Shopping Spree in Hereford

Over lockdown I'd made a long list of things that I needed to buy in Hereford, when the shops were open again, and yesterday was the first chance I had to get there.

I'm not naturally a morning person, but I decided to take the early bus in (6.59am), which got me to the railway station at just after 8am.  I bought tickets for my upcoming holiday, and then headed into the town centre to see if any shops were open so early.

The newsagents was, and when the lad behind the counter saw the archaeology magazine I was buying, he took the opportunity to tell me all about the History Channel programme he'd seen about Ancient Aliens building the pyramids, and how he was convinced that Atlantis was actually somewhere under the Black Sea.*

I had gift vouchers for Marks & Spencers, which opens promptly at 8am, and I pretty much had the place to myself for browsing.  I also managed to get into Primark for cheap leggings and long-sleeved tshirts before a queue built up outside, so it was well worth getting up early.

I noticed a lot of empty shops, including famous names like Laura Ashley, Monsoon and Hotters shoes, and I was disappointed to find the shutters down on Cult Vintage - I was hoping to get some more vintage silk blouses.  However, they are not closed for good - just re-locating across the way to another empty shop, so I'm looking forward to them re-opening.  I did manage to get into Debenhams before they close down for good.

Another thing I really needed was a new alarm clock - after my old one broke I started using my travel alarm clock, but it has a very annoying tick.  Fortunately Hinds the jewellers had a perfect replacement, with a button on top to light up the clock face when you want to see the time in the middle of the night.  The girl who served me was looking forward to her first ComicCon - she had planned to go last year, but of course everything was cancelled.

There were a few stalls in the square, including Monkhide Wine.  I treated myself to a bottle of mead.  They also had Elderflower wine and fruit liqueurs.  The mead is delicious, and they have a website at www.monkhide.com

I came home laden with new clothes and most of the essential items on my list. I also couldn't resist popping into Waterstones, where I found the latest Becky Chambers book 'the galaxy, and the ground within', and the latest Rivers of London book What Abigail Did Last Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, so it was a pretty successful trip.

*Note: Ancient Aliens did not build the pyramids, and Atlantis is almost certainly not somewhere under the Black Sea.