Another quick cuppa? Kettle’s on, mine’s a coconut tea.

Help yourself to a mince pie โ๏ธ
So what idle chatter do I have to share this time….
Alarmed by
The cost and rigmarole of spending a penny!
I recently spent some time in the lovely Lake District area of Cumbria and (like many othersย – who joined me in taking the picture below) was horrified at the cost to use a public loo. 50p and contactless only – no cash!
We’re in an entirely new world these days.
I remember fellow blogger Natty Travels had a similar experience in the Lakes and has shared this in one of her previous blog posts, she found public toilets that were even more expensive at a whopping ยฃ1.50
I think we can safely say we have a ‘cost of going to the loo crisis’ on our hands ๐

Public toilets in Windermere
I’ll post some Lake District posts later on.
Spotted

This quirky looking antiques shop in Skipton
There also seemed to be some sort of biking event in Skipton that day, with a parade of motorbikes and mopeds making their way up the main road:

A bird’s nest above a train line. Sturdy, but must be noisy when they’re trying to sleep!!
Did a Double Take on
The price tag on a Zara dress.
I tried on two sizes of the same dress – you know, to see which would fit better ๐ค
When I got to the till the sales assistant said “ยฃ49.99 please”. I questioned the price in case a mistake had been made – but she repeated this price. I told her the other size of the same dress had a cheaper price….she was unconvinced.
I went back to get the other dress I’d left in the fitting room – and it said ยฃ32.99 on the tag. I took it to her ๐
The sales assistant ended up calling her manager to deal with this bizzare scenario.
I quickly reminded them that there’s something under consumer rights – a clause about retailers being obliged to sell for the lower advertised price – even if they’ve made a mistake.
I was charged the lower price ๐
It turned out all the other identical dresses had mixed prices as well….on leaving the shop I noticed they’d all been removed.
At home I tried it on again, and ended up not really liking the dress as much as I thought. A week later I returned it to another branch – in a completely different part of the UK. All these dresses in this branch were priced ยฃ49.99 (so maybe I did get a lucky bargain, just a shame I didn’t want to keep it).

Same dress, different prices!
Took a curious look at
A lot of pink!
No – it’s not a dessert shop. It’s a fast food place and it’s all pink, I’m sure it turns many heads – it did mine!
If you like milkshakes you can have ‘The Moonwalker’, an ‘Amir Khan’ (designed by the man himself) or a ‘Holly Oaks’ (designed by the cast of the show) ๐
Burgers include the ‘Hot Chick’ ๐ and ‘The Daddy’
Sauces included ‘Good Sauce’ย ย No bad sauce though.
I tried the peri peri burger because it was the only chicken burger that was flame grilled and not fried. But there was way too much mayonnaise on it for me.

…..reminds me of Argos
and….
While we’re on the subject of food, it’s getting to that cold but cosy time of the year again – time for hearty warming dishes, like good old spaghetti & meatballs ๐

Home made winter warmer
I may have overdone it with the meatballs lol, not too long ago I opted for a yummy meatball starter, followed by a sauteed lamb dish at a Turkish restaurant – perfect winter food:
-2c temperatures have been forecast for parts of the UK for next week – so maybe winter’s coming early this year!!
Anyway, tea’s getting cold, time for a top up โ๏ธ
Enjoy the rest of the weekend and keep warm next week – depending on where you are ๐คโจ
ThingsHelenLoves
1.50 to use the loo! I hope they were immaculate, with beautiful hand soap and fancy towels haha! The term, ‘spend a penny; is truly outdated now. Although the term, ‘tap your card’ doesn’t have the same ring, does it?
Cherryl
No such luxuries helen ๐ and ‘tap your card’ really doesn’t have any ring at all. “spend all your pennies” might come a bit closer. Crazy times!!
Sheila Landry Designs
I loved this post. I would have liked to see a picture of the dress you took back. And wow on the minus two! We were at six this week and there was some frost in the mornings on the cars and grass. But this morning it was back up to about 15. We have only needed to use the heat once so far. But it is coming. I like winter, though.
Have a great weekend.
Cherryl
Thanks Sheila. I hope we get some decent snow in the UK this year lol, but as soon as we get a sprinkle everything will likely grind to a halt, hilarious ๐
Ellie Thompson
Lovely photos as always, Cherryl. The food looks delicious and very warming on a chilly autumn day. I’m not sure which part of the country will have those temperatures; I think it must be the north of the country, as here in the south, it’s going to be very mild this week but cooler, though not cold, next week. It’s a shame you decided not to keep the dress as you got it cheaper than the going price. At least you didn’t have to go too far to return it to the store. The cost of everything is astronomical these days, food, clothes, fuel, heating, etc., etc. And, of course, loos. Whatever happened to ‘spend a penny?’ Now, it’s ‘spend fifty pennies’, or more depending on where you are, it seems. Xx ๐บ๐
Cherryl
Lol, it would have been a great saving if I’d kept it but it just wasn’t for me in the end…..is didn’t hand nicely form the waist down/seemed line the material got thinner and looked out of synch with th top half – but look great from the waist up – weird. The joys of clothes shopping ๐
Yes, ‘spend fifty pennies’ wth?? Whatever next….
Awakening Wonders
Your adventures are always full of defining moments – great post!
Best fall wishes!
Cherryl
I’m glad you’re enjoying them, so far ๐ค
C
Omg the food though! Let’s not forget the price tag on the dresses.. everything is so expensive these days..
Ab
Those meals looks warm and hearty. Yum. With everything becoming so expensive out there, I do find it disgraceful that public toilets, emphasis on the word public, are charging people for their use. Whatโs this world coming to!
Cherryl
I was pretty gobsmacked by those prices too. In fact most places seem to be free these days – like big busy stations (that used to charge something like 20p years ago).
kimvannie876
The food looks really good, stay warm. I am glad you spoke up and got the lower price though in the end the item just wasn’t right.
Cherryl
Yes, it’s a shame about the dress after such an unexpected bargain lol ๐
kimvannie876
Indeed, there will be others…