A Luxurious Spar

No, there’s no surprise at all that such a shop exists in a kleptocracy like Zimbabwe:

Robert Mugabe’s local supermarket is unlike any other
shop in Zimbabwe. Elsewhere there are gaping empty shelves where bread,
butter, sugar, meat and the staple maize meal should be.

But
at the Spar in the Borrowdale Brooke suburb of the capital Harare,
close to the president’s palatial hillside residence, almost anything
is available, including focaccia bread, sun-dried tomatoes and cigars.

There’s just a slight surprise to English eyes of seeing the most luxurious shop in the country called "Spar". Given the position the same name occupies in the English food chain (sorry) it’s akin to finding the local greasy spoon calling itself Fortnum and Masons.

2 responses

  1. Biodun Avatar
    Biodun

    There’s just a slight surprise to English eyes of seeing the most luxurious shop in the country called “Spar”. Given the position the same name occupies in the English food chain (sorry) it’s akin to finding the local greasy spoon calling itself Fortnum and Masons.
    Clearly you are not a seasoned skier.
    The Spar in Val D’Isere ski resort is also quite luxurious.
    Tim adds: Indeed I am not a skier. Strapping planks to my feet and leaping off the side of a mountain is not my idea of a holiday.
    Normally, when I’m in a Spar, I go “Urgh”. In Val D’Isere’s spa, I went “Ooooh”

  2. In Italy recently (the South Tyrol/Alto Adige region), I saw a number of Spars, none of whose products I tried, but all of which had the letters “DE” before the “SPAR” in a different colour (no idea why, though I imagine it’s not because they speak German up there).
    I was very tempted to go and pencil in a cheeky “i” during the night, but somehow managed to behave myself. Got to keep up we Brits’ excellent reputation abroad after all.

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