It's been a month since the long-awaited Countdown Awapuni opened and this was my first visit.
The new traffic lights beckon me in and I plump for the smaller trolley. It's green, lightweight and so easy to push. As Santana would say, so smooth.
A sign on the handle tells me I'm pushing 74 former milk bottles and off I go to buy one bottle of yellow top.
The aerial photo of the awa in the entranceway is a great way to provide a connection to the suburb. Mayor Grant Smith is referred to as the Honourable on the opening plaque. Being a Palmy boy I'm sure he won't let it go to his head.
The first thing I noticed inside were the signs - they are BIG. As well as locational signs there are educational ones such as herb matches and what differently coloured capsicums mean taste-wise. I love the vertical vegetable display.
Bananas weren't on my list so I didn't have to go through the pondering about where to put them, least I send the wrong signal. Does anyone else still worry about that?
More chilled products than usual are behind energy-saving doors, which are so easy to open.
There's also plenty of space between shelves to help with physical distancing.
The alcohol section, called The Cellar, is out of the way and easily avoided. Cheers to that.
Cheers too to the "newsstands" promising information, entertainment, business and weather. Buy newspapers people!
Surprisingly, I got all 15 items on my list and not too many extras. I couldn't go past the raspberries - surely the food of all deities.
I'd hardly started unloading my items when the checkout operator was asking how I was. At the end of the transaction, she wished me a lovely evening. I spied some seats at the end of the checkouts and I popped myself down ostensibly to rest my weary legs but really to make some notes. Plus, there was another photo of the awa to admire.
Despite my need for sustenance, I couldn't find many recommendations. The young man stacking shelves with his black mask below his nose certainly didn't impress. The carpark - at least where Helen put herself - was on a slope and I had to hold on to the trolley.
Growing up on dairy farms, going to what my brother called the oupmama wasn't an everyday occurrence. I can remember the sloping Self Help counter - no moving parts in those days. I was always an asset to Gran when she went to Write Price in the days when you wrote the price on each item. Try as I might, I'd always get blue felt on my hands.
At boarding school we were allowed to the supermarket on a Friday after school. I'd always buy salt and vinegar chips and savour not having to share them with my brother.
Maybe I don't get out enough but going to Awapuni Countdown was exciting. But before I beat myself with a wooden spoon, our reliance on supermarkets and the supply chain has never been in greater focus. Let's take our joy where we can.
