THURSDAY 19 OCTOBER - LITTLE BILL'S BROTHER BIG BILL

OK, I know it’s Thursday but I’m away tomorrow so I have had to bring forward my weekly shop by 24 hours. And it’s very quiet! Maybe I should come on a Thursday every week? I have a stinking cold so I am not at my most investigative, I’m afraid. Still, I did check out Little Bill’s enticing offer of £126 off my car insurance during the week. Unfortunately Little Bill forgot to tell his brother Big over in insurance about his offer as when I had dutifully filled in all the boxes my quote came back as £135 more than my current premium! 55% more! So much for Little Bill….. I assume to actually get cheaper insurance from Little Bill you have to be 50 something, working in financial services, living on the Isle of Mull, driving a Smart for not more than 1000 miles a year and keeping it in a garage overnight. Well, I’m none of those things, but I am an average sort of person, driving an average sort of car and living in an average sort of city so I would have thought Bill could have done better. I will not be beaten though! Sainsbury’s have lots of other leaflets offering yet more ‘cheap’ deals so I will try something else soon. Back to my shopping! I decided to buy a cake for my son’s birthday. He has a nut allergy, not too bad these days, but obviously I needed to be careful. Could I find a cake either without traces of nuts or one which might not be tainted by nuts during the manufacturing process? In a word, no. I find it very surprising that all the cakes, and there were at least a dozen, were, in theory anyway, unsuitable for my son to eat. How can a jam sponge cake be possibly tainted by nuts during the manufacturing process? The only thing I can think of is that the bakery where they are made is staffed by people who are completely nuts and who spend their time tainting the cakes! Anyway, I bought one as I’m sure it will be OK. I assume Sainsbury’s are so paranoic, paranoaic, parannoyic, worried about being sued they say all their cakes are risky to nut allergy sufferers just to be safe. This has to be overkill (or underkill really). I bought some more British bacon this week – on the top shelf with all the other ‘adult’ bacon – and, get this for a title … ‘Ultimate outdoor reared unsmoked British back bacon rashers’. No wonder its packaging was so big! I have nearly cracked the Nectar points puzzle. At the till I was told again that 500 points = £2.50 off, so as my points are now just over 2000 I can get £10 off anytime I choose. But there is one final question, and that is as you can deduct the value of the points every time you check out what happens if you have less than 500 points? Does the cashier ask you if you want to deduct the value of your points only to inwardly smirk as he or she deducts ….. nothing?! So, a little bit more investigation to do before Nectar points are put to bed. I’ve noticed on my bill (not so little this week, due to the cake) that some items have a * against them. Whatever can this mean? I’m on the case….. That’s about it for this week (snuffle, snuffle) but you might be interested to know that if you are 50 something, working in financial services, living on the Isle of Mull, driving a Smart for not more than 1000 miles a year and keeping it in a garage overnight it will cost you £139 to insure it with Sainsbury’s….. unless you know better.

Items bought 24
Cost £43.92
Cost per item £1.83
Checkout number 14
Nectar Points balance 2030