Yesterday I was in a city. For some of the time I was in a shopping mall and for a little time, I was in the main street. I couldn't wait to get out of both.

I've been thinking about my desire to escape from the melιe. I usually love being where there are throngs of people; people watching is something I enjoy. But yesterday, it was not for me.

Friday I cancelled my trip due to feeling grotty. All was re-arranged for Saturday (yesterday). I didn't even have to do any of the driving. Thinking about this unusual state of being, I believe it was a combination of it being a Saturday before Christmas, still feeling under the weather, and the sight of uninviting hordes of bodies contained in the walkways of the mall, with some tributaries of bi-peds swaying into the various shops.

In the main street there was a regional market, where there were vegetables to be bought, crude craft work, the uninspiring chocolates that I bought mail order, (wish I'd seen this stall before I'd ordered). There were some interesting-looking cheeses on sale, there were breads, a stall with oyster burgers, the queue was enormous, a venison burgers stall with another huge queue. There were masses of people milling about gazing at what was offered for sale.

The square with the bratwursts original or spicy, geese to order for Xmas and more vegetables, had few people in it. This space had the best outdoor coffee stall.

A till in one shop where I found some suitable looped socks, scanned a higher price than was was on the packaging tag. There wasn't much in it, but I like to decide where my extra pennies go. The VAT had not been adjusted down; the assistant said their shop was the only one in the high street that hadn't taken down prices to allow for the reduction in VAT. I said thanks, but no thanks and found some interesting socks elsewhere.

A quick visit to the mish-mash of two trading estates that aren't sure what identity they've got, that is, whether they are retail parks or industrial; then we called it a day.

For once, I was keen to depart the city.