There are worse places than Peterborough

You might have seen in the news recently that poor old Peterborough has been named as the worst place to live in the UK. That seems a bit harsh! We visited it yesterday and I can assure you that it's really not that bad. With  Mr Thorley’s birthday coming up, we were there to find him a present. The indoor shopping complex is like many others around the country, but it does have a lovely limestone floor that pleases us. 

First stop, as always, was John Lewis: not to buy anything, but to wander around the kitchen section. It's hilarious. There are so many ridiculous gadgets on sale for stupid prices. For £10 you can buy a giant pencil sharpener for peeling carrots, or some little hairnets to protect the cut surface of a lemon (should putting it upside-down on a plate be beyond you). For £12 you can buy tongs for extracting a boiled egg from a pan (in case you don't have any spoons). Or you could go wild and for £18 treat yourself to a self-tapping sieve. Say, what? Best of all, buy a JosephJoseph GoAvocado tool that 'cuts, de-stones and slices'. What, like a knife? We also saw an enormous, gleaming coffee-making machine. I’m sorry, but if you’ve got £2,000 to spend on making a coffee you have too much money. 

Of course we ended up in a bookshop. Anyone else bemused by the success of Pinch of Nom? Apart from anything else, it's a stupid title - and would you take slimming advice from these two women?

Anyway, we managed to have a largely satisfactory trip, marred only by the presence of a dog on the adjacent seat in the coffee shop. What is wrong with people?