Shopping in Welsh

Apropos the recent post on supermarkets, here's an update.

The staff at the Co-op Station Road are mostly rather nice. Far better than in the days immediately prior to Tesco arriving, anyway. In particular, the two middle aged women with white hair and the younger man also with grey hair. Only one by the name of Nerys (none of the aforementioned but still pleasant) tends to speak Welsh, though.

So that's where the new self-checkouts really come in handy. These are driven by Wincor Nixdorf Beetle retail software. In combination with their "attendant station" at the tobacco kiosk, they're a "solution" designed to "manage the queuing experience" and "accelerate the retail journey" (yup, that's what you and I do when we grab a trolley. And there was you thinking we just went shopping). They're not to everyone's taste but they do "speak" Welsh. However, there are some flaws:

• The first is that they default to English and the Welsh option button isn't particularly prominent, not like, for example, a bank automated teller machine. It's still possible to press the "Cymraeg" button (a discrete baner Cymru) mischievously on each machine as you pass them to force Welsh to the fore

• The machine asks whether you have your own bags but doesn't offer the preferred answer "Oes" or "Nag Oes" touch screen options

• It seems that the phrase for "please", os gwelwch yn dda, comes at the beginning of the sentence (as it might in English) and not at the end (where in Welsh it sounds more natural)

• One of the processes when handled in Welsh brings up an English rather than Welsh language on-screen acknowledgement.

After your transaction in Welsh, the machines revert to the default language—English. If you are wondering who cheekily presses all the Cymraeg buttons across the entire rank to change to Welsh, I'm certainly one of them : )

It's also possible to scan a coupon twice. I know this because I didn't think the machine read mine the first time. When drawing my slip-up to the attention of a member of staff, there appeared no way of going back. The easiest option was to put the extra £1 deducted into a Co-op charity pot.

Is it me or does the Co-op actually seem busier these days?

Lidl's in Dinbych, Rhuthun/Ruthin's nearest low cost discounter, was to re-open after its refit on February 19th, 2015. This was postponed till tomorrow, according to the hoardings then in place. Now, this has been delayed again. New banners have appeared with a third opening date, this time of March 12th. That's a three week delay, after three separate assessments.

Fair enough, the place isn't anywhere near ready. But had this been a hospital extension, a piece of public art, a school and so on, there'd be public scorn.

Of course, Lidl's quite recently got itself into trouble for telling its staff to stick to English. Shades of early days at the Co-op, Y Bala. Lidl's now will allow its assistants to converse in Welsh—if you can find one in the Dinbych store.

Stores in North Wales:

Co-op c.50
Tesco 17
Asda 14
Morrison's 11
Lidl's 10
Aldi's 9
Sainsbury's 5
Waitrose's (they have a branch, not a store... but they would, wouldn't they) 1