Neil Gits Wafer Thick Ham

Off to the supermarket for this week’s blog ! My bi-weekly visit to Asda has long been a major highlight of my life since I ‘stopped being young’ and I can also be spotted in various branches of Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons and occasionally other big stores too whilst out & about, picking up those extra little items that my local one in my “gnome town” doesn’t stock. I know it may sound weird but I do actually enjoy my short stays perusing the aisles, despite not having the largest of budgets !

Alas, as life moves on, shopping gets more & more frustrating as much loved items are suddenly discontinued. This year we lost both Yorkie & Breakaway biscuit bars and I haven’t seen Club Fruit chocolate biscuits for a good while now. When I first moved into my own house, I almost used to live off Asda’s chocolate chip mousses, but it must be well over 25 years since I saw one of them anywhere and other regular staples of my diet were Bernard Matthews Turkey Drummers, Dalepak Chinese Ribsteaks and some other sort of breaded frozen treats with cheese & ham inside, all of which I’ve long since stopped hoping to find again one day in the freezers.

But the most depressing thing about food shopping these days is that while prices inevitably keep rising, the size and weight of packets or individual items keeps shrinking. How is a 25g packet of crisps meant to satisfy the urge for some nibbles ? When did Cadbury’s Fingers become about a third of the size of your thumb ? Who can manage to share a so-called “sharing bar” of 90g of chocolate ? And why do they think that we won’t notice what used to be a pack of 8 for £1 has quietly beocme a pack of 7 … and probably 6 soon too ?!

Last week when choosing some meat to go in my daily sandwiches for lunch, I noticed that Asda had some of their “Extra Special” ham reduced to the same price as the ‘regular’ stuff and picked up a packet of ” Thickly Carved Honey Roast Ham ” – I couldn’t believe it when I held it up to the light and could almost see right through the slices !! Five years ago that would have been labelled “Wafer Thin Ham” … I think the actual wafer thin pieces had floated away up into the roof of the store !!

You are now expecting me to link this blog to my show by mentioning a nice soul song that I heard on the in store radio aren’t you ? Wrong ! I normally zone out from it as I don’t know 90% of the modern music they play in there and the presenters in between are either babbling on about some celebrity I’ve never heard of or can’t even put together a sentence using proper English … but this month of course it is wall to wall bloody C*******s songs, which you have absolutely ZERO chance whatsoever of hearing on a Monday evening. Here is this week’s oasis of real music :

The Tunes – Monday 2nd December 2024

George Benson – Shiver
Linda Tillery – Secrets
Al Lindsey – Try Try
Leroy Hutson – Feel The Spirit
Leroy Hutson – All Because Of You
Paulette McWilliams – Tell Me You Love Me
Blue Moderne – Make Love To Me
Stevie Wonder – Creepin’
First Choice – Are You Ready For Me ?
Lillo Thomas – Sexy Girl
Michael Jackson – Rock With You (Reflex Revision)
Matumbi – Point Of View
Quartz feat Dina Carroll – It’s Too Late
52nd Street – I Can’t Let You Go
Five Star – Let Me Be The One
Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66 – Mas Que Nada
The Al Ur Pal Project ft Sofia Banga – Last Chance
Black Girl Singer – Riding With You
Kleeer – Intimate Connection
Al Green – Full Of Fire
Randy Brown – I’m Always In The Mood
Dynasty – I Don’t Wanna Be A Freak
Paul Randolph – Live Today

Feel free to get in touch with your soulful request or just for a mention on the show – put a post on “The Old Gits Soul Show” page on Facebook, text (01268)833978 or message me via e-mail : [email protected].

The Old Gits Soul Show is broadcast LIVE from 7pm–9pm every Monday, repeated on Saturday evening from 5pm–7pm, on Gateway 97.8FM in Basildon & East Thurrock and available nationally via the Radio Player on your TV as well as online via www.gateway978.com You can listen on your smart speaker or your phone too … plus you can hear it again anytime you like via the “Listen Again” button on the Gateway website – just search “Cool Soul” !