Half day closing.

What a good idea. Time out for everyone.

I miss those quiet non-commercial Sundays. Nowadays the only times I have a sense of that, is twice a year I think, on Christmas days and Good Friday.

Yes what lovely peaceful days.

Those were the days. When we were children, we were only allowed to play in the garden on a Sunday. We were not allowed to go to the park! My Methodist parents took us to Church in the morning and we went to Sunday School in the afternoon. Every shop in our small town closed, even the paper shop. It was eerily quiet, and of course there was very little traffic then.
Where I now live, we have half day closing on a Wednesday. Only the Co-op, Sainsbury's and the Post Office remain open.

Sigh... The world has changed. I know we have to change with it. I remember those days fondly. Then I Remember how I hated my birthday falling on a good Friday and everything including the pub being shut(I was young and it was important then) I do think Sunday openings changed some families lives. It was a quiet day for relaxing, visiting relatives and eating together. Going to church. It still is for some, but it's often the busiest day in my local supermarket. I feel particularly sorry for those who work in retailing. I don't suppose they even get double pay now. Sunday's have been absorbed into the working week for some people.

Yes - I remember half day closing, and it might be a good thing if it still existed - the rush to spend, spend, spend, and to have shopping as an end in itself is not healthy to my boring old fart mind.

I am just getting my head round the idea that shops are open on a Sunday. I do most of my grocery shopping online and at the shop in the next village (which closes on Saturday afternoon and all say Sunday). I am just cottoning on to the fact that my offspring do their shopping on a Sunday.

A bit of a high pressure situation for the shop staff I would think.

I do miss those days, those peaceful Wednesday afternoons and Sundays. People didn't seem to have much trouble making sure they did their shopping within the restricted 9-5.30 opening times. It's all about being organised, planning ahead. Now we don't have to. If we feel like making a cake at 7.00 on a Saturday evening and find we're missing a vital ingredient, no problem, just pop out to the local supermarket. It has made us lazy minded I think.
Of course, I do realise that years ago many women didn't go out to work, so they were free to shop during the day. My mother went shopping almost daily, walking the mile and a half into town to save bus fares, then getting the bus home with two full and very heavy shopping bags. That was the reality of catering for a family of six with no freezer!

Yes, I remember half day closing it doesn't seem that long ago !
Weren't all the fishmongers (wet fish shops) always closed on a Monday too?
I think I remember the fish and chip shop also always being closed on a Monday as well in my childhood.

I miss quiet Sunday's ! But playing devils advocate when I worked I often did shopping on a Sunday and was hugely grateful to all those people who work and make that possible.

Now it's rare I shop at the weekend. It's always so busy and the traffic can be bad so I do what I need to during the week and enjoy Sunday's for friends and families.

When I was 14 I would have sold my soul for what we have now. Funny how things change.