DESPITE the store being a mainstay on UK high streets, a man is still not sure what a Holland & Barrett actually is.
Roy Hobbs has walked past a Holland & Barrett at least twice a week for two decades but remains mystified about whether it is a chemist, a posh grocery shop or somewhere a teenager would buy a bong.
Hobbs said: “I’ve never been in, but from what I can figure out it sells food that is almost normal, but has a weird twist. So you can buy a small jar of honey for thirty quid or crisps made of lentils.
“And then there’s the wacky stuff that sounds as if it’s from a witch doctor’s shopping list and you buy in big tubs, like ginseng or powdered owl beaks. Sort of like Diagon Alley, but with strip lighting and aggressive up-selling.”
Hobbs’ wife Margaret added: “I’ve been told it’s a place that sells healthy pills and dusts to Guardian readers trying to and make up for the fact they were all pissheads in their 20s.
“If I want to mess around with powders, I’ll have a cup of Ovaltine, thank you very much.”
