When it comes to a carrier for life, this gran has it in the bag
A GRANDMOTHER yesterday revealed that she has been using the same plastic shopping bag for 36 years and claims it is the oldest in Britain.
Sue O’Dowd, 65, was given the Tesco 50th anniversary bag in 1981 on a trip to a store in Birmingham.
And she has kept it intact ever since – through five house moves.
Sue’s daughter Frankie, 36, noticed the bag and pointed out that it was as old as she was.
Frankie said: “I told mum, ‘you do realise this bag is as old as I am?’
“It’s just a normal plastic bag but it really has been a bag for life. It really amused me that she kept it all this time. It’s always in the background. I suppose I had just not noticed how old it was until now.” Astonished Frankie posted a picture of the bag on Tesco’s Facebook page.
An employee responded: “That’s a little piece of history. I would keep it. Better still, frame it.”
Sue, of Much Wenlock, Shropshire, now uses the bag to store her knitting wool.
Frankie explained: “It comes out every time there’s a new baby in the family. Mum’s great at knitting little jumpers.”
Sue, an architectural historian, got the bag at the Five Ways store in Birmingham, which closed in 2015.
She said: “It was one of the first big Tesco stores. I remember getting the bag when Frankie was a baby. I just put my spare wool in it and it has survived ever since. Whenever I need some I get it out and usually find what I’m after.”
Keeping the bag all those years does not mean she never throws anything away. She keeps using things as long as they are useful.
She said: “I don’t think I’m a hoarder. I would say I’m careful. If something is still good you keep going with it.”
Sue said the bag appeared to be the same material as modern plastic bags adding: “It’s amazing how pristine it is.
“Maybe it’s slightly better material with it being an anniversary bag. I can’t believe it’s survived so well.”
Tesco said it appeared Sue “really has found her bag for life”.