On the weekend, whilst out grocery shopping, Natasha and I saw a man who was searching hurriedly for something in the freezer section. He was also carrying a two-litre bottle of milk and various other goods without a basket. We didn’t take much notice of him until he seemed to struggle with the weight of his shopping and dropped the milk on the floor. Naturally, it exploded and leaked everywhere. The image below shows the result.

After offering to get help for him, I had the opportunity to fulfil one of my lifelong dreams: I rushed through the supermarket exclaiming, ‘CLEAN-UP IN AISLE FOUR!’. Natasha was both embarrassed and amused. The staff behind the deli counter seemed puzzled but thanked me for bringing it to their attention.

Aside from this fun interlude, I was taken aback by the man’s sheer lack of common sense. Unless you live in some kind of bizarro world, every supermarket offers trolleys and baskets to its patrons. What possessed this man to think that he could trudge around the place basket-less with heavy groceries, without dropping anything?

On top of this, the man had decided to carry the leaking bottle of milk across the shop to show the staff, rather than staying put. This created even more of a mess! Here is photographic evidence of the drip trail that he created near the vegetable section.

Not only did the staff have to clean up his first pool of shame, they now had to pace the shop looking for more curdling puddles that were potential trip hazards.

We all have an important lesson to learn here. The next time that you’re at the supermarket, just ducking in quickly for a couple of items, don’t avoid the trusty trolley or basket, even if a wheel or handle is wonky. You’ll avoid making a mess and perhaps even having a nutcase like me running around declaring your mistake.