This happened months ago when I first moved to Swindon. At that time, I was still taking bus to and fro work. One evening after work, on the way back from the bus station back to my home, I went into Tesco Metro (at that time, everything is still new so I enjoyed walking into stores to see what's on offer). In UK supermarket (Tesco, Sainsbury, Mark & Spencer etc), there's a section called 'snack' selling sandwiches, salads, wraps etc. So if you want to grab something to eat but don't want to spend too much in a restaurant, this is a good option. Typically sandwiches cost around 2 pounds (2 slices of bread plus fillings, normally cut into triangle shape).
On that evening, as I was walking pass the snack counter in Tesco, I saw that the egg sandwiches cost only 10 pence each !!! I was very surprised, but on a closer look, these egg sandwiches will expire on that day. Egg, to me, is not safe to consume after the expiry date. Yes there are cheap, but unless you are planning to eat it now, you won't want to buy them. I wasn't interested so I went on in. After a quick round inside the store, I plan to leave the store when I saw an elderly man. He is very thin and his back slightly hunched. His clothing is a bit rugged and dirty. He has a basket in his hand and with his skinny shaking hand, he's clearing all the 10p egg sandwiches on the snack counters. There must be more than 10 of them and I don't think he will be able to finish them that night. He must be planning to keep them for later on since they are cheap.
Realizing that, I was sadden by this sight. Many questions came into mind. Why is he doing this? Isn't he afraid that he might get sick from the expired sandwiches? Where is his family? Does he has a family? Does he has children? If he has children, why aren't they taking care of him? Do they know that their father is eating this soon to expire food? Why is this so ? Why?
This also reminded me of a time when I was in China on business trip. As I was walking on the main road, I saw a lady in her mid-forties. Her hair messy and clothes torn. Obviously she is homeless and is probably a begger. She was harvesting at a huge rubbish bin and retrieved a polyester pack with some left over food inside. Then to my horror, she started eating the food there and then with her hands. Also, millions of questions came into mind.
No, I am not saying there's no poor people in MY and SG, and I have come face to face with some of them too. But still everytime I encounter these people, I will be sadden by that sight. For those not so old people, why don't they find a job? If you are willing to work, surely you'll be able to find a job to feed yourself. For those elderly people who are not able to work, why aren't the family and children taking care of them? Part of life I guess ? but it's just so sad...
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