Londis

I am constantly surprised by the great offers that always seem to be on rotation at this branch of Londis — £2.50 for a big tub of Ben & Jerry’s; £1 for a big sharing bag of Kettle Chips; £5 for eight cans of Strongbow or Carlsberg — seriously, supermarket beating deals there. This Londis also has the advantage of a hot counter where you can pick up pastries filled with lovely, greasy processed beast and creamy, refined flavour juice; yum-​yum. Just get there early because otherwise you’ll be left with the last warmed-​through cheesy hot dog and no one wants that.
There is a post office at the back too which, if you live in Victoria Park, is probably your closest branch. It’s always pretty busy but the staff there are very happy to help you (just make sure you buy any packing materials or envelopes from the main shop till as they won’t put them through here).
Look out for the reduced breads put in crates on the floor by the counter — I’m still eating frozen 20p loaves from a visit I made in March.

As I run an online vintage boutique and utilise eBay at every possible opportunity, I am often to be found lugging sacks of jiffy bags to the Post Office situated within the Londis store. The staff are friendly and efficient and appear to be a family unit which explains their freedom to escape the homogenised banality of most Post Offices via turning the wall behind the postal counter into a screen of religious icons. My one complaint would be their slightly too forthright nature when it comes to offering advice on which service to use, naturally suggesting recorded delivery at every possibility in order to bump up the price. However, you can rely on the Londis for a long term offer of a two litre bottle of milk for a mere 99p and a surprisingly extensive range of magazines including more left-​field publications such as ‘Dazed and Confused’ and ‘iD’. The enticing waft of curly fries and promise of a free ATM machine do little to dispel potential customers either.

The best thing about this newsagents is that it sells all the newspapers at student prices i.e. 20p on weekdays. You don’t have to be a student or even pretend to be one to take advantage of this offer, so it’s worth a trip round the corner from Tesco if you’re after a copy of the Independent or Guardian.
They also have pretty good offers on alcohol which are displayed on fluorescent paper in the windows, no doubt with the intention of attracting students from Wilmslow Park, which is located up above.
But come on WP students, don’t be lazy. Pop round the corner to Tesco or Lidl where you can pick up your tins of beans and ready meals for cheaper than Londis.

Londis is your around the corner, perfectly stacked up store with everything from ready-​meals to quick cooks to a fresh bakery (which is wiped out completely should you enter past 8 pm!) to drinks to stationary for students. Might I add, that I am literally a sucker for stationary, paper, pens, files, you name it! I see it and I want it! So my trip to Londis never ends without another ‘small little book’ which I promise to use in my everyday uni life, for it to finally sit on my desk for the entire semester! Getting back to the ultimate store, it also has a free withdrawal cash machine which I think is a boon considering the fact how the one near the Tesco can ditch you in dire moments of need. It has household to body care and also keeps way for alcohol (every bottle you want), magazines, stamps and smokes. Best thing is that its the only store apart from ASDA which sells the best cereal in the whole world– Cookie Crisp! (If you’re a fan, you’ll know what I’m talking about) So its definitely a win-​win for me. I love Londis and its very quirky name!

Home to cheap booze, pasties, stamps, magazines, cigarettes, toiletries etc etc. Londis is one of those be it all stores whilst coming just short of a full blown supermarket, with a post office at the back its useful for those expired passports and parcels. Londis also stocks Nourishment, one of the most god forsaken beverages ever to be served in a tin. So it’s a winner in my book. This shop is great for when tesco express cops out of stocking that certain something. You nip round the corner and you can usually find it here, the list for me goes on and on but includes mozzarella, a courgette, stamps and soup all of which I’ve managed to find when other stores have failed. A wonderful saviour.