FREE mince pie

"get the tea or coffee free instead, when you buy anything" - at my local Waitrose, this is no longer true. I don't know if policy has changed across the country or if it's a decision by individual branches. You now have to have a reusable cup, anything with a lid I was told, in order to get your free cuppa.

I haven't bought a reusable cup because I never buy drinks in disposable ones anyway. In the car I have a plastic water bottle which I've been refilling for months, if not years. I doubt they'd have said that qualifies. The cost of a purpose-built reusable cup would be more than the amount I spend in a whole year in hot drinks outside my own home, and I can't remember the last time I grabbed one to take away - it just isn't part of my lifestyle. That half-hour in the Waitrose caf! was going to be a special treat.

I realise this puts me in a very small minority, but it still feels unfair, as the freebie never was served in a disposable takeaway cup - it was always a ceramic cup and saucer. Waitrose are forcing us to spend money which saves them the cost of washing the crockery, instead of saving plastic.

I'm not going to buy a reusable cup (made of plastic!), and Waitrose lose the profit on the rare piece of cake that I would have bought to go with the freebie. If I must pay for my cuppa, I can't afford the snack as well. In fact they probably lose my custom in the supermarket altogether... I suspect I'm not in their target demographic! And they won't care.