Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Food for thought on the phone

There has been a long string of phone calls to the house tonight but the one that stands out was one of those calls from market research companies trying to build a profile of my shopping behaviour. I guess I wasn't much help.

After asking if I could spare a few minutes to answer a few questions, I was asked, "Where do you do your food shopping." "We don't," I replied. "We grow our own food." Silence for a few moments. "I guess you've not had that answer before!" I continued, successfully breaking the awkward silence that had met my answer. He admitted it was a new answer to him.

I was asked a few more questions about my buying activities.

"Where do we buy bread?" - Answer: "We make our own."

"Where do we buy clothes?" - That was a bit more challenging. I rarely buy clothes these days. The last time I went clothes shopping was just before Conference last year. House of Fraser, Victoria St, was therefore my considered reply.

"Where do we buy books?" Amazon (and Waterstones).

So, all in all, I'm not sure, after answering a whole range of questions, whether or not there was a category into which my retail activities could fit me.

Or maybe I am about to be hit by lots of offers for books from Amazon about growing your own food whilst shopping for clothes in a store over 400km away from home! I wonder if someone has written such a book. Well, that's food for thought!

Meanwhile, I am pleased to say that I have just completed and circulated the pre-Conference edition of the Northern Democrat. It comes hot on the heals of Parliamentary Campaigner which I finished over the weekend.

I was planning tonight to write my speech for a motion on highspeed rail I am moving at Gateshead Council tomorrow but I think I'll have a cup of tea instead, leave the speechifying til tomorrow and go to bed.

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