I HATE shopping! My wife doesn’t like going shopping with me. I just like to go in the shop, find what I want and leave. I find no pleasure in browsing and ’mooching’ around the aisles.

As a designer, I’m aware of the visual tricks designers use to lure you in around colour, empathy, smell and good packaging. I’m the miserable one, stood on the doorway, impatiently tapping my feet and looking at my watch.

“How long does it take to buy a blouse?” I privately rage. When I need to buy something, she’s calm, patient, understanding and insightful, even when she can’t understand what I’m buying or why. 

“Haven’t you already got a guitar?”

“Yes, but this one’s different.”

“How so?”

“It just is. You wouldn’t understand.”

If it were the other way around, and we were picking a handbag for her, I would have stormed out of the shop by now. 

“I’m going to the pub. You’ve got three handbags that are almost identical. It’s ridiculous.”

The only kind of shop I love going into is a book shop. I could spend all day looking at books, they captivate me so much. So, if I was going to go on a spending spree it would be in a book store.

Ultimately though, for me it’s about having too much. I’ve got everything I need and I am a simple person with simple needs. Purchasing more and more pointless things is a sign that we are desperately seeking something we can’t buy. Having nice material comforts is great up to a point, but beyond that, they don’t really give anything more. A solid gold iPhone case, doesn’t make the phone do anything more than it did originally. What is gold anyway? It’s just a nicely coloured metal. A hug from my daughter is better than a gold necklace any day. 

No wonder my wife doesn’t like to go shopping with me. What a grouch!

My happy place