"Bare shelves in Coventry and Nuneaton supermarkets as coronavirus fears surge"

[dutchman]

I've always got a few soup sachets in Dutchman. Perfect if ill, but also good for stew bases.

I had a cupboard full a few weeks ago Rebbonk but I stopped buying them when the price shot up. Have only a few left now.

[rebbonk]

Oddly enough, apart from cup of soup prices, normal packet soup prices in Tesco don't seem to have moved. And whilst people were panic buying cans of soup they didn't seem to be touching the packets. - Maybe too lazy to make them up?

[dutchman]

I stock up on individual sachets when they're on two-for-the-price-of-one offer but not any other time.

The toilet roll shelves at Morrisons were almost full. The only ones missing were speciality types such as Aloe Vera.

Frozen fish availability is still a bit patchy but beer is mercifully plentiful.

[rebbonk]

I've not struggled for alcohol at all, though on one occasion the shelves were very depleted. But then again, I'm not that fussy what I drink.

Whilst the supermarkets have had a good few weeks, I think they'll now be in for a much leaner time as people start using the stocks they've bought, and their credit card bills come in.

According to a contact of mine, (supermarket manager) this time next year will be very interesting, as stock ordering is largely automated and is heavily influenced by the previous year's sales. Bargains to be had as they rapidly try to shift excess stock?

[Melisandre]

Lol Rebbonk that's if there is any food next year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkL8WQozfOE

The reason some frozen fish is scarce as it's done in China Rebbonk you might find this interesting too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6GqEpmn_Fk

[rebbonk]

Lol Rebbonk that's if there is any food next year.

Oh, he didn't mention food Melisandre, but he did mention that they will likely be awash with toilet rolls!

[Melisandre]

Rebbonk yes your right over there they use cotton cloths for the toilet and then wash them .

[rebbonk]

Today's dash round Arena Tesco raised alarms.

I took a mask and wore it, as did most other shoppers. Tesco was selling masks at £5/pack, I didn't check the quantity.

What worried me though, was the lack of cars in the car park. I'd estimate about 50% to what I have been seeing. Assuming I'm right, and that this is replicated across the country, Bozo has got things very wrong and we're going to see an even greater problem with shops. I suspect (from today) that masks are not making people feel safer, but are scaring them away.

Caveat. I only used Tesco and that was definitely quieter than it has been over recent weeks. I drove home past Lidl and that looked pretty quiet too.

[dutchman]

Reading a number of different repots, experience seems to vary greatly between one supermarket and another.

What I found was that the funneling of customers into narrow channels within the store largely nullified any benefit from mask-wearing.