Thursday, February 01, 2007
Easter Bingo.
February 1st. No sign of the Easter Bunny Court, but I just spotted a 4-pack of Hot Cross Buns for $4.28 at Safeway. Can anyone raise me? I don't get to the supermarket all that often, so I have no idea when they first appeared. Maybe two days after Christmas? For a second I thought they were clearance items, and that Easter – normally such a special time – really hadn't made much of an impression on me this year.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
The day we got back from overseas, I stopped into Coles for some necessities and was greeted by Hot Cross Bunny Goodness.
ReplyDeleteSo, at least since January 23rd.
Can't contribute to the bingo astro but can vouch for the buns being available for some time based on our household purchases. Of course, they are conveniently termed "Easter" buns these days to avoid any unintended biblical connotations associated with crosses. In this way we can concentrate properly on the genuine Easter themes, such as the heightened retailing opportunities for the likes of Target (chocolates), Bunnings (4-day renovation projects) and Kmart (camping supplies).
ReplyDelete"Of course, they are conveniently termed "Easter" buns these days to avoid any unintended biblical connotations associated with crosses."
ReplyDeleteI’ve wondered about this. If the intent is to secularise the bun (so members of all faiths can be included in the joy of purchasing a 4-pack of yeasty goodness from Safeway for only $4.28), then changing ‘cross’ to ‘Easter’ seems an odd way to go about it. After all, a cross is really just an abstract shape that pops up all over the place, whereas Easter is first and foremost the most significant event on the Christian calendar.
And anyway, the cross on a Hot Cross Bun isn’t even in the shape of the traditional Christian cross. It’s more a plus sign. Why does a plus sign exclude others? Surely, by its very nature, it’s inclusive! What about Hot Plus Buns? :)
I'm even more cynical than Phil here.
ReplyDelete"Hot Cross Buns" are a specific Christian traditional bun to be eaten on Good Friday, and only on Good Friday.
An "Easter Bun" is (quite obviously) a completely different thing that can be enjoyed throughout the Easter Season. Please buy lots of them.
And may you earn many holy Fly Buy points as you go, JJ :-)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately at $4.28 a pop, buying a box of buns won't qualify you for even a single point.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming that Coles has them at a similar price to Safeway, of course. Most things about the two chains are similar enough, with the exception of the loyalty programs.
ReplyDeleteTroph, your mate who called "FlyBuys" the worst loyalty program ever presumably said so before Safeway introduced theirs which - if I remember correctly - requires you to have an account with the Commonwealth Bank for it to be any good at all.
The salesrobot who told me this did assure me that it would be easy to open a CommBank account.
Which I might have considered, except for the fact that of all the banks I've ever had accounts with, CommBank were the worst.
Except for Westpac.
"Hot Cross Buns" are a specific Christian traditional bun to be eaten on Good Friday, and only on Good Friday. An "Easter Bun" is a completely different thing that can be enjoyed throughout the Easter Season. Please buy lots of them."
ReplyDeleteWhy would changing 'Hot Cross' to 'Easter' mean people would be more likely to eat them whenever they choose? Are you saying people have been waiting for permission to eat Hot Cross Buns throughout the season? Do you actually know anyone who eats HCBs on Good Friday, and only on Good Friday? Even any Christians? I don't eat them until Good Friday (nor Easter eggs until Sunday) but I'm not aware of anyone else who does even that.
"Unfortunately at $4.28 a pop, buying a box of buns won't qualify you for even a single point."
Then why don't you buy two, JJ? Or even three? Don't you realise that the more you buy, the sooner you can fly? Although actually, I seem to recall the matrix changed a while back so that your points are totaled over a 24 hour period, and that they would scan your card for any purchase, even those under $5. If only we had an expert floating around the ether who we could ask... :)
"Troph, your mate who called "FlyBuys" the worst loyalty program ever presumably said so before Safeway introduced theirs."
I imagine the only way he'd find anything good to say about any loyalty program is if it was aligned with BP. He's always been quite the BP zealot. Even before he lived in a New York penthouse on the floor above Samuel L Jackson and was merely a recent commerce graduate BP decided to take a punt on. :)
"...CommBank were the worst. ... Except for Westpac."
(waits) ... (waits) ... Why is it only me who gets corporate genies popping out of bottles when you malign their name?!
Why would changing 'Hot Cross' to 'Easter' mean people would be more likely to eat them whenever they choose? Are you saying people have been waiting for permission to eat Hot Cross Buns throughout the season?
ReplyDeleteMy guess would be that they sell like, er, hot cakes from the day they hit the shelves right up to the Paschal celebration.
I reckon the name change is more about fending off long angry letters from pedantic traditionalists who would insist that Hot Cross Buns only be sold on Good Friday.
Do you actually know anyone who eats HCBs on Good Friday, and only on Good Friday? Even any Christians? I don't eat them until Good Friday (nor Easter eggs until Sunday) but I'm not aware of anyone else who does even that.
Well, there's me, but I'm just weird. And besides, there's usually still one or two of my (fruitless) stash left on Easter Saturday anyway, and you know my opinions on wasting food.
(waits) ... (waits) ... Why is it only me who gets corporate genies popping out of bottles when you malign their name?!
Well, I did post out of business hours, so the corporate genies won't read it until they get to their desk with their Gloria Jeans/Starbucks/Hudsons Coffee tomorrow morning!
And, of course, now that you've gobbled up my $4.28 worth of Phil-bait and generally drawn attention to my strategem, the fish will scatter...
I think you guys are missing the point all together...
ReplyDeleteHot Cross buns should be sold and consumed all day every day.
What should be banned is the Chocolate Hot Cross Buns, with Choc Chips rather than dried fruit. These are evil, far too sweet and have resulted in many a spew through easter from eating 4-5 for breakfast...
Or, and stop me if I'm crazy here, people who don't like the Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Buns could just not buy any.
ReplyDeleteKind of like the people who eat them only on Good Friday only buying them on Good Friday...
Chocolate Hot Cross Buns are like the story of Easter in reverse, where the agony follows the ecstasy. Mmm... sacrilicious.
ReplyDeleteAlthough actually, I seem to recall the matrix changed a while back so that your points are totaled over a 24 hour period, and that they would scan your card for any purchase, even those under $5. If only we had an expert floating around the ether who we could ask... :)
ReplyDeleteIn the absence of an expert, happy to clarify. If you bought them at Target or Kmart, yes you'd be in luck, because points are calculated on a day's spending. However, at Coles (or the soon-to-be-departed BI-LO) it's per single transaction at the check-out. So you'd have to top up with some "Easter cards" or even better "Easter chocolate", these customs dating back to the Middle Ages.
My favourite though is the chocolate Easter Bilby, which found its origins in the story somewhere near the back of the Bible where after visiting America Jesus teleported to Australia and blessed the bilby as “most blessed of all marsupials.” The exact reason for this has been lost in the swirling mists of time, but most scholars agree it would’ve had something to do with the animal's exceptionally long ears, something of which Jesus was particularly fond.
ReplyDeleteThis Easter, please, think of the bilby and give generously to Darrell Lea.
ReplyDeleteI have found myself Hooked onthe Mini Mars eggs. they are the same as their Mars balls which are only found at selected petrol stations (that I have found) but now they have been repackaged as Eggs and are up to the roof in Coles. Sensational stuff. Do yourself a favour.
ReplyDelete