Women are best at everything, except...

DH refuses to join a queue where there is a man operating the till, says women are far faster. He will walk the whole length of the tills to find the attractive young one, as he claims she will be the quickest!

Totally agree about the lack of pockets and the way handbags are seen as joint storage. If I go out with just a small evening clutch bag, there are wails of 'where am I supposed to put my phone/keys/ wallet/glasses?'

I like the William Golding- thanks Coconut
As for the Matthew Norman article it strikes me as the usual- "Of course women are equal-but they can't do this!"
I've stood behind many men at supermarkets who not only don't have their card ready but are totally useless at packing their shopping away and realise after they have paid that they need another carrier bag! Are they all like that? Of course they're not.Speaking as a woman who always has her card ready this article is a load of tosh!

I hate that mad panic at the checkout when the operator whizzes things through at the speed of light, then you are expected to pack at the same speed! Which is why I generally use self service. The best thing about visiting my friend in America was that there was always someone there to pack your bags, even in the smallest of shops. Made shopping such a pleasure instead of a chore.

I love this !
Coconut; I love that too! Where did you find it?

Coconut, what a great man William Golding was!

Tongue firmly in cheek Norman, I think.
However, when shopping alone as we widows must, it is difficult to unpack at the conveyor belt, pack up into bags and then get card out of bag promptly as we have only one pair of hands.

I love this !

I seem to remember Bill Bryson making the same observation in one of his books - but it was only certain people, not the whole lot of us.

People on buses who don't have their Oyster cards/bus passes ready, or elsewhere, their money/purse, do irritate me. A long bus queue in Oxford, where dd lives, can take ages to board because of the 'unready' ones. Not all older ones, either! Often younger ones who've been glued to their phones.

I can't say I've ever been held up by anyone - male or female - rummaging in their bag/pockets for their cash/card. As someone else said, the most common reason for being held up is waiting while someone finishes packing their groceries. And this is usually because, if you're shopping on your own, it is nigh on impossible to keep up with the speed of the cashier sending things down the conveyer belt - a speed dictated by the targets set by head office of how many items must be scanned per minute.
I always have my card and loyalty card in my pocket, ready, and I always use contactless wherever possible to speed up the process even more

Oh dear Matthew Norman, a case of “never let the facts get in the way of a good story”.

But of course total tosh!
I think the only reason a man will join a queue of 20 men rather than one woman, is that he may feel out of his comfort zone - safety in numbers perhaps?
But then speaking as a Waitrose shopper, I use the “scan as you go” system so never queue at a checkout anyway.

Yes it's annoying when the "person" in front of you does not have their card ready, what is going through their mind as they see the queue ever dwindling? I get my card out when in the queue, and have it ready in a pocket or my hand. Also some people can then take ages packing and getting out of the way. They don't get their bags ready first. I think they must be just occasional shoppers.

Of course if it's disabled or older people struggling a bit, I would just smile and make a nice remark, as I don't want to make them more flustered.

In my experience both sexes can be guilty of this. Maybe it's noticable more with women as we do most of the shopping.

don’t put the divider down behind their shopping
Bellanonna: I don't mind that in the least. Often the leading edge of my shopping gets amongst the tail-end of there's causing great confusion then merriment! about payment..! It never works, but always a good, friendly conversation starter!
Keep your eyes open, especially at check-outs!

It just irritates men that they have to wait for women. They should move out of their way. We spend hours waiting for men, that's what we are supposed to do.

I let DH pack and I just stand with cards (you usually need loyalty as well as payment cards) and vouchers.

Bus

I never fumble about for a debit card. It’s temporarily in my pocket, then in my hand as the cashier brings up the final total.
I do get annoyed with people who take ages to settle their shopping once they have paid, still taking up to room on the counter. It’s also annoying when they don’t put the divider down behind their shopping and I have to reach forward for sometimes the only one.

My buss pass is always in my hand at the bus stop.

Brave man, Rufus! ?

Never stand in a queue as self scan means I don’t have to ?

Simple answer, I happily let my DH do the supermarket shopping and pay for, as his gender are so good at it!

On the other hand, when it comes to neatly packing the bags................

I agree about the pocket thing, also how many times are we handbag owners asked if there’s room for keys and wallets?

I have never noticed this phenomena. I always have my card ready to go into the machine, once I know the detail, and I cannot remember the last time I was held up in the queue because anyone, regardless of gender, was fumbling for their purse. If there is a holdup, it is usually, justifiably, elderly (usually) and infirm people who can only load their bags slowly, rather than those paying slowly.

Nfk exactly what I was thinking reading the OP The jacket I wear most has no pockets at all.
The only other option is to grip the card between your teeth. I don't thing the card reader would work with saliva added !

So, what about the chap in the bus queue.
He has usually been there a while, waiting, you know, for a bus.
While waiting, he has re-tied his shoelace, blown his nose, had a word about the weather with a fellow passenger, but, does he have his bus pass ready. No!
Then, surprise, surprise, what comes round the corner, a large vehicle, with a destination board and a number on the front.
It pulls in to the bus stop, and aforementioned chap boards.
Then, and only then, does he rummage in many and various pockets for said bus pass. Usually with success, swipes it and finds a seat.
Is this a rare occurrence, NO. It is every time.
Fellow bus users, I know this chap. He is my DH

The reason for this is simple Rufus, women have handbags and not decent sized pockets. If women’s garments were provided with handy pockets deep enough to take a purse we could dive straight in and locate said item in a flash. Instead, it is decreed by women’s clothes manufacturers in order that we should not be seen to be perfect, that only a tissue pocket be provided, and that we have to lug around large bags to carry all the stuff our menfolk don’t (but often need). Therefore the purse, being heavy with change, sinks to the bottom and has to be rifled for.

Rufus does this then cancel out that irritating habit that certain men have at traffic lights ie. ‘Oh look, it’s changed to green. Now remind me what that means? Find right gear, ok, engage clutch, release brake, check mirror...oops better adjust mirror, and off we go, just as they change back through amber to red! Pity the woman behind didn’t manage to get through too ....’