Far back in the mists of time when I were a lad, bread were tuppence a loaf and everythin' were made o' wood (and how many more clichés can I cram into this opening sentence), you could go down t' street t' 'ardware store and buy a penn'orth o' nails and still have change for a bag o' crisps and a bottle o' pop.
Now, thanks to the giant orange monster that is B&Q (Home Depot to transatlantic chums), I have to get in my car and drive several miles to a humongous warehouse, where I am forced to buy a box of 100 that will, having used 5 or 6 of them, forever after sit on a shelf gathering dust and slowly rusting until either the sun goes nova or I suddenly develop a need for that particular size and type of fastening once again. That's assuming they have the particular item in stock of course; it wouldn't be the first time that I've had to drive to one of the other B&Q stores to find what I'm after (my record is three).
I'm being a little unfair on them for comic effect here - there's no denying that B&Q and their main competition Homebase are filling a niche in the market by providing practically all your DIY and hardware needs under one roof; but at the price of forcing smaller ironmongers out of business. If you're a tradesman with a trade account, or if you're just embarking on a major domestic refurbishment, this should be your first port of call. But years later, in the back of a kitchen drawer, I guarantee that you'll come across a little plastic box full of some miscellaneous widgets whose purpose and reason for buying you have long forgotten. read more