Today is my day off. I am killing time while waiting for my daughter to be ready so we can go into town to buy one or two ‘essentials’. I have observed that there is a clear division of the genders when it comes to shopping. Men know what they want and when they see it at a price they are willing to pay they buy it and come home. Women have an idea of the sort of thing they would like and may see what they like in the first shop they visit, but still need to check out every single shop in the town just to see what else there is… before going back to the first shop to buy the first one they have seen.

Anthropologists may say that it is something to do with our primeval instincts. My theory is this: Men, the hunters, know how dangerous and difficult hunting is so will attack and kill the first animal that is suitable. Women, the gatherers, want to make sure that they get the best berries so will check all the bushes.

Okay, I generalise, but we do shop in different ways.There’s no denying that. This is why more and more shops are now putting out ‘bloke seats’ for men to use while accompanying the women in their lives on shopping expeditions. Men reading this blog may feel that their style of shopping is best because it is quick, while women may say theirs is best because it is thorough.

What’s the spiritual point of these musings? Not much. Except perhaps that we need to remember that we are all made by God as unique individuals and we need to be patient with one another’s foibles so that other people will be patient with ours!