Ikea

Have you ever been shopping in Ikea. Today was my third visit in approximately ten days. Not the best of experiences. I like the things in Ikea, and they are definitely a good price, but the actually shopping bit is just hell. First you have to fight the masses to see what you want. Then when you have found it you need to get a reference number for the aisle and location. Finally you get to the aisle and location and, if you are lucky, you get to pick up what you want. The first visit failed because we got as far as the location and found it was out of stock. The next step is to steer a heavy and unballanced trolley, which is too small for the boxes you have loaded on, through the check-out. Then load the car. Second trip failed because we found we couldn't fit everything in and take "A" home. I did think about leaving her at Ikea, then I thought of strapping her to the boxes, but neither option seemed particularly good. So we took everything back in to the store. Today I went by myself to ensure plenty of space in the car. Went to Nottingham rather than Milton Keynes. Found what I wanted, bought it, then discovered that they don't let trolleys into the car park. And the table I had bought didn't fit into the trolley lock-ups. So I had to leave all my things, go to the car and drive back to the pick-up point. Luckily no-one walked off with my furniture (in reality I suppose it is difficult to walk off with a dining table, a coffee table and four chairs).