Thursday, 25 April 2013

A divided country


For reasons of work planning, I had decided that the family’s weekly grocery shopping should take place this morning. Consequently, I drove to my local supermarket, a big place just a mile from home.

My first surprise was to see the car parking pretty empty. Then, I walked to the shop only to find out that it was closed. There was a strike across the board in Brussels and in the French-speaking part of the country, I was told. Attendants working for large commercial stores were among those heavily engaged in the labour action.

Well, a plan is a plan. So, I decided to drive for about seven or eight miles along the same road out of the capital city and do my shopping in the Flemish region. In a supermarket of the same chain the one next to my place belongs to. And I did. In that part of the country what had been called a national strike was a non-event. 

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