Supermarkets are always busy places, and somewhere all walks of life reliably come together.

Whether you're popping in for a meal deal or doing your weekly shop, everyone is there on their own mission - hundreds of little stories, all in one place.

With that in mind, we spent an hour this week walking around the Tesco Extra store in Queensway in Yeovil to see what small insights into people's lives we could pick up.

It is fair to say the results only served to underline how different people can be.

We scoured every aisle, as well the upstairs café, just to see what came our way - and here is the best that Tesco had to offer us.

1. Surviving the shower

A woman was heard to say to a friend as they discussed her re-done house: "I tell you what, it's got one hell of a shower now.

"Getting out of it, you almost feel like you've survived something."

I can only imagine she was thinking more along the lines of monsoon season in India than the Alamo.

2. We don't drink much, honest

As a couple, presumed to be parents, examined the bottles of fizz in the wine aisle, their son examined the prices and remarked, astonished, that they were actually pretty expensive.

After a second's silence, the mum replied: "Well, we don't drink it that much."

It was harder to say who looked shiftier when the parents exchanged a look.

3. You and your fancy fruit

In examining a pack of probiotic yoghurts, a woman remarked to her friend, who was browsing nearby: "Ah, these are the ones that have got all that fancy science stuff in it."

Without even looking back, her friend absently remarked: "Yeah, strawberries."

I had never considered strawberries either particularly fancy or scientific, but maybe that's just me.

Tesco Extra, Queensway, Yeovil

4. The ketchup seen around the world

This is a topic I have certainly heard discussed before but it deserves mentioning.

In picking up a bottle of ketchup, a mum sighed: "I mean, I don't know how it comes under 'World Foods' but whatever."

Her daughter, indignant at the callous slight on her beloved condiment, disagreed.

5. Get the kid some heavier milk

When a small child picked up the smallest milk carton he could find, he was confused by it.

"Why do they make them this small?" he asked.

His dad, shrugging, simply answered: "They're just small I think."

The child, clearly not satisfied with the answer, took one in each hand and launched into what can only be described as a series of energetic bicep curls.

"Yeah they're too small for me," he said proudly when he finished and replaced them on the shelves.

Get that kid some weights or something.

6. How much does she go through?

After a husband had picked up a bottle of wine and deposited it in the trolley, his wife absently said to him: "You'd better get a couple more of those, Susan* is coming over later."

Not one. A couple more.

No further comment was offered on the apparent hollowness of Susan's legs.

(*Names changed to protect the innocent.)

7. Super Noodles = stir fry

Turning into an aisle, a young boy ran off and shouted back to his dad when he came to a halt: "Dad! I found the Super Noodles!"

His dad, catching up with him, said a little wearily: "We are not getting Super Noodles."

His son came back instantly: "Can't I have them instead of stir fry? I don't like stir fry."

You heard it here first, folks - pot noodles are the stir fry of Generation Z.

8. Impulse purchases

Catching up with the rest of her family, a young girl says with a sense of exhausted pride: ""

Her mum, turning round, asked straightaway: "Did we need more nappies?"

I need only say that every single other member of the family, including the girl who had spoken initially, replied with a firm "no".

Impulse buying gets us all in the end, clearly.

9. Chivalry is not dead

A man in a wheelchair, coming past the entrance to an aisle, met another man coming out of the aisle.

Both, naturally, paused and offered right of passage to the other.

After several seconds of "after you" from both concerned, the second man eventually accepted the generosity.

As he walked on, the man in the wheelchair proudly said to him: "I bet you thought chivalry was dead, didn't you?"

Apparently it is not, and it looks magnificent.

10. We'll have none of your chocolate nonsense here

Coming out of an aisle consulting a list, a woman said to her companion: "Right, I think that's about it."

Her companion politely enquired as to whether she'd picked up biscuits.

The woman responded: "No, I haven't got biscuits, and I'll tell you for why, there weren't any I like.

"They've got ones with chocolate in them and that's all they've got. Horrible."

I suppose there is room for all tastes in this world.

11. End of shop blues

Consulting her list, a mum brightly remarks to her young daughter: "Okay, I think that's everything! We're going home!"

I can say, hand on heart, I have never seen a child look more devastated.

How attitudes can change as we grow.

Want more news?



12. Are parents too suspicious?

It must be confessed the full context of this conversation was not heard, but in walking past a teenage couple, the girl was heard to remark: "I can't believe your mum got suspicious even though we were literally jumping on the bed!"

I know parents have heard many explanations but there are times it could be said they are a little too suspicious of their kids.

13. Please don't rob a bank

Sometimes even a bit of dry wit can miss its mark.

Remarking on the price of her shopping, a woman said amicably to a friend: "I tell you what, I might have to rob a bank after all this spending!"

Her friend, in dead seriousness, replied: "Oh, I do hope it doesn't come to that."

Although the good intentions behind her comment were laudable, it was honestly impossible to tell if she was serious or if this was seriously deep-cover sarcasm.

14. Never had a Pot Noodle?

It is easy to forget, however much something may have been a staple of our lifetime diets, that some people probably won't have been there before.

Having been asked by her friend what her favourite Pot Noodle flavour was, a girl was forced to admit she had never sampled their (perhaps questionable) delights before.

"You've never had a Pot Noodle?!" her friend exclaimed.

"No," she mused, "but if I did it would probably be chicken and mushroom, but then again I don't really like mushrooms so it's a tricky one."

A tricky one indeed.

Got a funny tale or local story to share? Email

15. Dog leads for...what?

Talking to a friend who was trying to balance the attentions of her young son, a woman said enthusiastically: "Yeah, I could really do with one of those dog leads sometimes, just to tie to them so you can pull them back when you need to."

I am prepared to assume she was also talking about the difficulties of raising children, but there were no children in sight near her.

Heaven only knows.