This is the mothership. The grand cathedral of groceries. If you need a new phone charger, a punnet of raspberries, and a novelty birthday card for your cousin Dave, Tesco Extra is your one-stop-shop for life’s little emergencies. It’s the kind of place where you go in for bog roll and walk out with a garden gnome you absolutely did not need.
Pro tip: the self-checkout machines here have a personality. They will always ask you to “place the item in the bagging area” at the exact moment you’re holding two carrier bags and trying to find your wallet. Don’t worry, we’ve all argued with a robot here. It’s practically a local sport.
The Heimlich Maneuver for Your Thirst: Boots
Right next door, Boots is your pharmacy, your beauty counter, and your emergency headache savior. It’s the shop you visit when you suddenly realize you forgot deodorant before a date, or when curiosity gets the better of you and you spend £12 on a face mask that smells like a ponytail. The staff are weirdly lovely about helping you find the right hayfever tablets, even when you’re sniffling like a broken kettle.
