I know Winchester and its residents can often be stereotyped as being pretty affluent – and, in some cases, a little bit posh – but I rarely expect to see said stereotype play out in front of my eyes. I certainly don’t tend to think I’ll see it when I’m shopping in Sainsbury’s. And yet I did, just the other day!

Picture the scene. A mother and her daughter, no older than 10, are making their way up the aisle ahead of me. It’s the weekend and there’s been a buzz right through the city centre all day, so the little girl is slightly hyperactive. She’s jumping and dancing around, she can’t stay still even for a second. To be honest, she’s exactly the kind of child I try to stay as far away as possible from in my chair. That’s because I’m moving with the constant fear that she’ll come barrelling into me at any moment, there’ll be lots of noise and tears, and the blame will land squarely at my feet – after all, there’s no way the little angel could have done anything wrong.

Thankfully, that doesn’t happen. Instead, the girl’s mother notices that she won’t settle down, and decides to resort to bribery. I remember Mum doing that a few times in my own childhood, and it always worked.

“Would you like a snack?”

There’s no response. The girl still isn’t listening.

“You should have a snack before bed, otherwise you won’t sleep.”

This time, the girl listens and stops dancing around. She considers the suggestion.

There’s a long pause. Then comes the clincher.

“How about an avocado?”

“Yeah!”

Mason