There are some interesting twists behind last night’s meal.

Firstly I am not positioning blame on any single person for the following:

I was in Northern on Thursday afternoon; a new supply of produce must have come in [mixed in with the old stale stuff], there was some nice looking white mushrooms next to some whole portabellas next to some sliced portabellas.

I picked out a packet of the white and one of the whole portabella and off the check out for me.

The items were weighed and scanned and the total came up. The check out person [COP] looked at me waiting for the money to changed hands.

I looked at the total on the computer and at the COP, COP looked back at me as if to say, what ya waiting for.

I said to COP, that total must be wrong. COP hunches the shoulders, as if to say that is what the computer computed so pay up.

I said, 24 bucks for 4 portabella mushrooms does not sound right. COP scans again, same result. I looked unhappy so COP scans again, same result.

Help is sought from an office person [OP] near by. OP goes looking for further help, OP take some time, I am thinking of buggering off but the portabellas looked too good.

OP finely comes back and says something to the COP puts some info into the computer and up comes the new price of $3.69. I’ll take em I says.

On Friday Fran and I are in Northern again, Fran eyes off some nice looking asparagus. The label says ‘asparagus $14.99 a Kg’. I say if you want them go see how much for the bunch.

After the COP weighs and computes them Fran wanders back with the asparagus and says they are over 17 bucks.

This does not sound right, I take the asparagus back to COP and says how much did they weigh. COP says they did not know. So I ask for them to be put on the scale, up comes .456 Kg.

I say if the asparagus is priced at 14.99 a Kg and this lot weighs in at .456 Kg how can the total be 17 bucks.

COP shrugs shoulders again, yells out for the OP for assistance. OP does some looking and entering in the computer and up comes the new price of 7 bucks and change.

So that is how we came to have asparagus, two mushrooms with spuds and chicken slow cooked in white wine, ginger, red wine vinegar and hot peppers.

It is also a reason to always be alert at the checkouts, which I usually am but others are not or too trusting.