It’s easy to take M&S for granted
News that Marks & Spencer is cutting 7,000 jobs made me worry for all the families facing job losses, and hope there’ll still be someone in the knicker department or I’ll be lost.
I’ve always loved Markseys. I adored a camel skirt with two box pleats at the front, which I wore with a brown polo neck jumper and brown opaque tights which were cracking for hiding my varicose veins – and the fact I might not have shaved my legs.
But lately the clothes began to seem old-fashioned, because I may be 72 but don’t want to dress like an old person. And while M&S clothes always used to wash well, I feel the quality lately wasn’t what it was.
The prices aren’t always affordable. An M&S bra can be £20 but I can buy one in Sainsbury’s for £8 and when it gets puggy in the wash I can sling it. And there’s a reason it seems everyone on the high street is carrying a Primark bag.
Yet I still love going to Marks. I only ever wear their Footglove shoes because they’re so comfortable. They have beautiful jewellery stands where earrings are £5 and look twice the price. There’s nowhere better than the cafe for soup and a sandwich, or a cheese and ham toastie.
And although I always get a shock at the till because it’s so expensive, I still go for treats because I know I’ll eat everything. Their steak slices, fish, lemon mousses, syrup sponges and prawn pasta salads are to die for. I’ll still shop in Marks & Spencer whenever I can. Because, like so many things in lockdown, we have taken it for granted – but we’d all miss it.