I have written about this lots of times in the past but it's something that crops up again and again.
Take supermarkets for instance. They throw slogans at us like confetti. "Every little counts." "Lidle on price" and many more all designed to make you feel that in shopping in a specific shop you are not only saving money but are having the best life experience possible.
Bert to his mate Fred.
"Hi Fred I had a great day yesterday. Went out for a family meal, met my mates in the pub and got a phone call to say I had won £10,000 in that competition I entered. How was your day.
"That sounds good Bert but I had a really really good day. I went shopping in the local supermarket."
Now there have been allegations that supermarkets have been profiteering and not passing on savings to customers.
Shock horror how can this be? Surely not. We live in a perfect world where it's fun to take out life insurance, where suffering from arthritis and rheumatism is great because it means you can buy that super reclinable chair that does everything for you including cooking lunch and vacuuming the house.
Not to mention how happy you should be to pass a legacy onto your children when you sign up for a funeral plan that not only gives them money when you go but gives you a free pen.
The perfect world is absolutely nothing like the reality. There are companies telling us we can't live without their product, but often it's a product I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. One such company is an internet and telecommunications group who I used to be with. Their service was shockingly bad and I left them. Now I have to sit through an advert telling me their Broadband is the best. I'm not going to name them other than say their name is two words, both of which are the same.
Something else which is not quite what it seems is the women's football world cup which started yesterday. Above the surface it's all froth and light but underneath it all there is unrest with some players not feeling valued and others in conflict with their organising bodies.
Which takes me onto by elections. Yesterday there were three of them. By the time you read this the results will be in. I'm writing this before I have been able to check the results. I'm 100 per cent certain that there will be three new MPs (this goes without saying). I'm also 90 per cent sure none of them will be Conservatives. No other comment necessary.
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Thursday is usually tennis day, but not this week as we couldn't get a four. So instead I accompanied the other threequarters to Wymondham for her eye test at Specsavers. Previously we went to Norwich for our test but there the service was less personal than in a town the size of Wymondham. There the service is polite, quick and efficient. So good in fact that they are bound to shut it down. That's what has happened with the local banks which have shut.
The other threequarters pointed out that you can bank on the Internet but can't get an eye test online.
I replied with just one word - "yet."
Anyway whilst the other threequarters went in to have her eyes tested I sat in the waiting area for two reasons.
Firstly they have air conditioning and secondly I could watch the cricket test match on my mobile phone. Some people came to sit next to me. When the other threequarters came out to wait to go into another room I pointed out that England had already taken a wicket.
The dear lady sitting next to me who I shall now refer to as DL for dear lady, turned to me.
"Did you say we've got a wicket? She said.
Now I'm quite a sharp guy who realised this probably meant DL was a cricket fan.
"Do you like cricket," I inquired just to make sure.
And so began a chat whilst I awaited the re-emergence of the other threequarters.
"My father was a huge cricket fan so I grew up with the game. But then I got married and my ex husband hated sport apart from snooker. He wouldn't let me watch. Now I'm with John over there and he likes sport," she said.
At that point she got called in for her eye test and said goodbye with a parting shot.
"I'm looking forward to getting my new glasses so I can really see the cricket."
Which reminds me tonight sees the first of a three day beer festival at Hethersett and Tas Valley cricket club. We play at Flordon which is near Newton Flotman. It's a glorious ground amongst forest and trout lakes- one of the most picturesque in Norfolk.
The beer festival continues tomorrow and Sunday. Myself and the other threequarters will be manning and womanning the clubhouse bar on Saturday afternoon from 2 until 4 pm. The festival is open to everyone irrespective of whether you like cricket or not. I would have asked DL to come along if she had been around when we left the opticians.
If you fancy a pint (other alcoholic and soft drinks also available) do come and say hello. On Saturday (weather permitting) our second and third teams will be at home. Yes we have two pitches.
For those of us that love sport, these are good days. We not only have the women's world cup football and The Ashes but also the British Open golf which is played until Sunday.
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Finally a small piece of advice. If you and your other threequarters (who in your case might be your other half or even your other two thirds) are standing waiting for a bus, don't both look at a mobile at the same time. I was trying to plot where our bus was and the other threequarters was sending a text. We looked up just in time to see a bus driving past. They don't automatically stop unless you stick your arm out.
Thankfully we only had to wait 10 minutes for the next bus. A lesson learnt though.