Mutterings for the Minority

Shopping again

I seem forever to be shopping at the moment, if not for food then for nappies!

Mind you, it’s also made me realise at first hand how much the price of food and fuel have gone up - something which had previously passed me by as Mrs DDWT has been doing the shopping. I can now fully understand why everyone keeps saying about the credit crunch

Baby DDWT continues to be quite a good sleeper, which is a Godsend considering how bad DDWT Junior used to be. The sheer thought of all that sleep deprivation again had filled us both with trepidation.

The other noticeable difference between the two is that she is far more placid and content than he was at the same stage. It’s looking increasingly like the daughter is following the mother in this case!

The deluge of gifts from family and friends continues unabated and we are extremely grateful to everyone.

Shoe shopping

Oh what a day. I’ve never liked shoe shopping, not even for myself and I simply can’t understand why so many women (in particular) do. Anyway, where am I going with this?

Well it quickly became very apparent today that DDWT Junior is certainly following in his dad’s footsteps (no pun intended) with his immense dislike for shoe shopping as well! Trouble was, it was for him we were doing the shopping.

To make matters worse, we needed shoes and trainers for him - so we were going to have our work cut out. I won’t bore you with the details of a marathon 4 hour shoe shopping session - where tempers flared on several occasions, but we got there in the end.

My pockets are nigh on £55 lighter (for size 11 children’s shoes!) but at least we got the job done and the little fella is happy with his new “shoosies”.

I’ll also give a mention to the Landore park and ride service, which we used for the first time today. For £1.50 (per car) it’s great value and we were very impressed by the service and shall be sure to use it again - rather than get gridlocked in Swansea and then pay through the nose for parking.

It was also nice to have a rest day from the training as well. Having done 4 runs this week, I was in need of a rest as I felt leg weary to say the least. I still missed not doing any training though!

Marks and Spencers Discount Code

No here’s a cracking little discount code for you - 15% off at Marks and Spencers with no minimum spend!

Use the code WEBSS6NC at the checkout to claim your 15% Marks and Spencers Discount, but be quick though as this voucher expires on April 8th.

Woolworths Free Delivery Discount Code

My voucher code posts are like buses today, you don’t seen any for ages then they all come at once!

Anyway, Woolworths are giving shoppers the chance to make big savings on delivery until April 7th with the discount code for FREE delivery.

Use the code freea08 at the checkout to claim your FREE delivery from Woolworths.

Go to the Woolworths web site now

Early Learning Centre Discount Code

It’s been quite some time since I last posted a discount code, so here comes one!

The Early Learning Centre are offering a 10% discount until the end of April.

Use the code AFF08 at the checkout to get your 10% off.

Remember this can be used in addition to the various 20% spring offers on the Early Learning Centre web site as well!

Go to the Early Learning Centre web site now

Cheap flights and cheap holidays

Are you feeling deflated after the festive season and in need of a tonic to get you out of the new year blues? Well Expedia are offering discounts of 30% on flights, hotels and package holidays on their Blue Sky Specials, so what better way to cheer yourself than with a holiday.

So if you’re are after a cheap long haul flight to Australia or even New York - why not take a look at Expedia, you might just be surprised at how good a deal you get.

Marks and Spencers

After reading the BBC’s article online about “retailers suffer after M&S slump“, I couldn’t help but chuckle given the recent experience I had at the hands of the Marks and Spencers sale.

Here we were on Christmas Day (yes sad I know) shelling out almost £300 in the M&S sale only to find days later an email arrive from M&S stating …

Dear Customer,

Thanks for your recent order.

We experience extremely high levels of demand during the M&S SALE and occasionally items sell out as other orders for them are in the process of being placed - orders are confirmed on a first come first served basis. As a result we’re sorry to tell you that since your order was placed, one or more of the items you ordered are out of stock. These items have now been cancelled from your order and will not be visible in your online account.

Obviously you have not been charged for any of these out of stock items. Please check your online account to view any remaining items that will be sent to you.

We apologise for any disappointment this may cause. If you have any questions about your order, please feel free to call us on 0845 609 0200. If you are calling from overseas please call us on +44 1925 672 317.

Kind regards

Customer Services

Eventually I got my order, but the value had shrunk to under £200!

If we take a cynical view of this episode, surely M&S must have some idea of their stock levels PRE-SALE? And as a result you’d expect that their website (which is driven by Amazon I hasten to add) is capable of keeping tabs on stock levels. A quick google around finds that I’m not the only one who’s suffered this fate.

I mean the Christmas season does come around the same time year in year out doesn’t it? So you’d expect them to be stocked up to the hilt. Or maybe I’m just expecting too much *sigh*

I know the BBC article refers to the high street in particular and that the M&S online effort was indeed up on previous years. BUT for me profit and sales to any business are it’s bread and butter regardless of the channel (high street, web, phone, whatever) used surely?

Little wonder then with retailers being unable to fulfill orders online (or not) that they’ll lose money.

Firebox.com Sale

Those lovely guys and gals at Firebox.com - which incidentally is the best place to find the very latest high quality gadgets, games and boys´ toys - are having a sale. The Firebox sale is not just any old sale either, it’s an up to 50% off sale.

I’ve treated myself to a remote control aeroplane! But what are you going to treat yourself to in the Firebox.com sale?

IWOOT Discount Code

Anyone looking for an ‘I Want One Of Those‘ (IWOOT) discount code will be chuffed with this £5 saving off a £20 spend. What’s even better is that it doesn’t expire until October 2008 - now that’s handy isn’t it



So if you really want one of those, you’d better head off to IWOOT and use the discount code!

Empire Direct Sale and Discount Codes

Anyone looking for some bargain electrical items should look no further than the Empire Direct Sale, which combined with these Empire Direct discount codes will save you a fair few pounds.



10% voucher for Washing Machines and Tumble Dryers
Voucher ID: EL4072
Username: edmember

3% voucher for Satellite Navigation
Voucher ID: EL4080
Username: edmember

To use any of these Empire Direct discount codes, simply enter the relevant discount code and username from the list above, at the basket stage and you will then receive your discount when you proceed to the checkout.

Happy bargain hunting!