MY attitude to shopping is simple: it is a boring activity, mostly a waste of time so get it done as quickly as possible. I ll grab the first box of cereal that comes to hand, ignore the price tickets and disregard all the special offers thrust forward in

MY attitude to shopping is simple: it is a boring activity, mostly a waste of time so get it done as quickly as possible.

I'll grab the first box of cereal that comes to hand, ignore the price tickets and disregard all the special offers thrust forward in a bid to make me spend more.

Clothes shopping is particularly irksome. When I start yawning - which usually only takes a few minutes once I am in a store - that is the signal for me to snatch up a shirt of any colour, a tie of whatever design and a nondescript pair of trousers and head for the checkout counter.

I am proud to say that I could never be described as a Lemon Squeezer. This is a new term for consumers obsessed with securing price discounts and apparently their numbers are rising.

Almost a third of Brits rarely or never pay full price when shopping, new research suggests, as they take advantage of a huge choice of vouchers, discounts and cash-back services.

The average shopper, I learn, now spends one to two hours a week searching for the best prices and vouchers offering two-for-one or money off.

And one in 20 citizens are classified as hardcore bargain hunters, spending a mind-boggling five hours or more a week surfing the net and shopping around for the lowest prices and best deals.

These are the real Lemon Squeezers who feel disappointed and frustrated if they cannot avoid having to pay full price for an item. And some of those who find themselves in this position are said to suffer a serious psychological impact leaving them feeling physically ill.

To them I say, get a life, and don't bother looking for a cut price one, you have to pay full whack for a quality one.

Talking about squeezing lemons, I must admit to liking a spray of the citric juice on my home-cooked fish or scampi. It certainly adds to the flavour.

But not everyone shares my taste for the harvest from the sea. In fact, according to recent research, house-proud Brits are going off fish dinners, apparently because they are too smelly.

More than half of this island race can't stand the lingering smell of fish cooked in the home.

And two in five people never cook fish any more, four in 10 have no idea how to cook fish, and 25 per cent simply don't like the taste of it.

A third of people claim they avoid any type of fish with "suspicious" or "unusual" sounding names which is a slap in the face for pollock, gurnard and porgy.

And more than half of people dislike any fish which has a strong flavour which rules out pilchards, mackerel, sardines and anchovies.

The poll claims that the traditional fish and chip supper has taken a battering of late with a third of people saying it was one of the first things they gave up to save money when the recession began.

With this scenario, warnings that the world's oceans could be fished out within a generation appear to be exaggerated.