THRIVE NEWS

Thrive News
Unit P4, Westfield
London, W12 7GF

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Thrive News is part of the CNG Family of Companies, which "dates back to 1971 when Mr. & Mrs. Charles Patel opened their first CTN (Confectionery, Tobacco & Newspaper) store, Capital Newsagents, in Paddington, Central London. The shop carried a broad range of products at competitive prices and was open 7 days a week."

This particular store has a "compact layout to provide a premium impulse shopping environment". What this actually means is that it looks a bit like a shop in a petrol station. Reasonable price, I suppose.

This was my final Twirl spot of 2009!

FABELS

Fabels
67 Chiltern Street
London, W1U 6NJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Despite being directly opposite AD Food and despite the road sign (top left), this shop appears to have an address on Chiltern Street rather than Paddington. I've never really understood how addresses for corner properties work.

AD FOOD

AD Food
29 Paddington Street
London, W1U 4HA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop is directly opposite Fabels. It was incredible. I stood on the traffic island, took one picture, turned 180° and took the next one. Not surprisingly, both shops sold at the same price, a reasonable 65p.

SWEET EXPRESS

Sweet Express
33 Greek Street,
London, W1D 5DJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 70p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The man was outside enjoying a delicious, refreshing cigarette when we visited. He promptly stubbed the fag out in the street and came inside. 70p is quite expensive, but the location is very central, and high prices are to be expected. Sorry about the blurry picture. Twirl spotting should only really be attempted during the hours of daylight. A lesson learned. Who is that figure in the doorway?

NIKIT NEWS & OFF LICENCE

Nikit News
8 Inverness Street
London, NW1 7HJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The name of this shop is possibly a bit unwise. Please don't consider it an invitation. The sign outside advises of a "Meal Deal", where for £2.40 you can buy any chocolate bar, crisps and a Relentless energy drink. I'm not sure if this actually counts as a meal.



I don't care if you have unwrapped the chocolate bar and placed it next to a pile of crisps, it's still not a meal.

SUPERSAVE

Supersave
3 Kentish Town Road
London, NW1 8NH


TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Very clever. I'd started to suspect there was some sort of cartel responsible for making sure all the shops on this stretch of Kentish Town Road sell Twirls at exactly the same price. Capital Foods and Booty Wine both charge 59p. I thought I'd spotted a pattern. Supersave don't sell Twirls. How convenient.

CAPITAL FOODS

Capital Foods
13 Kentish Town Road
London, NW1 8NH
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 59p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop is just a couple of doors down from Booty Wine. Both shops sell Twirls for exactly the same price, 59p. It's almost like they're running a cartel.

BOOTY WINE

Booty Wine
17 Kentish Town Road
London, NW1 8NH


TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 59p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop is fairly well known because it has a bit of a stupid name. "Booty Wine". Christ.

SPHERE XPRESS

Sphere Xpress
61 Parkway
London, NW1 7PP

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I haven't been Twirl Spotting for quite a while. This was my first shop in a long time, so you can imagine how I felt when I discovered they didn't have any Twirls. I was suicidal. Also, this shop is huge. Not huge. But bigger than it looks. It just goes to show that bigger doesn't always mean better. That made cheered me up at least.

CAMDEN NEWS

Camden News
227 Camden High Street
London, NW1 7BU

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I spent about ten minutes trying to get a photo of this shop without anyone getting in the way. Camden High Street is very busy on a Saturday afternoon. Here are some of my failed attempts:

WANEY'S FOOD AND WINE

Waney's Food Store
23 Theobald's Road
London, WC1X 8SL


TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop, for something which is described as a "Food Store", seems to have a surprisingly comprehensive range of motoring goods. Windscreen wiper blades, tax disc holders, some other crap. I don't have a car, so I didn't bother remembering the details.

BRITISH LIBRARY

The British Library
96 Euston Road
London
NW1 2DB

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 95p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by hencehemmo, who when she first contacted me about the price of Twirls believed they were 70p, which she thought was too expensive ("It makes me angry four times a week. I don't even want a Twirl that often but it makes me spit every time I see them. That's taking the fucking piss"). However, when I asked if she'd mind taking a photo for me to add to the blog, I could not have imagined what would come next. The Twirls in the British Library weren't 70p at all, they were NINETY FIVE PENCE. ("NINETY FIVE FUCKING PENCE" as hencehemmo put it.) Well, all I can say is if that's how much the British Library charge for Twirls, I'm glad I'm illiterate.

B&Q

B&Q
1 Leyton Mills,
London, E10 5NH

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Unexpected
TWIRL STORAGE: In machine
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: OK, I could just about accept Borders selling Twirls, but B&Q? Really? But, yes - in a vending machine on near the tills, they sell all sorts of chocolates and sweets in what I guess is intended as a way of silencing bored youngsters as they are dragged around, while their parents pick out the particular type of solid wood flooring boards they want for the front room. B&Q is amazing though, it's the perfect shop if you're a serial killer - they sell everything. In fact, I'm amazed any parent would need to resort to bribing their child with chocolate in B&Q - they sell AXES. If that's not enough to make a kid shut the fuck up, I don't know what is.

BORDERS

Borders
120 Charing Cross Road
London, WC2H 0JR

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Unexpected
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Well, would you believe it? Twirls in Borders! What next? Soon they'll be selling BOOKS in TESCO. I suppose for the location, it's not an unreasonable price, but it all seems a bit pointless. I'd gone in to buy Wired (US edition), I also bought Smoke (and a Twirl, of course).

SARA'S NEWS

Sara's News
14 Bloomsbury Street
London, WC1B 3QA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: In fridge
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Pretty good price, especially considering central location. Just look at that woman racing into the store, to buy a chilled Twirl, no doubt.

RUSSELL NEWS

Russell News
12 Great Russell Street
London, WC1B 3NH

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: "Cad - Twirl @ 60p"
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: An interesting price labelling system. Items are arranged by brand and hand-written index cards with neat little abbreviations and plentiful use of the "@" sign inform you of the prices. The price-labelling system isn't really very interesting, but it can be a struggle finding something different to say about every single sodding newsagent in London.

JOE'S NEWS

Joe's News
42 Store Street
London, WC1E 7DB

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I went there just as the store was about to close and the man was bringing in the racks of postcards. I'm not sure if the man was Joe himself, but he was clearly pretty high up in Joe's News. Vice-Joe maybe. He engaged in some jolly banter with the woman in front of me, who was paying by card for something or other. "You don't know what you're missing!" she said. "I do!" he replied, laughing. I have no idea what they were talking about, although was impressed by his efficiency - as the card payment was processing, he rang up my Twirl and served me.

BROADWAY WINES

Broadway Wines
56 Broadway Market
London, E8 4QJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 49p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Unbelievable price. Right in the middle of Broadway Market (where I had just bought a fantastic grey and black flecked double-breasted jacket for only a fiver). They sell organic booze too in case you're concerned about the use of pesticides when you're getting pissed up.

ROB BRYDON ON TWIRLS

SUPERSAVE

Supersave
4 Kilburn Bridge
London, NW6 6HT

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by hencehemmo, who filed this audio report*. Unfortunately, despite the man behind the counter being a big fan of Twirls, they didn't have any. They might have some on Tuesday though. To make up for not getting a Twirl, hencehemmo decided instead to get some fags.


*With technical support from mixmasterfestus.

ROSS FOOD & WINE (REDUX)

Further to my previous visit to Ross Food & Wine, hencehemmo recently visited and took this exciting night time shot:



However, while I had no problem finding the (warm, overpriced) Twirls, on this occassion, hencehemmo was not so lucky.

She filed this AUDIO report*. "I'd rather be blind than not have a Twirl" she says. Yes, it's dramatic, but I can understand how she feels.


*With technical support from mixmasterfestus.

PIT STOP

Pit Stop
6 Cambridge Avenue
London, NW6 5BB

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by hencehemmo, who says, that sadly there are "no Twirls on Cambridge Avenue, NW6." Although the people at Pit Stop do call you "darlin'", although "perhaps only if you've just illicitly watched True Blood on a sunny day" (I don't really know what True Blood is).

ICELAND

Iceland
100/104 Kilburn High Road
London
NW6 4HX

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: £1.50 for 5
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information supplied by hencehemmo. First listing for a multipack - this works out at an impressive credit crunch busting 30p per Twirl.

RAKS NEWS & RELIGIOUS GOODS

Raks News & Religious Goods
7 Quex Rd
London, NW6 4PP

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by hencehemmo, who adds that the Twirls are "prominently displayed. Plus, rosaries a-go-go".

ME ONUR

ME Onur
90 Leytonstone Road
London, E15 1TQ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 50p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by MandrewB, who says "if you visit this shop often enough, the nice man will start calling you 'brother'". To clarify, MandrewB explains "he's not my actual brother", then adds "Oh, according to my female housemate, you might even get 'princess' if you're a lady. Not just if you're a lady/peer/aristocrat either, just if you're a woman."

SAINSBURYS LOCAL

Sainsburys Local
136-150 Victoria Street
London, SW1E 5EB

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mapsadaisical, who, again comparing this store to WHSmith and Victoria News nearby, says: "Walk another two, mind, and you get this. Didn't even want a twirl, but at that price could hardly refuse".

VICTORIA NEWS

Victoria News
The Terminus Place, Victoria Station
London, SW1V 1JU

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mapsadaisical, who contrasts this store with the nearby WHSmith: "a mere two minutes walk upstairs saves at least 4p".

WHSMITH

WHSmith
Unit 32, Victoria Station
London, SW1V 1JU

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 69p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mapsadaisical, who adds "big shop, big price: 69p. Loads of them, almost an entire shelf".

SWEET EXPRESS

Sweet Express
Unit 30, Victoria Station
London, SW1V 1JU

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mapsadaisical, who says "Express? Took me at least 30 seconds to see they had no Twirls".

WHISTLESTOP

Whistlestop
Unit 36, Victoria Station
London, SW1V 1JU

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 70p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mapsadaisical, who comments that Whistlestop are "abusing their dominant position near barrier".

COSTCUTTER

Costcutter
16-18 Goswell Road
London, EC1M 7AA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: Supposedly, only 55p but in reality, 60p!
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mixmasterfestus, who adds, in understandable outrage, "Lies! Lies and Subterfuge! I go in and it was labelled as 55p. Which as the studies are showing is quite a good price. I was actually hungry so went to pay for it. 60p! the lying twats had lied with their lying hands and and lying pencils and lying faces! Filthy lying bastard twats!" Although, there is good news - "the Twirl was nice".

AP FOOD EXPRESS

AP Food Express
228 Shaftesbury Avenue
London, WC2H 8EG

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 59p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Despite boasting that it's open 24 hours a day, when I was there at about 6.30pm, it was closed. Well, not closed, exactly. Locked. After rattling the door for a while, a guy popped up from a trapdoor inside the store and let me in. I quickly bought my Twirl and left, not wanting to imagine what might be down in the basement.

GOOD NEWS

Good News
23 Berwick Street
London, W1F 8RB

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: Probably 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by MandrewB, who admits that he took the photo on Saturday and forgot the price, but thinks it was 65p. He also says that, true to the store's name, the News was "good, but not special".

A&M CONFECTIONERY

A&M Confectionery
South Kensington Station
London, SW7 2NA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This was the last shop I went to, after a long and exhausting day of Twirl Spotting. 60p is an OK price for the location - especially as, if you look to the right of the picture, you can see how close it is to Treats who charge 69p. A difference of 9p in a matter of mere yards.

TREATS

Treats
South Kensington Station
London, SW7 2NA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: In fridge
TWIRL PRICE: 69p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The chocolate bars are all kept in a fridge at the back (I can imagine it gets hot inside the station in summer). While I was checking the Twirls, there was another man nearby with a clipboard taking notes and counting how many of each item they had. He either takes this activity more seriously than me, or possibly he works for Treats and was doing a stock check. I let him get on with his business and left.

FOOD & WINE

Food & Wine
38-40 Thurloe Street
London, SW7 2LT

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I was convinced this place would have Twirls and was trying to guess how much they were going to be, when I was shocked to discover they don't even sell them!

SNAX EXPRESS

Snax Express
Station Arcade
Pelham Street
London, SW7 2NA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Chocolate bars are kept in a fridge, but there aren't any Twirls. Large selection of chocolate raisins though.

KENSINGTON FOOD & WINE

Kensington Food & Wine
14 Old Brompton Road
London, SW7 3DL

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The man in the shop was quite jolly and as I left he said "Thank yooooouuuuuuu!" in a way where he seemed even to surprise himself.

FINLAYS

Finlays
Station Arcade
Pelham Street
London, SW7 2NA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This place describes itself as a "family newsagent", which makes me think of Happy Families ("Mr Bun the baker" etc). "Finlays" isn't really a name I'd associate with newsagenting in the same way I'd associate buns with baking. The occupation I associate most with the name "Finlay" is doctor.

GLOBAL NEWS

Global News
11 Harrington Road
London, SW7 3ES

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Before you get excited, that giant ice cream to the left of the picture isn't real. It's made of plastic. It still tasted quite nice though.

AP FOOD EXPRESS

AP Food Express
48 Harrington Road
London, SW7 3ND

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 69p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop is open 24 hours you'll be pleased to know. I felt a bit sorry for the guy behind the counter who was forced to wear an "AP Food" visor. He didn't look very comfortable in it, and I suspect AP Food don't care very much about their staff, otherwise they wouldn't make them wear such silly uniforms.

LUNCH 4 U

Lunch 4 U
Unit 1, Gloucester Road Station
London, SW7 4SF

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Good
TWIRL STORAGE: In fridge
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This place is mainly a sandwich shop, although they have a small selection of chocolates in the fridge, including Twirls at 65p.

BERRY'S NEWS

Berry's News
58 Gloucester Road
London, SW7 4QT

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 59p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Ignore the scaffolding, Berry's News is open for business as usual. The layout of this shop is a bit odd. It's very long and thin and is separated in two by a central shelving unit, photocopier and Lottery counter.

THE EMPEROR STORE

The Emperor Store
48A Gloucester Road
London, SW7 4QT

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Despite its rather grand sounding name, The Emperor Store fails even to have a single Cadbury's Twirl.