Recession, what recession?

In an act of seasonal foolhardiness Mum and I ventured out to the Trafford Centre this lunchtime so that I could complete the last remnants of my Christmas shopping. Luckily we are privy to the best kept secret in the north-west, how to get into the Trafford Centre 3 days before Christmas without queueing*, so getting in and finding a space was easy. Alack, we were so excited at spotting a space at the end of the carpark nearest to John Lewis (always an important consideration) that we didn't think that parking near the exit would be a sound move - it took us 40 minutes just to get out of the carpark. The centre itself was packed and the queues in some of the stores were immense. If this is what it's like in a downturn I'd hate to see it when the economy's booming! Of course a lot of the frenzy was caused by the 30 and 40% sales that had already started in a lot of the stores. Anyway, I managed to pick up gifts for my brother, dad, sister, and brother-in-law and even a little something for myself.



I'll be casting on in this for a pair of Woodsmoke socks as soon as all the Christmas knitting is done. Just, can't, wait!



* no, of course I'm not going to publish it here. If any of you really want to know I'll tell you in person after Christmas!