Home brand and then

more home brand and more home brand and....
      "Where did you get this stuff?" the Senior Cat asked me yesterday.
      "In the supermarket," I told him, "It was the only sort available."
      "Well please don't buy it again. It's useless."
Yes the "sticky tape" (sellotape or Scotch tape for those of you in the northern hemisphere) was not working well. He was a very frustrated cat. 
We sorted out the problem between us but the job was not as neat as it should have been. That did not please the Senior Cat and it infuriated me.
It infuriated me because the tape I had bought was the only brand available in the supermarket. It looked the same as other brands. From memory it was no cheaper than other brands.
On close inspection - only possible once we had opened the roll and started to use it - it seemed thinner than the Senior Cat's preferred brand. It tore down the middle as he was trying to use it and seemed to lack any strength at all. What is more it didn't "stick" particularly well.
I was not impressed. I am not impressed by a good many of the supposedly cheaper "home brand" and "own brand" items available in the supermarkets. 
There are two supermarkets in our local shopping centre - and another across the road. The one across the road is one of those European derived stores that offers no choice. I poked my nose in there out of curiosity but I usually shop in the independently owned supermarket in the shopping centre. 
Yes, that is slightly more expensive - or it is if you don't take other factors into account.  It is owned by local people. It employs a lot of students. The shelves have some "home brand" items but there are also branded items and items I can't find anywhere else. The store tries to stock items in different sizes too. That's also a deliberate policy because the manager is aware that there are a lot of older people who live alone in the district. There are also a considerable number of students of different ethnic backgrounds who cook for themselves. Both groups want smaller quantities. There is also a great range of "ethnic" food. They stock the soy sauce I like to use and a good taco spice mix. 
On Thursdays they give "seniors and pensioners" a small discount. Shop on Thursdays and it is no more expensive than it would be in the other supermarket.
Oh yes, that other supermarket. There is row upon row of "home brand" and very little else - or so it would seem. The packaging looks vaguely familiar - until you look at it closely. It seems cheap - until you look at the size of the packet and consider the quality. Ask Ms W about the home brand baked beans or the softness of the tissues on a cold-ridden nose if you doubt me.
Yes, I do buy things there occasionally. There are things my favourite supermarket does not stock - it has almost no stationery  and no longer stocks light globes - so I am forced to shop in the other place at times.
I don't like it though. I come unstuck there.