THE LONDON TWIRLS PROJECT

NEW YORK SPECIAL ECONOMY CANDY

2010-07-07T11:11:00.001+01:00

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.

NEW YORK SPECIAL MYERS OF KESWICK

2010-07-07T11:08:00.001+01:00

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.

NEW YORK SPECIAL CARRY ON TEA & SYMPATHY

2010-07-07T11:03:00.001+01:00

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.

WHSMITH

2010-07-04T17:32:00.001+01:00

WHSmith
Terminal 4,
Heathrow Airport, TW6 3XA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 70p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by @gillpea.

I recently went to Terminal 3 at Heathrow and checked the WHSmith there. They still have the "2 for 99p" offer, but a single bar is 55p:

They also sell giant boxes containing 48 bars:

As I was going to be out of the country for a couple of days, with no guarantee of Twirl availibility in New York, I bought two boxes.

ANIKA NEWS

2010-07-04T16:25:00.000+01:00

Anika News
5 The Broadway, Friern Barnet Road
London, N11 3DT

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

2010-07-04T16:16:00.002+01:00

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.

KC PATEL

2010-07-04T16:03:00.000+01:00

KC Patel
72 Parish Lane
Penge, SE20 7JP

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

2010-07-04T16:00:00.000+01:00

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

2010-07-04T15:59:00.000+01:00

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

2010-07-04T15:57:00.000+01:00

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

2010-05-17T17:34:00.000+01:00

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

2010-05-17T17:31:00.002+01:00

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.

TOLGA SUPERMARKET

2010-05-10T09:51:00.001+01:00

Tolga Supermarket
80 Amhurst Road
London, E8 1JH

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

2010-05-06T11:01:00.000+01:00

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.

BIG BITE

2010-04-05T22:30:00.002+01:00

Big Bite
28 Shaftesbury Avenue,
London, W1D 7EG

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

2010-04-05T22:28:00.001+01:00

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.

ESSENTIA NEWSAGENTS

2010-04-05T22:23:00.000+01:00

Essentia Newsagents
1-3 Cheapside,
London, EC2V 6AA

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

2010-03-27T11:36:00.000Z

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.

NEWS BOX

2010-03-27T11:31:00.001Z

News Box
Bank Station, Cornhill
London EC3V 3LA

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

2010-03-27T11:28:00.001Z

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

2010-03-23T11:53:00.001Z

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

2010-03-23T11:48:00.001Z

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.

IGNITE LONDON

2010-03-12T10:29:00.000Z

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.

2009: The Year In Twirls by James Ward from hurryonhome on Vimeo.

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).

THRIVE NEWS

2009-12-31T18:23:00.000Z

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

2009-12-19T10:26:00.000Z

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

2009-12-19T10:23:00.000Z

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

2009-12-12T14:31:00.001Z

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

2009-11-09T13:56:00.001Z

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

2009-11-09T13:10:00.001Z

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

2009-11-09T13:08:00.001Z

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

2009-11-09T13:06:00.000Z

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

2009-11-09T12:36:00.001Z

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

2009-11-09T11:43:00.000Z

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

2009-09-12T00:29:00.006+01:00

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

2009-09-07T16:00:00.001+01:00

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

2009-08-24T11:20:00.000+01:00

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

2009-08-24T11:18:00.000+01:00

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

2009-08-09T14:47:00.000+01:00

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

2009-08-09T14:42:00.000+01:00

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

2009-08-09T14:40:00.000+01:00

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

2009-08-09T14:38:00.000+01:00

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

2009-08-08T12:19:00.002+01:00

SUPERSAVE

2009-07-28T13:49:00.004+01:00

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)

2009-07-28T13:46:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-27T20:41:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-23T23:22:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-23T23:15:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-23T23:04:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-23T13:53:00.003+01:00

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

2009-07-23T13:49:00.001+01:00

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

2009-07-23T13:42:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-23T13:38:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-23T13:33:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-23T13:25:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-23T00:16:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-22T15:20:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T10:25:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T10:20:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T10:15:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T10:10:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T10:05:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T10:00:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T09:55:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T09:50:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T09:45:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T09:40:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-20T09:35:00.000+01:00

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.

SAGGARS NEWS

2009-07-20T09:30:00.000+01:00

Saggers News
46B Gloucester Road
London, SW7 4QT

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 59p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A nice little store with a good selection of confectionery and even room for a small range of newsagent toys (tennis balls, small plastic drum kits, toy guns etc).

ROSS FOOD & WINE

2009-07-20T09:25:00.002+01:00

Ross Food & Wine
16 Gloucester Road
London, SW7 4RB

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Good
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 69p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop is very close to where I used to work, however it's a bit warm and too expensive. For my lunchtime Twirl, I used to go to Saggars Newsagent nearby.

UPDATE: Following this visit, hencehemmo filed this AUDIO report of a later trip to Ross Food & Wine.

CRISPINS FOOD & WINE

2009-07-20T09:20:00.000+01:00

Crispins Food & Wine
15 Kensington High Street
London, W8 5NP

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 63p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This was the fourth branch of Crispins I had visited in a single day. Their prices are all over the place. This was one of the cheaper branches.

CRISPINS FOOD HALL

2009-07-20T09:15:00.000+01:00

Crispins Food Hall
33 Kensington High Street
London, W8 5EA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 69p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A rather grand branch of Crispins which describes itself as a "Food Hall". Pretty expensive. There was a man with a very high pitched laugh sharing a joke with the woman behind the counter.

CRISPINS FOOD & WINE

2009-07-20T09:10:00.000+01:00

Crispins Food & Wine
11 Kensington Church Street
London, W8 4DS

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 63p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I had to wait ages to take this photo because people kept stopping to look at the newspapers outside. No-one actually went in and bought one though. Crispins, it seems, is viewed more as a sort of public service information source rather than an actual shop.

EURO FOOD & WINE

2009-07-20T09:05:00.000+01:00

Euro Food & Wine
63A Kensington Church Street
London, W8 4BA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent, in fact doubly excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelves
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: There were TWO sets of Twirls on different shelves here. Very impressive. They claim to sell souvenirs, but apart from some postcards, I didn't really see much which would count - unless you consider a Sure roll-on deodorant to be a souvenir.

KSR FOOD & WI E

2009-07-20T09:00:00.000+01:00

KSR Food & Wi e
112 Kensington Church Street
London, W8 4BH

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The fact they hadn't replaced the missing 'N' from the sign on the front of this shop should have warned me that they wouldn't be organised enough to order a few Twirls. You guys need to sort yourselves out.

CRISPINS FOOD & WINE

2009-07-20T08:55:00.001+01:00

Crispins
49-51 Notting Hill Gate, Notting Hill
London, W11 3JS

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 67p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I somehow managed to delete the photo I took of Crispins, so I'll have to go back soon and take another one. When I was in the shop, a bald headed man complained to his friend about how much they charge for a Curly Wurly. I considered suggesting to him that he could start a project mapping the prices across London but decided against it.

MINA KIOSK

2009-07-20T08:50:00.000+01:00

Mina Kiosk
53 Great Portland Street
London, W1W 7LG

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: You can't really see it in this picture, but according to the awning, Mina Kiosk offers "News & Mags - Confectionery - Fax & Copy - E Top Up". I think E Top Up just involves a little gadget attached to the till, you can see the confectionery on offer and there's a little rack of newspapers outside. But how can they fit a fax and photocopier inside there? Magic?

CAVENDISH DELICATESSEN

2009-07-20T08:45:00.000+01:00

Cavendish Delicatessen
5 Cavendish Place
London, W1G 0QA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Out of stock?
TWIRL STORAGE: Supposedly on shelf
TWIRL PRICE: Would have been 60p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: There was a price tag for Twirls on the shelf, but they didn't actually have any - instead they had some packets of dried fruit. They hardly had any chocolates, I'm not sure if they're restocking or something. Not really a "delicatessen" either.

GOODGE STREET NEWS (REDUX)

2009-07-19T17:34:00.000+01:00

Goodge Street News
49 Goodge Street
London, W1T 1TE

I've already written about this shop before, but they've got a new sign, look. Part of the Wall Street Journalisation of London.

SOME NOTES ON TWIRL SPOTTING - PART 1: EQUIPMENT

2009-07-17T12:26:00.000+01:00

I'm very pleased by the way so many people have kindly contributed Twirl information to this blog. I have no idea why they have done so, but they have, and I'm pleased.

Whilst I don't pretend to be any kind of absolute authority on the subject of Twirl Spotting (and I'm not even sure if "Twirl Spotting" is the right name for this activity), I do have a certain amount of experience in this field, and so I thought other budding Twirl Spotters might find the lessons I have learned helpful.

Again, I wish to stress, the following is based purely on my own personal experience. Other people may have devised their own systems and methods which work for them, and I encourage you to develop your own style as a Twirl Spotter. Do what works is what I suggest. If it works for you, do it. This is what works for me.

Firstly, I wanted to include some information on the equipment I use while Twirl Spotting:

CAMERA
In order to illustrate each report, I like to include a picture of the shop I happen to be writing about. I normally just use the camera on my phone, as although the quality isn't great, it's good enough for web. Also I always carry it with me anyway, so it's quite convenient.

NOTEBOOK
If you're only visiting one shop, you can probably store all of the details in your brain until you come to writing up your report. However, if you are visiting a dozen or so shops in one afternoon, you'll probably need to write the details down. I use a Silvine Memo Book (ref: 016) as it fits neatly in my back pocket. You can buy these in most stationery shops – I haven't yet mapped the availability of these and don't intend to. I paid 60p for mine.

PEN
You will need this to write in the notebook. I use a Bic Cristal Clic. This is an ideal pen as it combines the reliability of the Bic Cristal with the convenience of a retractable nib. No fiddling around with a lid, just a simple click action. I haven't had any problems with this pen so far.

MONEY
When I first started the project, I set myself a rule that I would only write about shops where I had actually bought Twirls. I immediately broke this rule. It was unworkable. However, I do still quite frequently buy Twirls whilst Twirl Spotting and for this, I use money. The money I use is pound sterling (£) and so far it has been accepted in every shop I've been to. It is very reliable.

Later, I will post some notes on METHOD.

SNAX EXPRESS

2009-07-16T13:57:00.000+01:00

Snax Express
16 High Holborn, King's Cross
London, WC1V 6BY

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mixmasterfestus, who comments that the shop is "v. well hidden. This isn't relevant however as they didn't have any." And, to illustrate his sad feelings about Snax Express' lack of Twirls, mixmasterfestus used this emoticon:

:/

PORTMAN NEWSAGENT

2009-07-16T13:48:00.000+01:00

Portman Newsagent
32B Greville Street, The City
London, EC1N 8TB

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 63p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mixmasterfestus, who comments "good stock, pricey though" and also comments that the man behind the counter was "talking the crown jewels whilst playing on a BlackBerry. Very savvy". Very savvy INDEED, mixmasterfestus. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy in Portman Newsagent has set up a Blog Alert so that he gets an email (sent to his BlackBerry, of course) to let him know when Portman Newsagent has been mentioned on the internet. In which case - hello Mr Portman Newsagent man! Please take on board mixmasterfestus' comments regarding the pricing of Twirls in your store.

SAINSBURYS LOCAL

2009-07-16T13:47:00.000+01:00

Sainsburys Local
120 Borough High Street
London, SE1 1NP

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mixmasterfestus, who also warns would be Twirl purchasers to avoid going here around 11am as that is when they restock and so you might be delayed going in or out of the store.

WHISTLESTOP (REDUX)

2009-07-14T10:29:00.001+01:00

Following my own, somewhat brief, report on the Whistlestop at Waterloo Station, wardytron adds the following photo:

He also says, incorrectly, "Its official address is 'Unit 28, Waterloo Station, London SE1 7LY'". Unit 28, of course, is actually a branch of Monsoon.

He adds, with more accuracy this time, "Twirls were 70p, which is on the high side, but the shop was well air-conditioned and not as busy as the WH Smith I photographed yesterday. Whistlestop operate a 'Meal Deal' system, where you can buy a sandwich, bottle of mineral water and a packet of McCoys for £3.59. There's also the option to exchange the McCoys for a Mars Bar, although sadly not a Twirl. However, prolonged and intensive lobbying might produce a U-turn, who knows?"

WATERLOO NEWS

2009-07-14T10:21:00.000+01:00

Waterloo News
27 York Road
London, SE1 7NJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Good
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 50p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by wardytron, who observes "Waterloo News appears to sell the least expensive Twirls in SE1, or at least in the bit I bothered going to. However the shop was quite warm inside and stank of rabbit hutches for some reason". Humorously, he also adds "I expect you're wondering who the man standing outside is, aren't you. Well he's your boyfriend hahahahahaha".

COSTCUTTER

2009-07-14T10:12:00.000+01:00

Costcutter
17-19 York Road
London, SE1 7NJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Average
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 59p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by wardytron, who comments "They only had 5 Twirls left, although this might have been a result of their 24-hour opening policy. It's possible that 'all-night ravers' had come in and bought most of their Twirls in order to combat 'the munchies,' an affliction that affects drug users, not that I'd know about that sort of thing. Twirls were 59p. I've taken the picture at an angle so that you can see the table and chair provided in the event that customer wish to sit outside on a stinking pavement surrounded by traffic fumes and birdshit".

JF GROCERS

2009-07-13T22:28:00.000+01:00

JF Grocers
406-408 Brixton Road, Stockwell
London, SW9 7AW

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 50p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by a somewhat vague combination of MandrewB and mrscomedyarms, during "a rare visit to SW9". "Pic speaks for itself" says MandrewB.

UPDATE: mrscomedyarms offers some further details, "the man behind the counter had a baseball cap and was very friendly".

Also, MandrewB comments further, saying "the lady at the counter had a very liberal attitude towards change-giving: 'That's right, ISN'T it?' she said"

COSTCUTTER EXPRESS

2009-07-13T22:23:00.000+01:00

Costcutter Express
54 Aldgate High Street
London, EC3N 1AL

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Poor
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mixmasterfestus, who writes "like Willy Wonka's Chocolate (but not Twirl) Factory".

PURLEY BON BON

2009-07-13T22:01:00.000+01:00

Purley Bon Bon
7 High Street, Town Centre
Purley, CR8 2AF

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information provided by martylog - sadly no photograph, although he does add the arguably unnecessary detail that the Twirl he bought had the serial number 012010 L9021(E)3.

LONDIS

2009-07-13T13:31:00.000+01:00

Londis
Richmond Road
Twickenham, TW1 2DX

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photos supplied by wardytron who tells the following horror story. "This was a horror story," he writes, "It's a Londis, not that you'd know from the frontage. The temperature inside would have melted chocolate, if they'd had any. It was a disaster, there were a handful of Flakes and maybe 3 or 4 Fry's Turkish Delights. I've taken a picture of the empty space below the till where chocolate was supposed to be. Sorry about the slightly shaky image, but I was being stared at by the owner." Finally, he adds "in my notes, after leaving Londis, I wrote 'Disgraceful.' Clearly I was upset."

RICHMOND NEWS

2009-07-13T13:28:00.000+01:00

Richmond News
3 Sheen Road
Richmond, TW9 1AD

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by wardytron, who also says "Twirls were 55p, which I thought was very reasonable considering the prime location in Richmond town centre, although the temperature inside the shop was a bit high. The quantity of Twirls wasn't great either, however I believe Richmond News can be forgiven as in their prime location space is at a premium. The man in the picture is giving me a funny look, for some reason."

HATTON NEWS

2009-07-13T13:21:00.000+01:00

Hatton News
12 Leather Lane,
London, EC1N 7SS

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Good
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Twirl information and photo supplied by mixmasterfestus who points out that this shop is just round the corner from City News (and 3p cheaper) and also explains "They had 4 (now 3) Twirls. Due to the vast amount of chocolate they had, I couldn't find the Twirls, but the man was very nice and asked me if I was looking for something and pointed me towards them". That's what I like to hear, a story with a happy ending. With the economic situation continuing to look bleak, stories of swine flu filling the papers, we need to stay positive and remember the lesson of mixmasterfestus and the man from Hatton News. We need this.

RAHMAN NEWSAGENTS MINI MARKET

2009-07-13T13:16:00.000+01:00

Rahman Newsagents Mini Market
35 White Church Lane, Whitechapel
London, E1 7QR

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Photo and Twirl information supplied by mixmasterfestus, who adds - with obvious and understandable fury - "Rahman Newsagent Mini Market, fuck all sweets even more fuck all twirls".

BEST ONE

2009-07-13T13:12:00.000+01:00

Best One
20 Brick Lane, Spitalfields
London, E1 6RF

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: ?
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Information supplied by mixmasterfestus. Enigmatically, he adds "Twirls are easy to find and cost 'as priced' which seems to mean?"

CITY NEWS (REDUX)

2009-07-13T13:07:00.000+01:00

Following the earlier post on City News, mixmasterfestus has kindly returned to take an exterior photo:

WORCESTER PARK MINI MARKET

2009-07-12T22:45:00.000+01:00

Worcester Park Mini Market
180 Central Road, Worcester Park
Surrey, KT4 8HQ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 59p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: When I was taking this photo, I noticed that the man in the shop was looking at me, so I felt too self-conscious to go in to the shop. However, I am so dedicated to this blog that, later, when I went to a party at my aunt's house nearby, I drank so much alcohol that I was forced to sleep in their spare room and come back the next day.

POST OFFICE

2009-07-12T22:44:00.000+01:00

Post Office
176 Central Road, Worcester Park
Surrey, KT4 8RF

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 52p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: There used to be a proper post office around the corner on Green Lane, but then they closed it and opened one here.

OFF LICENCE

2009-07-12T22:41:00.000+01:00

Off Licence
171 Central Road, Worcester Park
Surrey, KT4 8DR

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd never really noticed it before, but this shop appears to just be called "Off Licence". Dadward used to be such a regular customer here that frequently he would just march in, take a can of lager from the fridge and walk out without paying. He would pay them later, he's not a thief.

UK HOUSEHOLD

2009-07-12T22:37:00.000+01:00

UK Household
155 Central Road, Worcester Park
Surrey, KT4 8DT

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop used to be called BJ Drugstore. If you're 12 years old, "BJ Drugstore" is a very funny name for a shop. They mostly sell household goods, but have a small selection of chocolate bars (though sadly no Twirls).

SHREE GHANAPATHY FOOD & WINE

2009-07-12T22:34:00.000+01:00

Shree Ghanapathy Food & Wine
113 Central Road, Worcester Park
Surrey, KT4 8DU

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Sold out
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Not a very catchy name, this used to be called Variety Central and before that it was Ottama News (although Mumward used to pronounce this as "Ottoman News"). They didn't have Twirls so I bought a can of Dr Pepper instead.

READ 'N' RITE

2009-07-12T22:32:00.000+01:00

Read 'N' Rite
104 Central Road, Worcester Park
Surrey, KT4 8HU

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 50p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: As I was taking this photo, a guy in a white van beeped his horn and yelled "Oi, mate", I looked round and his mate held up a small whiteboard on which he'd written "I love you". I responded by flicking him the Vs.

THE LONDON TWIRLS PROJECT

*NEW YORK SPECIAL* ECONOMY CANDY

*NEW YORK SPECIAL* MYERS OF KESWICK

*NEW YORK SPECIAL* CARRY ON TEA & SYMPATHY

WHSMITH

ANIKA NEWS

KINGSTON UNIVERSITY

KC PATEL

ROSE MINI MARKET

COSTCUTTER

NEWSMART

UNTITLED

GOOD NEWS

TOLGA SUPERMARKET

STOP & SHOP

BIG BITE

WEST END METRO

ESSENTIA NEWSAGENTS

SWEET EXPRESS

NEWS BOX

GRAB-A-BITE

WEST 9 FOOD & WINE

GRAB-A-BITE

IGNITE LONDON

THRIVE NEWS

FABELS

AD FOOD

SWEET EXPRESS

NIKIT NEWS & OFF LICENCE

SUPERSAVE

CAPITAL FOODS

BOOTY WINE

SPHERE XPRESS

CAMDEN NEWS

WANEY'S FOOD AND WINE

BRITISH LIBRARY

B&Q

BORDERS

SARA'S NEWS

RUSSELL NEWS

JOE'S NEWS

BROADWAY WINES

ROB BRYDON ON TWIRLS

SUPERSAVE

ROSS FOOD & WINE (REDUX)

PIT STOP

ICELAND

RAKS NEWS & RELIGIOUS GOODS

ME ONUR

SAINSBURYS LOCAL

VICTORIA NEWS

WHSMITH

SWEET EXPRESS

WHISTLESTOP

COSTCUTTER

AP FOOD EXPRESS

GOOD NEWS

A&M CONFECTIONERY

TREATS

FOOD & WINE

SNAX EXPRESS

KENSINGTON FOOD & WINE

FINLAYS

GLOBAL NEWS

AP FOOD EXPRESS

LUNCH 4 U

BERRY'S NEWS

THE EMPEROR STORE

SAGGARS NEWS

ROSS FOOD & WINE

CRISPINS FOOD & WINE

CRISPINS FOOD HALL

CRISPINS FOOD & WINE

EURO FOOD & WINE

KSR FOOD & WI E

CRISPINS FOOD & WINE

MINA KIOSK

CAVENDISH DELICATESSEN

GOODGE STREET NEWS (REDUX)

SOME NOTES ON TWIRL SPOTTING - PART 1: EQUIPMENT

NEW YORK SPECIAL ECONOMY CANDY

NEW YORK SPECIAL MYERS OF KESWICK

NEW YORK SPECIAL CARRY ON TEA & SYMPATHY