'Bills that were big enough to be Williams'

The clearest thing I have noticed so far about 'going local' is that our shopping bills are so much smaller than before. Tiny in fact.   For weeks one and two and three, I have spent a quarter of what we spent for the equivalent weeks the month before...and we have still eaten, and well at that too.

Though I never bought ready meals before and have always cooked from scratch (though obviously jars of pesto and fish fingers do not count) I think maybe it is that the farm shops simply have less to sell than the miles and miles of supermarket shelves.   Less to choose from simply means less to buy.

Perhaps it is the different surroundings as well as the reduced choice that sharpens your awareness onto the things you actually are picking up and putting in your wicker basket/hessian bag (...I know) as opposed to flinging stuff into the trolly and paying by card.  

I know some people can be put off by shopping at farm shops because of the perceived extra expense, but its not always dearer (a word my wonderful grandma would have used)  In fact sometimes you can even bag a bargain, and do a local farmer or shop keeper a favour too.