It was a case of checking out the check out girl before choosing which aisle to pop your groceries through.
I admit we were not buying the healthiest food. We were catering for an event and there was a good supply of things that were crumbed or too sweet or too full of unpronounceable preservatives. Am I the only person who feels a little self conscious at times when I grocery shop and my trolley is less than something Jenny Craig might approve of?
Because inevitably, it is at those times when chocolate bars are half price and that practical shopper in you pops in two, that you bump into people best avoided. And of course the people you bump into do not seem to wear just-popping-down-to-the-store-and-hoping-not-to-bump-into-anyone clothes. These people look either fabulous all the time or may be just a little bit sweaty in their gym clothes due to their intensive daily workouts.
And as we chat, our eyes glance into their trolley, there revealing that they are also healthy on the inside. It is then that you want to do a quick re-arrange of your own trolley, hiding anything slightly unhealthy that may be visible. You find yourself wanting to make a quick excuse for those rare treats that must have fallen in by some catastrophe, but feel that the less said the better.
Having run the grocery gauntlet, you have yet to make a hasty exit past the eyes of the checkout operator, some of whom may also wear lycra when they shop.
Again I find myself wanting to explain that it's a birthday or a family celebration. You want to chastise the supermarket for putting chocolates out at half price. You want to explain that your husband has a sore throat and icecream just might cool it.
I err on the side of discretion, keeping my eyes down and fidgeting with the bags and my credit cards as a clever diversion.
But not this time. This time our checkout operator had an opinion. There was no eyes down for her. She commented on the crumbed goods. She commented on the two bars of chocolate. She commented on the sweet drinks. Even the juice (100 per cent freshly squeezed) did not pass muster. Who knew there was so much sugar in fruit?
I have decided to choose her again next time. She may save me a fortune with Jenny Craig - and on half priced chocolate.