Maybe I should start holding my breath!

Ellen, don't the fish know the words? Maybe you should sing with them.

Came out of hospital on Friday after some weeks and on Saturday morning went to Tesco for Xmas shop. No mince pies, pigs in blankets, Xmas puds or cakes, no packs of cheeseboard, no mulled wine or spices to mull my own. Fortunately was able to buy some chipolatas and bacon, ordinary biscuits, star anise and cinnamon sticks, so can do a basic make-do, but I bet in a week's time the shelves will be refilled with all the things that you want for Xmas and weren't there. It's those horrible people who buy a trolley full of about 20 loaves of bread and none on the shelves who irritate me, though.

I got my Ocado order this morning. Only thing missing was cauliflower florets (a whole cauli would last me forever)
I did hear that lettuces are being cleared from the shelves in some supermarkets. My question is this — how does one store a lettuce? Mine only last few days in the fridge.
I have noticed lately though, that the ‘eat by’ dates are a lot shorter than normal. My chicken breasts and braising steak go out of date on Boxing Day. Good job I have a freezer.

My Iceland order arrived at 9pm tonight- only slot left.

No Milk! Got enough for one cup in the morning then I'm stuck.

EllanVannin, do you mean the fish container unable to depart for France?

I have used Ocado for the last two years since my DH was ill. But since they have changed to M&S instead ofWaitrose it’s more expensive and far less choice. The last straw yesterday evening was no gammon! I had ordered a free range one but didn’t even get the offer of anything else . I recently got toothpaste to replace the soda crystals I had ordered to put down my drains .(couldn’t work that one
out!) So will sign up to a different one in the New Year .May alternate with Waitrose and Morrison’s

Instead of fresh fish last lockdown we had a box of 30 fish fingers - enjoyed them hadn't had them for years.

I think generally the supermarket delivery teams are doing an amazing job. I love Tesco, the order site is so intuitive and you can click a box if you don’t want a substitute, in addition to rejecting anything you don’t want.

The only delivery I have been disappointed with is Ocado. Very difficult to get slots, only released 2 or 3 days in advance so can’t plan, and goods frequently arrive damaged or leaking because of the packing. We do live a long way from their depot, but they are definitely struggling to fulfil M&S demand with lots out of stock. Waste of time, and expensive.

EllanVannin

Rotten fruit and limp green leaves. There's a container full of fish ! Salmon/ Prawns/ Monkfish/ Lobster etc etc. I bet it hums !

Beans on toast to be on the safe side

I popped to Waitrose yesterday
Looked the same as any other day.
You wouldn't have known it was xmas, which was nice,
in & out

Yes, understand your concerns. But after in March we had done a few weeks of online supermarket shopping as my husband had a pacemaker we found out that they bag the items up earlier in that day of delivery all ready apart from frozen items. But regarding "substituitions I requested pk. anti-bact wipes to receive a tube of Savlon as out of stock. Even the delivery guy laughed + issued us a refund there + then.

Redrobin51

Our click and collect from Tesco had everything I ordered, it was my fault the sprouts were missing. They even gave us a wonderful free box of mince pies as a thank you from Tesco. They have been marvellous during the pandemic and feel they have done their best with substitutions. I feel so blessed that as we both have poor health that we didn't have to go around the shop. Happy Christmas everyone. X

I agree about Tesco’s, the staff at my click and collect point have been fantastic, always cheerful and very helpful if I’m struggling to load everything. I got a free box of mince pies as well today and only had one item missing from my order, a particular type of bread which they do not always have in store. I add it every week in hope!

Lexisgranny thanks for update, all good Merry Christmas.

I went to sainsbury's today and had no problems. Plenty of fresh veg, sprouts, carrots, cauli, cabbage etc. Lots of fresh turkeys too, all sizes. Managed to get around with no problems and went through the checkout quickly. Shelves were well stocked with other items too.

During the first lockdown I asked for antibacterial wipes which were substituted with antiseptic cream!

Everything delivered bar mince pies, husband nipped down village and got some. Got my imperial and metric mixed up on the parsnips!

We ordered a side dish of peas and beans in our Morrison's shopping. Our substitute was chicken, mushroom and pancetta in a white wine sauce to feed two. We're vegetarians!!

Our Tesco order came yesterday. I'd ordered a 660 g 'tin' of Heroes as I really wanted the box too for a cake tin. Not available. Substitute = six normal 185 g boxes of Heroes! And money back. Can't be bad.

Maggiemaybe

Fingers crossed for you, Lexisgranny. I remember my lot mocking me mercilessly for being a Margot Leadbetter when I told them my chanterelle carrots had been replaced by wonky ones (I wasn’t really upset, honest!).

Unusual substitutions? Sainsburys sent me two rolls of greaseproof paper last week instead of two Christmas cards. And DD1 once got hair remover instead of hair dye.

Thank you for the giggle, Maggiemaybe

Neither Tesco nor Waitrose sent substitutions for the wine I ordered - might have to ration DH.

As we couldn't get a slot at all this week we went to the farm shop today for milk etc.
They had sprouts on the stalk, lovely and fresh.

I’m sure none of us will starve.

Reports of panic buying make us feel panicky and our thought processes go into overdrive.

I had my Christmas delivery Sunday at 9.15 pm. Had noticed my pre-ordered Christmas goods to arrive with the same delivery had been removed from my basket, when querying this before delivery I was told it was normal practice and would definitely be there, guess what not a thing only my usual grocery delivery I am livid to say the least. Fortunately I have managed to get most of it in store, but some items are no longer available due to high demand. I have dealt with 7 different people and had 7 different answers to how this happened. Only one grovelling and said as she could not put it right she would send me a vouchers as an apology. she sent me £ 5, that will really make up for all the emails, phone calls and aggrevation I have had since Saturday.

I agree that Tesco's have been great.

We used to buy fruit and veg in local markets, but sheltering since last March has curtailed that. Just received our amended order email, to arrive early evening, and the 4 amendments are all acceptable. Very interested to read all your comments which probably give a UK wide picture of how things stand. Thank you all for replying.

Our click and collect from Tesco had everything I ordered, it was my fault the sprouts were missing. They even gave us a wonderful free box of mince pies as a thank you from Tesco. They have been marvellous during the pandemic and feel they have done their best with substitutions. I feel so blessed that as we both have poor health that we didn't have to go around the shop. Happy Christmas everyone. X

My order came today and everything was fine - except that two items they didn't have in the small size they have substituted with large, at the same price. No complaints here. I'm so grateful to the supermarket staff as we have been really well looked after with slots and deliveries.

As I mentioned on another thread, our Tesco order arrived this morning with nothing missing or substituted. Plenty of fruit, veg and salad.