Covid has killed spontaneity for good

Maybe it had to come: a note on my local (London) message-board said that the two Marks & Spencer food halls where I have taken to shopping since the first pandemic lockdown are now offering – toot the bugle, as the Prime Minister might say – a booking system. Of course, this is presented as a big improvement, ‘part of our efforts to make shopping easier for our customers,’ according to M&S.