To expect one shop within a ten mile radius to stock size 12 plimsoles because we live in a late capitalist society not a soviet worker's republic?

[LittleBella]

I mean, wasn't that the selling point of capitalism? That they would deliver us what we wanted to buy, instead of making us queue up with little baskets, like Soviet housewives had to do? (Oh and not send us to saltmines for misbehaving, but mostly it was about the delivery and choice of consumer goods, wasn't it?)

Now that the Soviet Union's gone and they've decided we can have Guantanamo Bay and torture, are we also going to have rationed school uniforms?

Or am I just being very fractious here?

If you lived in a Soviet republic, there would be only large size plimsolls, because they would be able to meet their child's-plimsoll-output quota (by weight) fastest that way.

And only in yellow because that's what colour the fabric was that day

I remember getting lime in a gin and tonic in East Berlin and thinking this was some kind of fashion thing. Then was told that that's what had arrived from Cuba that week, they hadn't sent lemons.

mind you I have an organic box, so it feels a bit like that

snort.

It SHOULD be lime in a G&T! Or so I've always been told...

No. Sorry. Capitalism supplies what makes most money. So if you are freakishly large or minutely small....tough sh*t basically. You aren't profitable enough to bother with. You have to fine a charming little niche shop (with a name like Elephant )that will sell you the same products at double the prices with fancy carrier bags and make you feel grateful

There must be a national shortage as I also can't find size 12s.

What is it about size 12's? When ds was that size I had great trouble getting some too!

What Orm said. Capitalism is about making a lot of money for a small number of people, not about the convenience of ordinary folk.

But surely lots of children are size 12?

Bloody M&S and Woolworths

Well I must admit that thinking about it I would have thought so too. In which case it's just down to too many size 12s and crap supply chain. Of which capitalism is frequently guilty I suppose.

I love it. This is how I always feel in M&S -late Soviet era shopping where you can only find size 20 in the suit jacket and size 6 in the bottoms. Also because of hte way the shoes are just STACKED up altogether. Shees. When's it going to be privatised, anyway?