Ignoring popular opinion and common sense, I bravely walked along the well-trodden Gillingham High Street. During my brief sojourn, I spotted a “99p Store” and just two doors down – a “98p Store” (I kid you not!). My mind reeled at the possibilities. Would a person be willing to walk a few metres just to save one p? Did loyal customers of the “99p Store” continue to shop there even though they were paying more than the shop down the street, perhaps defending their blind allegiance with the argument that the merchandise was higher grade? Did people who shopped at the “99p Store” brag to their friends and belittle customers of the shop down the street? This Jenga of thoughts and permutations came tumbling down when, on a future stroll along Gillingham High Street (I never learn), I noticed both shops had closed, replaced by the ubiquitous “Poundland”. What sort of world do we live in where the independent “99p” and “98p” stores can’t make a go of it, their clientele cast adrift amongst a sea of one p price hikes and mounting debt? Capitalism at its best.
Trapped on a rock floating in space 