In the days before the Zoe, a shopping trip went like this: drive to the supermarket, load up, leave.
What we do now is this: drive to the leisure centre, negotiate a parking space near the charge point, connect the car, don a rucksack and walk to the supermarket…. Coming back to the car laden with groceries is more a trudge than a walk.
Then there’s the fun of disconnecting the car from the charge point – not always straightforward – winding the lead into its bag, and stowing the lot in the boot (next to said groceries).
It’s worth it for the free charge, of course, which is why we bother doing it. But just lately we made a significant improvement by dusting down an object we used to rely on when we shopped with very small children – no, not a push chair, but a wheelie basket.
I was given the basket many years ago and, when we had small children and lived within walking distance of our local Sainsbury’s, it came into its own. The youngest child would be strapped to my chest, the eldest walked and the wheelie basket carried the shopping.
That way shopping became an expedition: while the youngest slept the eldest was free to explore every crack in the pavement and balance on every garden wall hand in hand with mummy, while the heavy basket followed on behind and could be put down at any moment.
The wheelie basket is coming to our aid now as we drag our shopping to the car, once again making life easier. And as you can see in the picture, once the groceries are safely stowed in the boot, the empty basket even fits neatly on the back seat of the car! The blue bike lock is used to chain it to a post while we shop.
So nowadays shopping trips are slightly more complicated, but much more fun. What’s not to like?
Life with an Electric Car 