Hamdys News, Stoke Newington, London

It’s an Alladin’s cave of news and all nice newsagenty things. At the moment it’s awash with all things pink, like a sugar coated almond, pre sucked! Wonderfully horrid stuffed toys hang from the low ceiling, the lighting washes you with fluorescence, making you look like death but what do you care?! You are in a Porn Free heaven! And that’s what sets this place apart from most other newsagents and gee! are they proud of it! And thank God! I rarely buy magazines, I don’t have the attention span to read them or something, but I do occasionally glance over the racks when I go into to buy my fags or a sneaky packet of Wotsits and always, my eye can’t help rest on the top shelf and the pictures of the bubble boobs popping out of a ripped white vest and instantly I go red. Completely ridiculous. No, I prefer a newsagent where I’m free from the embarrassment cause by an accidental glance and can instead buy a bargain Time Out guide book to Patagonia as an inpromtu gift for my girlfriend.

This place has generated more interest than building the Nando’s on Church st. I know about it because they proudly display the articles on their shop window, along with the giant sign “Porn Free Newsagent.” Apparantly this place has no material of a sexual nature for sale, and successfuly brought action against their magazine supplier when they tried to force them to sell the stuff.

Hurray for that many people would say. Well I’m the kind of person that would much rather a Free Porn newsagent than a Porn Free one. But I do respect their decision to make a moral stand. What turns it all into a pile of sanctimonious hot air for me is that they continue to sell cigarettes and products of a gambling nature. If they just didn’t sell porn and kept quiet about it then good for them. But if you are going to whack up a great big holier than thou sign on your window then I think your morality is open for a little bit of public scrutiny. And if I had a choice between my kids gambling, smoking or looking at a girly magazine, i’d say bring on the chicks.
Otherwise a good newsagent.