I woke up on Wednesday (9th March, 2011), with a pancake hangover, belly distended from too much fried batter, head swimming from sugar and lemon excess and vague recollections of vowing to give up not one, but four unmentionables for Lent.
Namely ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury - the four big supermarket chains that dominate the market in the UK.
No next-day regrets though. In fact, far from regretting my pledge I felt the need to go further and have since banned myself from Waitrose, Co-op and Somerfield too.
With one in every seven pounds spent on the UK high street ending up in Tesco, the withdrawal of my custom won't make a jot of difference to these uber-chains, but my few pounds spent in the local greengrocer, newsagent and baker, might make a difference to these little and much-needed independent traders. That's the hope, and in the words of the giant 'every little helps'.
So, until Easter Sunday I'll be supermarket-free and making friends with the friendly local mongers and merchants of sunny Bristol.
Will it be possible? With an ASDA, Somerfield, Tesco and Sainsbury all within one mile of my house temptation to grab a few 'essentials' might be hard to resist.
Will I be able to afford it? The lure of three-for-two-cereal and BOGOF tinned tomatoes and all the other tricks that supermarkets use to reel us in could overwhelm me. My frugal northern instincts are to save, save, save over spend, spend, spend any day.
Will my health suffer or blossom? Without the option of buying a butternut squash on my way home from work will I just ditch the planned homemade soup and head down the chippy instead? Or, will my inability to buy a KitKat after 4pm on a Sunday give my health a boost?
Will I have the time or the planning skills? Loading up the panniers and heading over to the Indian supermarket for coconut milk or to the deli for olives means writing lists and planning my shopping trips.
Hmm. Lots to consider. In the meantime it's day seven and so far so good. I'll keep you informed on my progress...
