WE have one supermarket that serves us well.

Petrol prices are the best in the area, parking is easy, the staff are cheerful and gracious and the cold roast chickens are a bargain.

However, there is one irritating aspect of shopping there.

It is buying fruit.

I am instantly attracted to punnets containing fresh looking nectarines or plums and can already imagine they joy of consuming these juicy delights.

However, this is something I cannot do.

Many punnets carry a message that has these warning words ‘ripen in the fruit bowl’.

These attractive fruits are raw.

No way can they be instantly consumed.

What use is a fruit bowl full of fruit that cannot be eaten?

How long will these fruits take to ripen?

How long will the fruit bowl be out of action?

As a shopper I am frustrated and bewildered.

The products are left on the shelves, being suitable perhaps for a game of boule or replacing the Dukes ball used in the current Ashes series.

They would certainly keep their shine.

I can see why the supermarket does not sell fruit ready for consumption.

It can easily be past its best and there will be wastage but surely there must be a solution found that offers a better deal for the customer.

Eating fruit is a spontaneous joy but too much of what is on offer totally removes the opportunity of any spontaneity and there is little joy it devouring it.

Of course the answer is easy.

Go somewhere else, and indeed we do.

Fortunately there is an excellent green grocer within walking distance.

That does not alter the fact that I expect my leading supermarket to do better.

Science, technology or simple human common sense should be deployed to give those of us who relish a ripe nectarine a better deal.

The contents of a fruit bowl should always be fresh and changing with the seasons, not full of items that need a frequent dusting.