Sid the Slug Went Christmas Shopping

The slug saga continues into festive fun

Do you remember Sid the Slug?

Well, if not, you can learn all about Sid’s adventures in Sally-land here:

Or, I can just give you a quick synopsis:

In case you didn’t know, it rains a lot in England.

Yes, surprising, I know…for an island in the Atlantic Ocean!

Anyway, it probably helps to explain our somewhat cynical, and sometimes outrageous, sense of humour. We need something to keep us feeling like we are better than the rest of the world, even if our weather sucks in comparison.

But, this wasn’t meant to be a rant about the weather.

I can’t help it — I’m British!

Still, it was relevant to the story. You see, not only does it rain a lot in England but I live on the edge of one of the wettest parts of England; Dartmoor.

Yep, we have wild and wonderful weather fronts coming in off the Atlantic Ocean from the warm Southwest, that reach the hilly lands of Dartmoor, and dump all over us.

It’s also what makes our country so green and beautiful. Although, at this time of year it’s more brown and muddy than green and lush.

And, the wetter and squelchier the ground, the more the slugs go wild!

The thing is, if they at least stayed outside, it would all be okay. But they don’t. Sid and his sleuth of slugs (I don’t care if that’s not the right terminology — it sounds good) like to come into my kitchen every night.

Every. Single. Night.

They party through the dark hours and disappear when dawn arrives. All of them…

…Except for Sid.

He seems to be a bit confused, or perhaps lazy, and he hangs out as long as he can. Which is often longer than ideal but, since picking slugs up is gross, ignoring him is sometimes preferable.

Since I wrote the story of Sid, he and his friends have been continuing their ongoing nightly parties ever since, without fail. Yep, they’re a hardy bunch and are still hanging around in our lovely, moist climate, despite temperatures having been extremely nippy for the last few weeks.

And Sid, well, he carried on hanging out long after the others had retreated in the mornings.

Anyway, when I have been out food shopping, I have this terrible habit of emptying my shopping bags and then shoving them out of the way, under the kitchen table, rather than neatly into a cupboard. Then, when I next go shopping, I grab them from there and begin the process again.

Today was no different. I grabbed the bags from under the table and went off to do another big shop in preparation for our Christmas festivities.

It was a jolly and festive atmosphere in town, with even the buses changing their digital displays across the front from

Face masks must be worn

to

Merry Christmas

Finally, they have worked out that we must have got the message!

Anyway, my last port of call in town was the supermarket. I grabbed a trolley full of goodies and lined up at the checkout.

Soon it was my turn, my shopping was all put through the scanner swiftly, and I bagged it up and paid.

I was just lifting the last of my shopping bags to return them to my trolley when I spotted something familiar on the checkout counter.

It was Sid!

He had attached himself to my bag and decided to wait until we were at the checkout to detach himself.

And, do you know what I did?

I pretended not to notice him, put my bag back in the trolley, and walked away.

Yes Sid, it was time for someone else to deal with you. I left you as a gift to some lucky member of the supermarket staff!

Merry Christmas, Sid and all the staff at my local Morrison’s supermarket!

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Thanks for reading. Here are a few more of my stories: