Ka-blammo!!!

I've been quietly damning the Tesco corporation, along with Google, over the last few days out here in England. In case you aren't familiar with them, Tesco is a large British chain of supermarkets that have spread across Europe. I first came across them in Hungary, where they have these megastores that are essentially analogs to Wal-Mart superstores. And as I'm in need of a few essentials on the cheap, I've been searching for one nearby. The problem is that Tesco has expanded into small cornershops, meaning that when I search google maps or the Tesco corporate websites, I can't quite distinguish between the superstores and the ministores, partially because the labelling on their home web page is inaccurate. Damn you, Tesco. And damn me for falling in love with your low prices and wide selection while in Hungary, and thinking the love affair could survive the years apart and the move to London.

So, like a jilted and lonely lover, I'm walking several miles to another Tesco location, holding out a fool's hope that this one will finally be the superstore I've been dreaming of. On my way, I see a huge traffic jam up ahead, and soon notice that a long city bus, one of those extended ones that flexes in the middle, had got astray and crashed into a large metal pole. Glass was everywhere, people were staggering out of the bus, and almost comically a woman leaned out of her first floor kitchen window and offered to be a witness to the wreck happened only ten feet from her. After that, as I walked along the snarl of traffic, I served as the Sidewalk CNN, giving everyone the heads up on what was happening. I felt like a 1920's newsie: "Extra, extra! Bus crashes into post! Local commuters boned!"