Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think some large supermarkets should be open until 8pm

387 replies

jnfrrss · 15/04/2018 21:34

Fed up of getting back on a Sunday after a busy hetic weekend and having to do my shop at a Tesco garage.

There's three large supermarkets in my town and all close at 4pm on a Sunday. Why can't at least one do an evening shift?

After being used to Scottish shops it really sucks in England. Sunday evening would be perfect for me to do a shop. I just dont like online shopping either, but if they have to work Sunday late evenings why is it so different for the shop workers?

OP posts:
iBiscuit · 16/04/2018 10:41

Swings used to be padlocked on a Sunday

Not in England they didn't, to the best of my knowledge.

Happy it's about there being one day a week when most people are off, allowing friends and families to get together (or not, if they'd prefer) and ideally next to another day when most people don't have to work.

ICantCopeAnymore · 16/04/2018 10:45

Its about there being one day a week when most people are off

No they aren't.

allowing friends and families to get together

Apart from the ones that work Sundays

and ideally next to another day when most people don't have to work

Not most. Some.

By your logic then, what about the people who run the things that you go to with your friends and family on a Sunday? Cinema staff, bowling staff, park wardens, staff at events, publicans, waiting staff, chefs, nurses, teachers, drivers, etc.

brogueish · 16/04/2018 10:50

The restriction applies to square footage partly to give smaller shops a chance to compete against the big chains. It hasn't really worked because of the Sainsburys Locals, Tesco Express, etc, that can open longer hours than massive supermarkets, but I like the idea that independent shops were being a trading opportunity that large supermarkets didn't have.

Iggii · 16/04/2018 11:06

Ibiscuit - I typed “in some places” to give a clue that it was only in some places. I did not mention England.
Some posters are harking back to good old days and I think forgetting how many things have changed. Remember when pubs had to close in the afternoon every day for a bit? You could say about any of these changes that we managed in the past but it doesn’t mean we’d like to now. I managed before online shopping but I’m glad it’s here.

Original poster
jnfrrss · 16/04/2018 11:09

Why aren't some people campaigning to not open at midnight on Sundays? Those people can't enjoy their day off.

Might as well close Mondays just so no one has to work sundays.

You'd think their was some kind of social breakdown in Scotland by shops opening 3-4 hours longer on a Sunday Biscuit

OP posts:
frankchickens · 16/04/2018 11:41

By your logic then, what about the people who run the things that you go to with your friends and family on a Sunday? Cinema staff, bowling staff, park wardens, staff at events, publicans, waiting staff, chefs, nurses, teachers, drivers, etc.
Whataboutery - there's absolutely no need for supermarkets to be open.

Dulra · 16/04/2018 11:52

In Ireland most shops open 12-6pm on a Sunday but I don't think there is a specific law on it because my local Tesco opens 10-8pm on a Sunday and my local supervalu (Irish owned supermarket) is open 8-10pm on a Sunday. I have in-laws in England so go a lot and I am always caught out on the Sunday trading hours

Barbaro · 16/04/2018 11:56

Never even knew that places like tesco and asda actually close early in England. Ours are open 24/7 they only shut for Christmas. That sucks. What's the reason for it anyway?

Barbaro · 16/04/2018 11:58

Whataboutery - there's absolutely no need for supermarkets to be open.

Well you need food. You don't need to go to the cinema or bowling.

brizzledrizzle · 16/04/2018 12:04

If I buy it any earlier, they bloody well eat it all and we are left with nothing to go in their packed lunches the following day.

Just say no. Children don't need to be allowed to eat all the stuff in the house, who is in charge - them or you?

ICantCopeAnymore · 16/04/2018 12:07

I've already stated that I need it, so there's one need, right there.

turnipfarmers · 16/04/2018 12:09

It's that easy? Just buy a freezer?

Yes. We have a tiny kitchen and no room for a freezer but we manage without shopping on a Sunday. I shopped on Saturday and we have enough in the fridge for bolognese, a chilli and a chicken curry plus two loaves of bread (not in fridge of course) and two bottles of milk. In the small freezer shelf (one shelf) we have sweet potato fries, some haddock and a box of fish fingers.

In the cupboard we have peppers, onions, potatoes and various tinned vegetables like peas and sweetcorn plus some eggs, pasta and rice. I won't need to go shopping again until Monday.

crocuspie · 16/04/2018 12:11

Omg turnip thank you for telling me how to organise my kitchen! Now tell me how to organise my wardrobe or how often to sleep with my husband!
not all lives are the same, not everything that is possible is desirable

Bekabeech · 16/04/2018 12:18

Most supermarkets aren't open 24hrs! Only one in my town is, and I was just as happy when it was only one about 10 miles away - plenty close enough in an emergency. But the one in my town is next to the hospital so is useful for the staff there.
Lots of restaurants are shut one day a week - and most aren't 24 hr.

Happyland8 · 16/04/2018 12:23

Lots of restaurants are shut one day a week

Not where I live they're not.

ICantCopeAnymore · 16/04/2018 12:27

Are you disabled then, @turnipfarmers? With a carer and a full-time working husband who can't shop on certain days and at certain times? As you conveniently seemed to leave that part out of your reply.

RidingMyBike · 16/04/2018 12:47

I used to travel back home on a Sunday afternoon and would plan a stop at a supermarket into my return journey - cheaper to get a cup of tea there than at the services plus I'd get my shopping done before the shop shut. It just requires a bit of planning - it's not unexpected that they close at that time on a Sunday after all!

Onlyoldontheoutside · 16/04/2018 13:13

Only on MN are people so busy 24hours a week that the only free time they have is after 4pm on a Sunday.

flubdub · 16/04/2018 13:24

Love all the posters telling everybody else how to organise their lives.
I wish I had consulted on here every time I had to make a decision over the last 20 years. Then I would never have ever run into a single problem.

I honestly don’t know what kind of person you must be to challenge other people, that you’ve probably never met, and tell them how to better work their life, because you think you know better.

Hillarious · 16/04/2018 13:43

I really don't understand the obstacles people claim not to be able to overcome which would require later trading hours on a Sunday.

I remember the joys, pre Sunday trading, of Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday, meaning shops would be closed for three whole days. The logistics of ensuring there was enough food for the festive period were not impossible.

Also, if we were coming back home from holiday on a Saturday in the summer, we'd arrange for one of the neighbours to buy us some bread and milk to see us through until Monday. I'm sure you wouldn't need to resort to that, though, as you can now get them from your garage.

I think you're being a little bit precious and a little bit too busy, OP, and seeking the wrong solution to your problem. A fridge is a handy way to keep food fresh over the weekend, and a freezer even better. A bag of flour and a packet of dried yeast can be combined to make a nice loaf. Even more conveniently, you can buy part-baked loaves. There are many more tips I'm sure Mumsnetters could provide you with before we need to change the law in England.

ICantCopeAnymore · 16/04/2018 13:56

I really don't understand the obstacles people claim not to be able to overcome which would require later trading hours on a Sunday

Not being able to walk is one of them.

Hillarious · 16/04/2018 14:26

Not being able to walk is one of them.

Surely that also applies Monday to Saturday?

MargaretCavendish · 16/04/2018 14:29

I don't understand why people are so insistent on pointing out that no one NEEDS to shop after 4pm on a Sunday. No one NEEDS to shop on a Wednesday morning either, or indeed a Saturday morning - there would be a way around it. It not being strictly necessary isn't in and of itself an argument against extended Sunday opening .

Original poster
jnfrrss · 16/04/2018 14:46

No the solution to my problem is to open shops later on a Sunday, not dried yeast or freezing my watercress.

Yes I'm busy, that's why I want shops open at convenient times.

Agree with pp it's ridiculous to tell other people what they do and don't need when they know nothing.

Looks like the Catholic church were the big opposers to dropping this. Why can't religions just concentrate on their own people and not dictate how everyone should live?

OP posts:
ICantCopeAnymore · 16/04/2018 15:03

I can't walk any day.

If you'd read my previous posts, you'd see that I have a DH that works different hours and sometimes, shopping on a Sunday after 4pm is the only time he can go. It's very expensive to have to do that at a corner shop.