'Welcome to Hussain News!' the shopkeeper announces. It's a friendly welcome delivered in an exuberant tone. A greeting that would be more suited to coming from the mouth of a company rep greeting a valued customer at an airport arrivals gate, than me, a humble stranger in this shop. 'Are you a student?' he asks, 'Because I've never seen you before.' He clearly knows his customers well...
The name on the sign says what the shop deals in, but on this small parade the shop has developed into a convenience store too, selling tins of potatoes, tuna and beans, packets of pasta and jars of jam. They also sell a range of mobile top-up cards from companies like Lebara and Lyca Mobile who offer cheap calls to overseas as well as to customers calling the same network.
They have a bargain bin of short shelf life chocolate and I could do with some fuel. Wispa Gold isn't at the high end of the nutritional scale, but at 50p for two bars, it's what I want now at a price that's right. read more