A Sainsbury’s shopper has shared her experience at a store this week after being told to cover her shorts after a male customer complained they were too short.
Lauren O’Conner, 33, was minding her own business shopping at Sainsbury’s in Staines when a staff member approached her to tell her to ‘pull down her T-shirt’ to cover her shorts.
The member of staff went on to explain that despite the scorching 32C heat, they received a complaint from a male shopper about her outfit.
Of course, Lauren was raging. She Tweeted: “I am so angry right now.”
I’m so angry right now. Just been approached by a @sainsburys staff member in Staines store to ‘pull my t shirt down’. An elderly man made comment to staff member who felt compelled to come over and tell me as I was shopping. It’s 32 degrees. If I want to wear shorts I will.
She continued: “Just been approached by a Sainsburys staff member in Staines store to ‘pull my t shirt down’.
“An elderly man made comment to staff member who felt compelled to come and tell me as I was shopping.
“It’s 32 degrees. If I want to wear shorts I will.”
Laura attached a picture of her outfit – pink jersey shorts and a green and white striped t shirt – with the Tweets.
She explained: “For reference, this is my outfit. All I wanted was ice lollies and I get shamed in store doing so. So disappointed.
“When are we going to stop telling women how to dress? Especially when topless men frequent supermarkets, which I highly doubt are told to change [sic].”
@laurenoconnorPR / Twitter
Speaking to FEMAIL, Lauren said she was ‘humiliated’ by the incident. She added: “I was at a loss for words that A, someone felt the need to comment on what I was wearing and tell a member of staff.
“And B, that the member of staff told me about it. I was mortified. I was wearing a mask but can you imagine the colour my cheeks would have been.”
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s told FEMAIL: “We are speaking to the store to understand what happened and would like to apologise to Lauren for any offence caused.”
For reference, this is my outfit. All I wanted was ice lollies. N I get shamed in store doing so. So disappointed. When are we going to stop telling women how to dress? Especially when topless men frequent supermarkets, which I highly doubt are told to change. pic.twitter.com/1sZcztSop0
Lauren’s case is not the only example of this situation. Throughout history women have continually been told what they ‘can’ and ‘cannot’ wear.
In 1942, America introduced restrictions on women’s clothing due to material rations while simultaneously keeping men’s clothing exactly the same. Swimwear became smaller and so the bikini was invented – at a time when women weren’t allowed to show their belly button.
In 1919 an activist was sent to jail for wearing a man’s suit in public. In the 1890’s table legs were covered because ‘they resembled women’s legs’ which also had to be covered at the time.
Just four years ago in 2016, France banned Burkinis – a type of swimwear – forcing Muslim women to remove headscarves while on the beach.
Because they don’t like women taking up space. So have to knock us down a peg. Especially when they’re the ones looking at us.
Many Twitter users responded to Lauren’s Tweets with similar disgust for the situation.
One user wrote: “so Sainsbury’s you’re [sic] not going to police people to wear a mask in a pandemic but will happily police women’s bodies in a heatwave?”
Another wrote: “I’m sorry this happened to you. They shouldn’t be able to say things like that. It’s your body not their’s.”
Contrastingly, some users have argued with Lauren claiming she is wrong. One wrote: “This is inaccurate. I have been with a shirtless man in Sainsbury’s when he was asked to put his shirt on whilst in store. However upset or angry you are, it was not sexism. Might feel harsh or misplaced judgement but not certainly sexist. Men do get treated the same.”
Lauren responded to one user with: “I’m so livid about it. When are we going to stop giving the space for men who can’t stop being perverts? I am so tired of having to defend my existence and love of booty shorts!!”
M&S shoppers are raving over a festive cocktail that is a Christmas twist on a delicious summer classic, and it’s already on shelves.
Shoppers are going mad for the new festive ‘must have’ with one bargain hunter spotting it already stocked in her local Marks’, which she posted to social media.
The savvy shopper shared a snap of the luxurious gold and red bottle with an Art Deco logo, which quickly went viral with the post racking up over 1,000 likes.
Snack News & Reviews / Facebook
The photo also shows the M&S Christmas Colada is on sale for £5.50 a bottle.
A festive twist on the classic piña colada, it’s flavoured with ‘pineapple juice, coconut milk, and warming spices with two measures of white rum’, and is sure to go down a treat this winter season.
The Christmas bargain was shared to the Snack News & Reviews Facebook page where users rushed to social media to share their excitement for the product, calling it a ‘must have’ as they also praised the price.
Peter McDermott / Geograph
A great gift to bring along to Christmas dinner parties, shoppers say it is perfect for something to sip on throughout the season’s festivities.
One person wrote: “Defo getting this wee number for Christmas Day!” Another said: “Wow, two measures. I’ll have three bottles. What is everyone else drinking?”
While a third put: “Ooohhh yes. I can feel a few pre-Xmas party drinks at mine coming on.” And a fourth typed: “M&S pulling it out the bag again with their Christmas drinks!!”
Robert Wade (Wadey) / Flickr
Other users wondered whether M&S’ popular drinks ‘Let it Sloe’ and ‘Slow Fizz’ are back in stock again for the upcoming Christmas season.
It comes after one shopper urged people to head to their nearest M&S immediately as she was able to bag around £100 worth of shopping for just £16.
Victoria Evangeline posted a video on her TikTok saying: “M&S prices are a joke. They are ridiculous at the moment, you’ve got to see this.”
She went on to say M&S are getting rid of all their summer stock to make way for its Christmas range and that’s why some of its prices are so low – so best get down there asap!
People have been put off eating kebabs after finding out the truth of what really goes into their favourite takeaway.
As a weekend treat or just something to soak up the booze after a bender, many Brits flock to kebab shops for a tasty doner topped with chilli sauce, garlic and jalapeños.
Whatever it’s made of, it looks delicious and smells amazing as the juicy meat rotates around while you wait for your order.
But have you ever wondered what exactly makes up the doner meat? And do you even dare to find out?
Acabashi / Wikimedia
Well, Jimmy Doherty decided to do just that for Food Unwrapped and he got down to the bare bones of what’s inside this British staple.
He collected nine different doner kebabs from as many establishments and took them to a lab for testing analysis, where scientist Paul Hancock put them under the microscope to find out what lurks within them.
Most of us take for granted that a lamb doner is exactly that and is therefore made up of 100% lamb meat. But Hancock put the takeaway treats to the test.
He searched for other meat sources including chicken, pork and beef, as well as horse, goat and donkey meat.
Food Unwrapped / YouTube
Low and behold, only one of the nine kebabs brought back to the lab came back as being made up of 100% lamb DNA – though we’re not sure which parts of the lamb specifically.
The rest came back as containing DNA of other animals, as Hancock said: “There’s only one doner kebab that is actually doing the real thing, is the real deal.
“Most of them contain chicken. We’ve also got a couple that contain beef. Fortunately we found no goat, no donkey and no horse in any of the products.”
When Doherty asked the scientist what he thought the outcome would be with a larger sample size, saying: “If I gave you 900 doner kebabs, who knows what kind of results we’d have found?”
Food Unwrapped / YouTube
Hancock replied: “I would expect to see around a 60% failure rate. That would probably be typical.”
The small scale investigation into what’s inside a doner kebab took a few people by surprise with one fan of the food saying they found it ‘scary’ to know.
One social media user posted in the comments section of the Food Unwrapped Youtube channel: “Even if I could overlook the rubbish mixed in with the meat, the fact that these meats are heated and cooled many times bothers me.”
Another said: “Scary! What is really sad is that only one store out of the nine used lamb. If they can get away with it and it costs them nothing they will do it!”
While someone else added: “This is important to know often these kebab shops people tell people it’s lamb but in reality contains beef and pork too. We might not care what its made of but still should be able to make informed decisions and they should punish these people who just add random stuff.”
Yet some weren’t as put off as you’d think, as one person wrote: “I don’t care what it is made of – as long as the ingredients are honestly listed so I can make an informed choice.”
Someone else typed: “I hope my kebabs are up to scratch but after 18 pints of lager I tend not to question the ingredients…!” and another joked (hopefully): “As long as they taste like they do I’d still eat them even if it had humans in it.”
Experts have predicted there will be a strong chance of snow falling on Christmas Day this year.
Just a few months remain until the big day, which means the countdown is officially on.
In an early outlook, bookmaker William Hill’s betting odds suggest there’s a pretty strong chance we could perhaps be more than dreaming of a white Christmas this year, with Manchester at 4/1.
Snow is looking good for parts of Scotland as the betting firm have made it just 2/1 in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and 3/1 in Leeds. Winter is definitely coming and the North could be covered in a blanket of snow.
Pete Birkinshaw / Flickr
Liverpool and Newcastle can bet on odds of snow falling in their Northern cities at 20/1.
And anyone betting on a snowy winter wonderland this Christmas in the capital can take 11/1, while Gatwick is at 20/1.
Lee Phelps, a spokesperson for William Hill, said: “Before you know it the supermarkets are stacked high with mince pies and everyone is wondering whether we’ll have a White Christmas.
“The early betting makes Edinburgh and Glasgow the leading spots to see snow this year at just 2/1, while anyone who fancies a White Christmas in the capital, London, can take 11/1.
Aleks / Pexels
“Of all the markets relating to Christmas released today, the most hotly tipped one has to be King Charles III to reign supreme on Christmas Day, with the royal broadcast looking nailed-on at 1/6 to draw in the day’s highest peak viewership.”
With Christmas inescapably in your face now – as supermarkets have already started stacking their shelves for those who like to shop early and those who may need reminding before it creeps upon you – William Hill also has a list of other Christmas specials.
These include LadBaby to record another festive chart topper at even money and King Charles III’s speech to be the most watched programme on Christmas day, at 1/6.
Rob Young / Wikimedia
William Hill odds for snow on Christmas Day 2023:
Edinburgh (Airport) 2/1
Glasgow (Airport) 2/1
Leeds (Leeds-Bradford airport) 3/1
Belfast (Airport) 7/2
New York (JFK International airport) 4/1
Manchester (Airport) 4/1
Birmingham (Airport) 6/1
Cardiff (Airport) 10/1
London (City Airport) 11/1
Bristol (Airport) 20/1
Dublin (Airport) 20/1
Paris (Charles de Gaulle International airport) 20/1