OK - I've got it. You're talking about delivery vans parking on pavements and being a hazard to pedestrians - that was missing from Philippa's list (although I don't think she was trying to be exhaustive!).When we first discussed delivery vans it was in the context of my suggestion that there could be incentives / arrangements for deliveries to happen at night and non-peak hours - like milk deliveries, food box deliveries etc.I do still think that would help - and I noticed Hounslow proposing encouraging local deliveries via cargo bikes. This then led onto a wider discussion about internet retail and whether it is moral to buy food online when it was available from local independents.My argument then was that switching spending away from supermarkets and instead buying "directly" from producers was a good thing and the delivery boxes were "convenient". I may live to regret saying that (!), but as we're two working parents with two young kids, buying food from independents instead of supermarkets needs to be as convenient or we won't do it. I did mention using Macken's delivery service and I recall you were just about OK with that, although grumbled a bit that the high street would be missing our footfall :-) As a customer, I'm willing to change my behaviour to support independent brands and local retailers, but if there is a big cost in time and inconvenience, I probably won't. You can call me lazy and selfish (OK, I see you have!), but if my consumer behaviour is part of a much bigger retail trend, then perhaps it isn't the customer that is wrong, but the stores that need to accommodate consumer demand, maybe by offering local subscription veg boxes, local butcher delivery etc. You might think I'm a hypocrite / don't practice what I preach when I say I want local independents to thrive but I don't do anything like enough to support them with my custom. My point again is that when it comes to groceries, your beef should be with the supermarket chains who control 95% of the grocery spend in the UK - an increasing amount of it delivered direct to customers' homes. We also had a robust discussion about Deliveroo. Natoora and Gail's are on there (along with Sainsbury's, Morrison's and the Co-Op) - you made me promise I would use Deliveroo less and I actually did make some effort to! I will admit that I bought from Gail's via Deliveroo - my wife was out and I didn't have the time to mobilise two kids to take them up the high street. It was bloody brilliant - so good that we then visited in person again a couple of days later. I would be interested to know if Gail's and Natoora want me to use Deliveroo to buy from them? Both have their own delivery services, but for some purchases (e.g. getting in lunch at short notice), I can't do next working day - it is either Deliveroo or I walk to the local supermarket, which would be a lot cheaper, but means I'm not supporting a local indie store. I know you have strong views on this, but would be great to hear from them on this too.
Ed Saper ● 2003d