This is a work in progress. Attempting to map the availability of Cadbury's Twirls in Central London, with notes on the storage conditions and pricing.
Economy Candy 108 Rivington Street New York, NY 10002
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: $1.49 ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A fantastic little shop selling all kinds of candy and sweets and chocolate and god knows what else. Long queues as it's such a popular store. The woman in front of me complained to her friend that she wasn't feeling well, although I don't think this was anything to do with the shop itself.
Myers of Keswick 634 Hudson Street (between Horatio and Jane St.) New York, NY 10014
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Don't sell TWIRL STORAGE: N/A TWIRL PRICE: N/A ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I had high hopes for this store. As I walked in I saw a big display of Walkers crisps and then on top of the counter, a row of glass jars containing Cadbury's Buttons and Aeros. On another counter, they had Time Outs and Twixes.
I looked around, hopeful. I couldn't see any Twirls. I asked the woman behind the counter if they sold Cadbury's Twirls. She shook her head. I managed to hold back the tears until I was out of the shop and at least a block away.
Carry On Tea & Sympathy
108 Greenwich Avenue
New York, NY 10011
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: $1.75 ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This small store is next to a small cafe/restaurant which sells traditional English food. The store itself is in the style of those old fashioned grocery stores which probably don't actually exist in England any more.
Quite expensive ($1.75 is about £1.15, which is the most I have ever spent on a Twirl) although it is the first time I have ever bought a Twirl overseas, so that's quite exciting.
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 59p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Normally, I have to look up the address details for shops when I'm writing up a report. Anika News kindly list their full address (including post code and telephone number) on their signage. They also sell a very impressive range of pornography:
Kingston University Penrhyn Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 2EE
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: In fridge TWIRL PRICE: 60p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd been warned about the Twirl pricing policy by @amygeorgina. Essentially, the Picton Room operates a "two tier" pricing structure. Snickers, Mars Bars, Bountys, Twixes and Kit Kats are all 50p, while Dairy Milk bars, Twirls and Galaxy bars are all 60p.
This does somewhat reflect the reality of pricing in standard convenience stores, but seeing it laid out in such brutal terms is quite disturbing. I would recommend a flat 55p rate for all bars.
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 60p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The woman was on the phone the whole time during my transaction. I'm not sure who she was talking to, I didn't like to ask.
Rose Mini Market
The Broadway
Friern Barnet Road, Bowes Park
London, N11 3DT
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 55p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: It was very warm in the shop (it was a warm day generally). The on shelf Twirls were suffering badly in the heat and so instead, I bought a can of R Whites lemonade (50p). It was cold and refreshing.
Costcutter
24-26 Eden Street,
Kingston Upon Thames, KT1 1AA
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 60p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: As you can see from the address, which stretches all the way from 24 to 26 Eden Street, this is a large store and was very well stocked. Air conditioned too.
Newsmart
15 Apple Market
Kingston Upon Thames, KT1 1JE
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 59p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A man, possibly a member of the homeless community, went into the shop as I was taking this photo. He had a big dog with him. I tried to take a photo of the dog, but at the same time, I didn't want him to know I was taking a photo of the dog. As a result, I failed to take a photo of the dog.
Untitled
Opposite platforms 9 and 10,
Clapham Junction station
St. Johns Hill
London, SW11 1SP
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 85p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: If this was an airport, this unnamed newsagents would be considered "airside". This shop is in the tunnel linking all the platforms, so you would already have passed through the ticket barriers at this stage. If you decide you want a Twirl, you have no choice but to pay the absurd 85p price. Aggressive abuse of position. This sort of thing sickens me. They are obviously so ashamed, they didn't even have the guts to give the shop a name.
Good News Clapham Junction station St. Johns Hill London, SW11 1SP
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 60p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Chocolate bars are out of reach in this crowded kiosk, but considering its location inside a busy train station, a reasonable price. Especially when you consider what happens just fifty yards away on the other side of the ticket barriers.
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 50p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Perhaps their supplier let them down and they were forced into this course of action out of desperation. I would rather give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was the result of some kind of mix-up than suggest any kind of deliberate sinister plot. But still, it says quite clearly on the back of the bar:
MULTIPACK BAR - NOT FOR RESALE
And while 50p may seem like an excellent price, the multipack bar is smaller than a standard bar:
In fact, the multipack bar is 35g compared with the 43g standard bar. Pro-rating the price, therefore, we come to around 61p. Still cheap, but I'm not impressed.
Stop & Shop
BBC White City, 201 Wood Lane
London, W12 7TS
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 50p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I went to the BBC yesterday to give a presentation about DVD newspaper covermounts to some people I used to work with (it wasn't a very good presentation, unlikely to be translated into Russian). Popped into Stop & Shop on the way, very impressed by the price - only 50p! How much of that is subsidised by MY LICENCE FEE, I wonder.
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: N/A TWIRL STORAGE: N/A TWIRL PRICE: N/A ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Well stocked chocolate display but inexplicably, they don't seem to have found room for even a single Cadbury's Twirl. There's room on these shelves, I'm telling you. OK, maybe crystal glass models of Big Ben are not to my taste, but I accept that on Shaftesbury Avenue, there might be a big enough customer base to justify the shelf space, but can there really be that much demand for boxes of Weetabix Bitesize cereal in a store like this?
West End Metro
38 Great Windmill Street,
London, W1D 7LU
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 70p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A small shop in the West End, but well stocked. Bit pricey, but perhaps to be expected considering location. Also do dry cleaning, apparently, which came as a bit of a surprise:
I certainly didn't expect it to be a legal matter.
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: N/A TWIRL STORAGE: N/A TWIRL PRICE: N/A ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: You can imagine how excited I was when when I saw the sign "Essentia Newsagents Now Open". I got to the door and they were closed. The only thing keeping me going is the idea that it is now spring, just look at those lovely daffodils.
Sweet Express
Bank Station, Cornhill
London EC3V 3LA
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 70p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Above average price, but not surprising considering the lack of competition in this station. Anyone wanting to buy a Twirl in Bank Station has no choice other than to buy one from here and this guy is abusing his monopoly.
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available TWIRL STORAGE: N/A TWIRL PRICE: N/A ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: An odd little kiosk, which serves both platforms on the Waterloo & City line at Bank. Despite two openings (one on each platform), they still don't have any Twirls. This is the only place I have visted which has failed to sell Twirls twice at the same time.
Grab-A-Bite
Bank Station, Cornhill
London EC3V 3LA
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available TWIRL STORAGE: N/A TWIRL PRICE: N/A ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The second Grab-A-Bite I've visted recently, and neither sell Twirls. I can only assume this is a company wide policy and will be writing to Head Office to complain.
West 9 Food & Wine 81 Gipsy Hill London, SE19 1QL.
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf TWIRL PRICE: 55p ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Despite being located firmly in SE19, the owners of this shop, in a somewhat surreal move, have decided to name it after the postcode area W9. I imagine this is like when you see those nail bars in Dalston called "Hollywood Hair & Nails". They're trying to associate themselves with somewhere glamourous, like Hollywood or Harrow Road. And it is a pretty glamourous area. One time I saw a couple outside the Prince Of Wales pub on Harrow Road. They shouted at each other, then she slapped him, then he slapped her, then they snogged and then they went and got pizza.
Also, "West 9 Food & Wine" rhymes, which is always a sign that you're dealing with somewhere classy.
Grab-A-Bite Putney Bridge Underground Station, Station Approach, London, SW6 3UH
TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available TWIRL STORAGE: N/A TWIRL PRICE: N/A ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Unfortunately, I was unable to "grab a bite" whilst at Putney Bridge station. I waited a very long time for that woman to move, but she was there for ages. She was getting a coffee and the guy was a bit slow.
Last week, I was lucky enough to be able to speak at the second Ignite London event. I say "lucky enough", although what I mean is I emailed them and asked if I could speak there and they said "OK".
The rules at Ignite are very simple but very strict:
The idea is simple: presenters are required to stick to a rigid format of 20 slides, each of which changes automatically after 15 seconds, ensuring that each presentation is exactly 5 minutes long.
They add "the format forces presenters to think long and hard about every slide", although possibly I missed that bit when I first signed up.
There were a few bits where I got flustered and said things which didn't make sense (I got left and right confused at one point). The bit about Adam Smith was garbled gibberish, as was the Twirls In Unexpected Places bit. I wasn't expecting people to whoop and cheer at pictures of maps and graphs. It put me off.
Apart from that, it was enormous fun and I recommend you take the time to watch all of the other videos too (I particularly recommend this look at British sea forts, and this analysis of the role Daves have played in history).
