Please please please, for yourselves if not for me, when you get to Willesdenn Green, do not cross the road and go into Sainsbury’s local. If you do, don’t blame me if you can’t find what you want and end up stuck in a queue of 20 other human sheep.
Turn left and get to Way 2 Save, which, on the outside looks like every other nightshop. But inside there is a wealth of food to suit every cultural community in the area. All the pickled Polish stuff a homesick Pole might wish for, but also a Halal fresh meat counter at the back, along with olives and marinated vegetables, served to you by the staff. Pulses and beans take up a huge section. Sainsbury’s Local ain’t got anything but an overpriced Puy Lentil salad. Here you can buy Puy Lentils by the kilogramme for a fraction of the price. Italian cakes and all kinds of crazy dried fruits, plus fresh fruit and vegetables and even a pretty impressive East Asian section.
Think global, buy local in all it’s strip-lit, tile-floored glory.