What Are The Greatest Changes In Shopping In Your Lifetime

What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.

As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.

That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.

Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.

Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.

Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.

Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.

That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.

Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.

Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.

My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.

Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.

And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.

All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:

• Farm eggs

• Fresh vegetables

• Cow’s milk

• Freshly baked bread

• Coal for our open fires

Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.

Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.

Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.

Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.

My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.

The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.

Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.

Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.

People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.

In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.

Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.

• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.

• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.

• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.

On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.

Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.

We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.

Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.

My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.

Why Is Organic Antioxidant Skin Care The Very Best For Your Skin?

These might at first glance sound like easy questions to answer.1. Are all skin care products out in the market place safe?
2. Can you develop skin conditions just from using certain skin care products?
3; Can skin care products actually cause serious harm to your health?
4. Are there skin care products that are effective and also good for your health and cause no harm to your skin?Question number one is a resounding no! There are many skin care product lines that are widely sold in the market place that are not safe. Many of these skin care products contain caustic chemicals, preservatives and many other additives that can cause not only skin reactions but can also lead to serious conditions both on your skin and for your overall health.The answer to question number two is yes. Many people develop skin conditions from the products they are using and don’t even know that the products are the source. They keep using the products they are familiar with and use makeup to cover the problems. When a skin care product has a variety of synthetic chemicals in it the potential for negative reactions to the skin are widely different for different people.Question number three’s answer is also yes. Long term use of chemical ingredient skin care products can cause many forms of long term health issues. Like cancer, auto immune disease. There are many types of illnesses that are related to the absorption of toxic compounds through the skin. It’s bad enough that we all absorb toxic compounds just being exposed to the environment, we live in a very toxic world these days. Then to also add more toxic chemicals willingly through the skin care products you use is insult to injury.Question number four is answered yes. There are definitely skin care products available that are not only very effective but also good for your health and for your skin.
This what the rest of this article is about, the positive message that you can take great care of your skin, stay looking younger, heal and prevent skin conditions and prevent serious health problems that can start through your skin.The concept of organic skin care has gained a lot of attention. The idea that what you put on your skin should be pure, chemical free and have no synthetic ingredients makes perfect sense. If you believe it’s better to eat organic food, as opposed to food grown with pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals, or foods processed with preservatives, additives and other unnatural food compounds, then the same should go for skin care.Of coarse you should be conscious and concerned about the food you eat and it’s effect on your health, you should also be conscious about what you put on your skin.Your skin being your bodies largest organ is the filter and the protector for your body from all the toxicity you are exposed to in the modern world. If you have healthy well treated skin that has been fed lots of antioxidants and your are internally also healthy with a strong immune system, you can fight off all the free radicals that attack you through your skin and can potentially cause serious damage to your health.Antioxidants are if not the most important compounds, they rank right at the top of the organic compounds we all need in our bodies and on our skin. We have to add them daily and keep the absorption of antioxidants at a consistently high level. It is sad to say but we do live in a very polluted world and much of this toxicity in deliberately added in the quest for profitable products. Companies get their products approved without the longer term health studies that should be completed so the consumer can be assured the products are safe.The only real clear way to know for sure whether a specific skin care product has no harmful side effects, is to only use organic products that have zero synthetic additives, chemicals or other ingredients that are not from the natural world. Of coarse there are compounds in the natural world that are toxic, and ingredients in organic products that can effect different people in different ways, so as with any product or food, read the labels and know what you are eating or putting on your skin. If the company is a reputable company with a positive track record and their skin care products are all organic it is a good bet they will do you no harm.

HR Departments Should Use Online Business English Courses for Corporate Training

Why do I say that corporate Human Resource Departments should use online Business English courses for corporate training? An Online Business English teaching website using Skype or a virtual classroom can be useful for developing their employees and increasing their competitiveness. There are also some other very good reasons.One reason is that there is a trend towards using more online learning courses in the corporate world. There must be some good reasons for corporations to be doing this. These online courses can be more flexible in timing, number of attendees, etc. They can be more effective due to having one to one training or smaller groups (not as costly so no need to have large classes to reduce the cost per person). Thus, an online course will take less money out of the HR training budget, or it will allow more people to be trained with the same amount of money.Why online courses?They can be cost effective. There will be no needed airfare costs to bring in a trainer, or to send the students to the location, and also there will be no lodging and food costs. A classroom may not be needed for the students to access the internet. With a virtual classroom it is just like a classroom: there is a whiteboard that can be used by both the students and teacher, the teacher can show videos, the class can review word documents, excel files, and PowerPoint presentations. Many of the virtual classrooms can have students online at one time from five different locations, so there may be no need to have a physical classroom for the students to take the online course. As well, because of the lower cost, the course can be given to fewer students and still be cost effective. The money saved by using online courses can be used to give more courses to the employees.If the HR departments and corporations are doing online training courses then why not online Business English courses? As shown above, online courses can have significant cost savings for companies. These can be used to upgrade and improve the English of the non-native English speakers in your corporation that have to deal in English in the business world. The courses can be customized to suit the needs of the company and the students. With fewer students needed to make the courses cost effective they can be even more customized for the students.Why online Business English courses?They can improve international communications for sales and business people. Employees, especially sales people, will be better able to give presentations. Employee will be more comfortable in business situations. There will be fewer communication problems with clients and suppliers. These courses can be targeted to an individual’s problem areas.What courses can be taken?There are many business English courses that you can take. For example Business English Courses: English Job interviews, Business Correspondence, Presentations in English, Writing, Resume Writing, and Business English, Negotiation, Meetings, Telephoning, Socializing, and other similar courses. There are many online English and Business English courses, some which use Skype and others that use a virtual classroom providing lessons. A virtual classroom will have an on screen whiteboard on which both the student and teacher can write and draw, be able to show Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, and be able to show YouTube videos during the class.What are the benefits to the company?The benefits to the company are many. Foreign companies can improve the English of local hires since most communication will probably be in English. Local companies can improve communications with foreign clients and suppliers. Your employees will be happier because they will be more comfortable talking with clients or suppliers in English. The clients and suppliers will be happier because there will be fewer problems caused by miscommunication. Online courses can be run with fewer students, so there will be a cost savings because the neither trainer nor the students need to be brought together.For headhunters and human resource recruiting companies their candidate will be more appealing to the client, and will be more marketable. They should do better in job interviews with the client and be more likely to be hired by a foreign or international company searching for local employees.In summary there are many benefits and savings from online Business English courses. Your employees will be more comfortable speaking English, there will be fewer communication problems, your sales presentations will go smoothly, and you will have lower training costs per employee. HR departments should use online Business English courses for all or part of their training needs if they are doing business internationally.