Today I went to Lidl in search of something from their current special offers which I first saw on a big board outside the shop I walk past most days. Before whenever I have tried to buy something from here there has been little on offer however today (the specials start on Thursdays) I managed to get what I was after.

Lidl is a little bit like aldi and it is pretty basic. It is a cheap grocery shop which sells most things grocery you could want to buy. Hardly any of it is a brand you will recognise but to me that means that you aren't paying for a load of marketing and branding, just to get pretty much the same product.

I find I can't buy everything from Lidl but I can get loads of things and I think it is good for cheap student (read horrible) alcohol, sweets and chocolate, and also fruit juices.

Lidl don't take credit cards as a method of payment and this isn't very clear (I have been embarassed a few times at the till) they only take cash or debit cards. I think this is so that they can pass on the savings to the customers (us) which is good!

Lidl have also always charged for bags, starting form 3p. I think this is becoming more and more accepted however it still irks me because I usually forget. I think it is a good thing in general and the carrier bags are stronger than your typical tesco bag.

They also make you hurry through the tills as they want you to buy everything, then take it aside to pack it. The cashiers are also monitored on their scanning rate so this is very important to them. This can be a bit flustering but generally it is ok, it just does cause you to be a bit all over the place at the tills.

In general the stores are clean and tidy but it is a bit of pile it high and sell it cheap, although not everything is thaaat cheap but it does seem to be of relatively fine quality.

Some people won't shop at lidl because they dont think it is very good or they think it is a bit too poor and lame for them but I think this is just supermarket snobbery and I think it is not really worth while. I will always shop whereever is local and I can get high quality produce at a low price.

I just think with some places you just need to know what is ok to buy and what to leave.