Trolley Rage – Bitch If You Do, Bitch If You Don’t

Are people just crosser than they used to be? Having already run the gauntlet against white van man on the way back from the school run it would be nice to think my encounters with obnoxious and aggressive fellow citizens were over for the day but one false move in the aisles of the local supermarket and you can be sure they’ll start all over again.

What is it about getting your hands on a supermarket trolley that makes it ok to invade peoples’ personal space? Not only are you faced with tuts, obscenities and constant clipping of your ankles by your fellow shoppers wherever you may roam, once you successfully navigate your way to the checkout they quite happily shove your own trolley firmly into your lower leg as they unload their shopping behind you and rather than apologise, persist in simply shoving you forwards into the arms of the spotty Dixons salesman paying for his sarnie in front.

Take a second too long to browse the cereal selection and bossy menopausal lady will tut and shove your trolley out of the way, knocking over a passing toddler in the process. This happened to me the first time I ventured to the supermarket with my firstborn, just a couple of weeks old and strapped happily (well, he didn’t complain anyway, unless that’s what all that screaming was about) onto the top of the trolley.  Turned my back to reach for a bag of Braeburns and turned back to find he’d gone. A frantic few seconds followed, which felt like an eternity, before I discovered that bossy menopausal lady had in fact wheeled him out of the way and round the corner of the aisle just so she could get easier access to her fruit and veg. Seriously?

And don’t’ even get me started about trolley rage at Christmas. As always I faced my fair share of run-ins this year when confronted with stressed-out shoppers but pity the poor man who found himself hospitalised with a broken hip, wrist and other minor injuries after interrupting the flow of a boisterous, bargain-hunting bitch in Bromley just days before the big day.

Let’s face it. Supermarket shopping is a chore at best and torture at worst. Why make it any harder than it is?