Friday 29 November 2013

Has the world gone completely mad?

or does this happen every year as soon as December approaches?

Today has been that terrible thing here in the UK "Black Friday", whatever that means (can anyone enlighten me?).  Pictures on the six o'clock news show shoppers in Asda being pushed and shoved and falling over in their rush to get to the check-out.   One elderly lady with a broken wrist as a result.   And all just to get 'cheaper' televisions, food, fancy goods, anything for Christmas really.

And that is really the fly in the ointment - Christmas looms and the whole world seems to go mad with shopping frenzy.

Friday is market day here in our little town but whenever it is cold and damp and windy the market is much reduced.  This is because our market square is very exposed and no one in their right mind would spend time browsing on market stalls today as the wind whistled across the square.

So I went into the supermarket to do my little bit of 'top up' shopping - a few fresh vegetables and one or two perishables for the weekend table.   And the shopping frenzy was just as bad in there.

Could I please tell all the folk out there that it is not even December yet - the shops are not going to go away.   Let's all be reasonable, take our time, relax and enjoy the build up to Christmas - not go at it like demented earwigs.

18 comments:

Heather said...

Yes Pat, the world has gone mad. We seem to have lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas, and it isn't anything to do with getting a bargain. Some people have no thought or respect for others in their frenzy to get what they want. It makes you ashamed to be one of the same species.

Barbara said...

I must agree with you, Pat. The world has gone mad...and the whole Black Friday/Christmas rush just makes everything so much worse.
Demented earwigs---that's about the size of it!
I'm thinking of hiding out or maybe hibernating until after New Years.

tilly said...

Black Friday is an American event that suddenly seems to have taken off over here.... maybe with Asda being owned by Walmart (American)....
I cannot understand why people act this way... shops were closed for a week when I was small, no fridges, no panic buying, but we never went hungry AND half of it did not end up in the bin!!!!
Tilly

John Going Gently said...

Didn't see much in our telcos today......except my arse
( see tomorrow's blog) Xcode

Sandy said...

Sorry to hear "Black Friday" has moved to the UK. Not all Americans are crazy about it here either. I, for one, have NEVER shopped on "Black Friday" or even over Thanksgiving weekend. Now the only time the all the malls and stores closed is on Christmas Day. I remember the blue laws in Ohio when stores were closed on Sunday. We would run to the store to make sure we had milk and the essentials for Sunday dinner the day before. Those days are long gone.

Anonymous said...

From what I understand, Black Friday is when shop/stores start to show a profit from their sales for the year. But it has changed into a buying frenzy for "super great deals" for Christmas shopping. It is stupid, stupid, stupid.
Sandy O' @ My Yellow Swing

George said...

Yes, Pat, the world has gone completely mad, and, like most epidemics of madness, the "Black Friday" madness originated in the U.S. We have a habit of exporting the worst of our culture.

By the way, it's called "Black Friday" because businesses argue that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the first day of the year when there books go into the black, i.e., show a profit. Increasingly, however, the black represents the bruises that people incur as they trample over one another is the wild pursuit of bargains for material bounty. It's a sad commentary on the American Thanksgiving, one that opens the door for a wave of hypocrisy that will not recede until well after the new year.

Cloudia said...

Once again you have my enthusiastic vote! AYE!




ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^= <3

Anonymous said...

Hope it never comes to Australia!
Our form of madness seems to be Christmas shopping in extreme heat and on Christmas Day cooking a traditional Christmas roast and pudding in sweltering weather.
Our January sales sound reasonably civilized in comparison to what you've described in your post.

Canadian Chickadee said...

It was Black Friday here in Seattle too, today, but a very quiet day for the most part. Of course there was a very big important (?) football game in town today, which drew a crowd of around 70,000 people, which may be why the stores and streets stayed so clear. But I did my normal Friday errands, and never stood in line anywhere, not even at the post office. Most exhilarating, not to mention surprising. My daughter is of the opinion that perhaps people have simply had enough of the madness and are waiting 'til after Dec. 1st to start thinking about Christmas. I hope that's the case anyway. It would be nice to keep the frenzy down to a managable roar this year!! xoxo

Edwina said...

I simply don't understand this 'frenzy' that people get into, and have never ever got stressed out over Christmas. That may have something to do with the fact it was only ever the four of us, and now only the two of us, but even so I just don't see the point in running yourself ragged. It's not as if the shops are closed for a week is it? There is just so much greed out there, so much wanting everything and wanting it now no matter the cost financially or to others that it makes me sick. Christmas should be a time for relaxing with family, or friends, or both. Or if you enjoy being just the two of you, like us, for pulling up the drawbridge for a few days, hunkering down with new books, a new jigsaw, a new craft project to start, silly films to watch and nice food to eat with the odd treat. And if you can, for giving to those less fortunate. End of rant... sorry.

Dominic Rivron said...

I've never, to my knowledge, seen a demented earwig.

The term gets only 66 hits on a Google search - that suggests not many other people have, either.

Twiggy said...

I agree, do you know what I bought on Black Friday? Absolutely nothing !
Twiggy

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Yes, it's gone mad alright. Most of the trouble was caused by people wanting to buy TVs. There's nothing on anyway!

ArtPropelled said...

The Christmas frenzy puts me off every year and it seems to be getting worse. I saw Santas and reindeer in September and heard carols in the supermarket at the beginning of October. I don't think we've experienced Black Friday here but give it time.

Gwil W said...


Pat, all the world's a stage and many enjoy the comedy of pre-Christmas even if it is a tragic_comedy.

The electricity guzzling xmas tree with its thousand lightbulbs has already been standing for 3 1/2 weeks outside city hall and we're haven't got into December yet!

The Weaver of Grass said...

To answer Dominic (made out of words) demented earwigs are very rare and you really have to keep your eyes open in order to see one.
Re everyone else who has been good enough to answer, it is good to know that we all feel the same. Perhaps it is something to do with our age!

Dominic Rivron said...

How would you know if an earwig you saw was demented?