Nothing but praise here again for The League of Friends at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. Mum had a recent extended stay after I gave her Covid*. She much preferred the tea from the LoF to that provided on the ward. Miles, a Somerset tea producer, tea bags. Much nicer than the Costa offering. Every visit I would grab a cup of tea for her from the LoF shop. It was only in the second week of her stay that one of the League's staff told me there was a loyalty card for hot drinks. I said in passing that I'd probably purchased a dozen cuppas of the past week. She got two loyalty cards and stamped each six times. Two free cuppas!

Their range of sandwiches was far superior to those from the M&S food outlet at the hospital.



*Covid. I contracted it in September. Mum and I have just been offered our annual vaccination. That's somewhat closing the stable door...
Poor Mum ended up with a chest infection and pulmonary embolism. Discovered after she had a fall that necessitated a trip to A&E. Badly bruised and sprained, but fortunately not broken, ankle.

 
Thanks for your post, broadgage - and I'm sorry to learn that you have suffered some medical issues.

May we wish you all the best for a full recovery.

CfN.

 

As discussed elsewhere  on these forums I have recently had a long hospital stay, and several shorter stays. I was most impressed by the service offered by the league of friends at Musgrove park hospital. Confectionery delivered to the bedside and a limited range of other goods including black ball point pens, of which there was a hospital wide shortage.
I appreciate that this is a very old thread, but the points raised are still relevant.

 

My apologies (pronounced as in "Black Adder") - I am confusing it with Heathrow, Gatwick, or somewhere else I have flown out of recently. I think, with hindsight and a discussion with my equally confused wife Viv, that it may even have been W H Smith. Others are, of course, available (retailers, that is, not wives).

 

One thing Bristol Airport has now is a water fountain not far from Superdrug by the Toilets, just take a empty plastic water bottle through security and fill it.

The worse prices for water was at the German Airports, they also charge a refundable deposit of about 2 euros on top of about 5 euros for a standard water.

Basset

 
Do you mean Superdrug Tony? No Boots at Bristol Airport sadly.

 

They have you by the short ones there, though, with the "No liquids" rule. Hence a bottle of water can cost up to £1.50, as opposed to 19p in Tesco or Lidl. Boots, as stated, still offer their meal deal, at least at Bristol Airport.

 

They get a lot of my trade, too.  Exceptionally good value meal deals!

 

Boots seem to be the only retailer who charge the same price in their station/airport sites as in the high streets. For which reason, they get a lot of my trade. Special offers seem to be the same too!

 

Ironically that has not been the case at some GWR stations where some units have been paying a rent way below market rates for years and have not had to cover the cost of power or rubbish collections.    GWR is now looking at this and talking to unit owners to put the relationship on a more business like footing.   It isn't just about the rent however - in some cases the presence of a unit has other benefits - like greater station security or waiting facilities which is being factored in.

 
My daughter just flew back from Naples having texted me to say she'd spent €40 (of my money!) on chocolate at the airport. Foolishly, I mentally translated that to mean 'a lot'... 

 
Nothing compared to the sheer and utter daylight robbery taking place in Airports around the world.

 
At the larger stations it also pays to shop around the various retail outlets. An example I found recently at Waterloo was extra strong mints 99p in WH Smiths, 65p in Boots

 
from ITV

 

My own strategy for long journeys. For shorter ones, it's "Don't eat".

 
Rental fees for commercial space at stations are higher thann the high street, and they need to be paid for unfortunately - ditto airports. Premium space attracts higher rents.

The only national chain that doesn't seem to up their prices - certainly on food & drink - is Boots, where the same prices & offers (241s etc) are found at stations as in the high street. I guess their rents are all poled & national pricing covers these in total.

Of course, shops like M&S in stations are concessions,not run by the chain (SSP in M&S case) & thus can't pool their rents with their high street rents, hence charging more than M&S high street outlets.

 
Your Munchies May Vary!

 
for those who remember Kiera at Redland and her great coffee ,I had the pleasure of speaking with her just before Christmas, she's well and enjoying life doing something completely different these days.

 

To paraphrase Donald Tusk, there is a special place in hell reserved for those who describe such a thing as a "pasty" - heresy! 

 
For the sake of fairness, a number of coffee outlets at stations are on or about the same prices as what you are likely to pay in the town. The underpass coffee stall at Temple Meads gives a very decent cup for a reasonably comparable price to elsewhere.

Those familiar with Redland Station will probably also remember and sadly miss the excellent Coffee Trike run by Kiera on weekday mornings until 2 or 3 years back.

 
Back in the day BAA used to make big play in their advertising that prices in the shops in their airports were at least the same as those in the equivalent high street outlets. Although some of these would have benefited from the VAT regime airside.

 

Ditto - wherever the money goes, my purchases at most station outlets tend to be "distress purchases".  I'm fortunate in not having to worry about how I pay my electric bill if I spend the money on a pastie, but knowing what I've paid can degrade the pleasure of the experience of even a really fresh product.

 

You have more willpower than me; I can't pass the shop in the underpass without investing in a veggie pastie, they just smell soooo good! - highlight of my day, and worth every penny! YMMV!

 
Although if such shops are run by a League of Friends or similar charitable/benevolent organisation then it's perhaps a little more agreeable if their prices are higher than the 'outside'. Run by volunteers, who often provide a bedside service too, their profits are used to provide the goods, help and assistance to inpatients that aren't provided by the NHS. My last time as an inpatient, an emergency admission, I had no money on me for toiletries. The LoF provided me with complimentary items.

In hospitals where there is a choice between a brand outlet, such as an M&S Food or WHSmith, and a League of Friends, then I'll choose the latter wherever possible.

 
Probably worse than the prices at stations are the prices at shops in hospitals, very much a captive audience.

 
A slow news day at The Mirror? Costly outlets at rail stations can hardly be a revelation to most people. I tend to plan any eating arrangements to exclude station outlet options.
Once though, at Temple Meads, I had a slight case of the munchies but after a quick look at the prices of the pasties in the underpass, I suddenly didn't feel all that hungry any more.

 

There's an M & S at Waterloo - get a sandwich from there instead of Upper Crust and over the course of a year you will probably save enough to get a 1st class season ticket! 

 

Yes..............but..............it's usually the wrong people "wot gets the blame" ! Could I recommend "The Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford - the first chapter in this book goes into the cost of a coffee at Waterloo.......... and the people who are making the most money out of it aren't Costa/Starbucks etc, etc.

Motorway service areas come in for a huge amount of (largely unjustified) flak. People complain about the exorbitant prices therein when they stop for the "free" loos and "free" parking which have to be available 365/24/7. Who's getting the most out of this ? not M & S/WH Smith or Burger King.

When I get the 1920 out of Waterloo I usually get something from Upper Crust beforehand to have with a coffee on the train. The baguettes from there are good quality, always fresh and not too bad price wise - would I rather pay half as much for the kind of fare (edible type !) that was available years ago at stations or on the trains ? I think not.  Having said that, I was horrified when my daughter told me what she paid there for a Cornish Pasty a couple of weeks ago 

 
Nothing new but not as bad as airport prices which are appalling. €6 for an egg sandwich, €2 for a small bottle of water in Lisbon airport the other day just two examples of daylight robbery.

 
Twas ever thus.....rail stations, motorway services, airports....

 
Some companies, (fast food for example) charge exactly the same whether in the station or out. But I get the impression that shops with offers outside (241s etc) often do not in stations/motorway services etc. I avoid trying to buy snacks at stations, preferring to get something much cheaper just outside. But to be fair, I imagine they pay very rents for space in a station which has be covered somehow.

 
from the Sunday Mirror