After a week of staring at a laptop and grinding through deadlines it’s often pretty difficult to find the time and energy to dedicate to hobbies. One errand that has never gone away is the humble trip to the shops. Unfortunately, guitar-playing and Duolingo lessons can’t transport me to the place where I buy chocolate and frozen pizzas. But driving can. And with working from home, shopping trips truly matter because they’re a guaranteed excuse to get behind the wheel. 

No matter the time of day, there’s always a tickle of excitement when you get to hop into a car and sink into its seat. And when the fridge is empty and cupboards are barren, one has the pleasure of being presented with the chance to put life on pause and be one with their darling automobile.

The difference between a shopping trip and a Friday night cruise is that the former is a requirement. No matter what may happen in one’s professional or personal life, the need to drive to the shops remains. Unless you are an automotive journalist, work won’t follow you into the car. In fact, driving is one of the only times you won’t be completing some sort of job or chore. There is no responding to emails or performing appraisals when you are weaving through corners and charging down straights. 

So because of this, entering a car opens a door to a different headspace. Life can be pure pandemonium – but after turning the engine over, the gauge needles will sweep and brush away the stress while digital displays begin to glow with the rumble of the pots under the bonnet. You can unfurl into the machinery around you.

Shopping trips specifically are rarely bound by time in a way that other journeys are. There’s no ‘early’ or ‘late’. No boss in a suit and tie expecting you, no clocking in, no appointments to make. Just you, the car, the road and the big Tesco at the end.

It’s funny (yet true) to realise that even a quest for toilet roll is an opportunity to get the satisfying clunk of a car door closing, maneuvering a chicane or the star-aligning joy of a perfect rev-match. A quick drive is necessary as it is the perfect way to de-stress, breathe and enjoy the peace within the eye of a storm. 

So yes, shopping trips are awesome. Because when a busy life squeezes out all the time you have for a scenic drive, the big Tesco will always have your back. It’s no Nürburgring lap. It’s better, because it lets you savour a simple pleasure when you are in the thick of life.