After the local Co-op closed my grocery shopping options were somewhat limited. We don't have a car, so are unable to buy a lot of shopping in one go. We have tried shopping online and found that we always run out of things and needed to visit the shops for "top up" shopping. As we were going to the shops often anyway, we decided to just pick up what we want to eat that day, and no longer shop online.

The choice we have of places to do the grocery shopping was limited to three places. Asda, the nearest supermarket is a good half hour walk, and carrying heavy shopping bags home for such a long time is not much fun when you have young children in tow. Jacksons, a much smaller store than Asda but with much less choice and higher prices, is a fifteen minute walk from our house. Still a long way to go with children and heavy shopping. The last option was the 24 hour garage, less than five minutes away, with hardly any products on sale and even higher prices. I was really pleased when the old Co-op reopened as Londis.

Londis is about the same distance from my home as the 24 garage, but with prices more akin to those at Jacksons. It is still more expensive than Asda, but I can go and pick up some groceries quicklyand arrive home before the children get bored or tired,meaning that the whole shopping experience is much less stressful for all of us. So I am going to tell you about my local Londis.

Above the shop front is a large green sign with the name Londis. The shop front is predominantly glass, allowing prospective customers passing by on the main road to see the current offers which are displayed in the window. Londis has regular special offers such as "3 for 2", "Buy one get one free", or "buy 2 for £5" on a range of everyday items. Recent offers have included Hula Hoops, Coca Cola, pasta, shampoo, and my favourite, Ben and Jerrys.

The door to the shop is on the left hand side and there is a kind of porch area which is handy to wait in if it is raining. The door is usually open so taking the buggy into the shop is not a problem at all. Also the shop is fairly spacious unlike Jacksons which is often too cramped to take the buggy any further than the doorway.

Entering the shop you will see in front of you a small pile of shopping baskets. There have always been at least a few baskets on the pile when I have been to the shop. There is also a small icecream freezer selling individual icecreams and lollys. I haven't really looked at the range so I am unabe to comment, but it is there.

Turning to your right you have the special offer shelves that you saw from outside. The offers are clearly marked and almost always in stock. If they are not stocked here the smae products can also be found in their usual places around the store, also at the offer price.

In the right hand corner of the store there is a magazine section. There is always a good choice of magazines with something for all tastes and ages. The range is quite diverse and there seem to be a good selection for each target audience. Near the magazines is a small range of greetings cards. I haven't really paid much attention to these so I can't comment.

The side wall of the shop is taken up by the fridges, leading to the freezer area in the far corner. The fridges stock individual soft drinks, milk, packaged sandwiches and pastries,a few chilled ready meals, ham, cheese, bacon, butter, chilled pizzas and fresh fruit. There is then a small vegetable rack. The fruit and veg are always of the highest quality unllike large supermarkets where you have to search for the nicest pieces. The fruit and veg do tend to run out towards the end of the day though so go in the morning if thats what you want.

Next is the freezer section. A small choice of frozen ready meals, deserts, potato products, pizzas, burgers, chicken portions and sausages fill the four small freezers. The frozen section is not one of the stores strong points, although I have noticed that it stocks vegetarian sausages, which is an example of Londis trying to provide something for everyone. Also in the freezer area you will find household items such as bin bags, tin foil, etc.

The back wall of the store and the remaining corner is home to the alcohol. There are a range of alcopops, beers, wines and spirits all in various sized bottles/cans. This is the largest part of the store and is always well stocked with a wide range available. Small bottle of spirits are available only from behind the counter, which is situated between the alcohol and the doorway on the left wall. Also behind the couter you will find a range of medicines such as painkillers, and the tobaco products.

In the middle of the store there are four rows of shelves. Starting at the front of the store, the shelves facing the special offer section contains personal products such as shampoos, toothpaste and soap, feminine hygeine products (thats tampons to you and me), cleaning products including washig up liquid, and toilet paper. There are a couple of brands to choose from for each item and the range is fairly impressive in comparison to similar shops.

The other side of this shelve unit holds the chocolates and sweets. They stock most of the well known sweets including cadburys, nestle and mars. I have never been unable to find a particular sweet I fancied. There are also bagged sweets such as strawberry bootlaces and flying saucers. The shelf facing this one is home to bread, cakes and similar baked goods. The choice isn't huge but most of the larger brands are there.

The other side of the bread shelf and the one facing it contain the grocery items such as tinned food, pot noodles, pasta, rice, jars of sauces, coffee, flour and sugar. There are standard british foods as well as italian, chinese, indian and mexican food. Granted there are only a small choice of products from each cuisine, and they are mainly expensive brands, but it is refreshing to see such a diverse selection.

The far side of the grocery shelf is where you will find a limited range of baby products and the breakfast cereals. Strange combination. The baby stuff includes small tins of SMA baby milk, Heinz baby food, and some nappies and wipes. The cereals are mainly Kellogs and range from basic cornflakes and cocoa pops to special K and sugar puffs. Again, there is a small choice but it does cater for most tastes.

Facing this shelf is the crisps section. This is fairly impressive, with individual bags ranging from cheap Space Raders to expensive Mckoys. There is a range of pringles and doritos both with corresponding dips, and a good selection of other large bags of crisps great for snacking with friends.

The other side of the crisps shelf completes the store with the soft drinks. 6 and 12 packs of popular canned drinks are available and often included in the special offers. Large bottles of carbonated drinks in every colour and flavour grace the shelf, and the range is completed with squash in a good choice of flavours.

Having browsed the store and chosen your shopping you must take it to the till and pay. The staff are usual disinterested in the customers and appear very bored. They are not rude or unpleasant, but they are lacking a friendly smile and a nice "Hello". Cash, cheques and credit/debit cards are accepted. Milk tokens are not accepted.

The store is well lit and welcoming, with enough space to manouver the buggy easily, although it is always a little chilly in there. Maybe this is because I shop mainly from the fridges but I have always felt slightly cold whilst shopping in Londis.

Londis is a really handy place for our day to day shopping when we can't face that long walk to Asda or Jacksons. It stocks a good variety of food, drink, magazines and household products, and although there are some cheap brands I feel that there are much more brand name products and they are more expensive than I would like to pay, as I usually choose cheap brands. Having said that, the prices are not extortionate, only a little higher than Asda.

If you live near a Londis store then I would recommend it for when you can't be bothered to go further affield. If you don't live near one then it is not really worth travelling to your nearest branch as there is nothing that special. It is great to go and grab some snacks or drinks for a party or just when you fancy a bite to eat. It is also handy for shopping meals, although the only thing it is lackingis meat.