TOLGA SUPERMARKET

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.