

GOOD THING: TRIP ADVISOR

When it comes to booking a holiday, it's hard to see the wood for the trees. There are so many destinations and so many providers, and when you've made a decision about where you want to go, there are then hundreds of hotel options to choose from. That is why the Trip Advisor website is so fantastic. It's a site designed for and used by people all over the world who love travelling, and the advice it gives is independent and based on the opinions of people who have actually been there. So it's easy to see whether the description on a hotel's website matches the experiences of its guests, or whether it's a dank hole next door to a nightclub. You can also get answers to all sorts of specific questions in the forums, either by searching the posts or submitting your own question to see whether anyone replies. You might think that being a vegetarian tourist in Paris is close to impossible, but Trip Advisor users uncovered a long list of suitable eating establishments (well, we haven't been yet, but at least we have a place to start.) In a world where large corporations and marketing departments rule supreme, it's great to know that the power of public opinion still counts for something!

BAD THING: PEOPLE WHO EAT IN SUPERMARKETS

Supermarkets are for buying food and not eating it, but that simple distinction doesn't seem to stop some people from trying before they buy. The French seem to be worse for doing this (it's not unusual to see someone picking from a baguette or popping grapes into their mouth), but the trend has definitely drifted northwards.

The other day I saw a woman casually open a packet of biscuits she had in her trolley and start munching on a chocolate digestive; in the same afternoon I also saw a man eating a pre-packaged sandwich and a girl chugging on a bottle of ice-coffee. Why can't these people wait 15 minutes until they get beyond the till? Another phenomenon is people feeding their children food straight from the shelves; a little while ago I watched a woman take a box of Mini Milk ice-lollies from the freezer cabinet, take one out and give it to her 3 year-old daughter. At the checkout, another mother was in front of me, paying, and had to point out to the checkout man that her pre-pubescent daughter was drinking from a can of Cherry Coke. He then had to take the half-drunk can from the girl, scan it, and return it to her.

Apart from going against the basic laws of shopping (isn't it technically theft until you buy it?), it just looks really tacky. The mother of a friend of mine used to think it was 'common' to eat things in the street (this is a regular sight if you live anywhere near a Greggs bakery) - I wouldn't go that far, but there's something about snacking en route round the supermarket that just looks nasty. Eat something before you go shopping - then you won't feel the need to take a snack halfway through!