Tonbridge or Sainsbridge....

People are always moaning to me about how much influence and power Sainsbury's wield in our town and I used to think that it was just bleeting. Now I'm not so sure. Ever since the stores group spent a reported £3.5 million on a refurbishment they seem to have carte blanche to put up road signs and banners wherever they like. I was driving around the Canon Lane area and off the A21 South roundabout when I noticed a yellow direction arrow on a lamp post pointing to the "Superstore", a bit further along there was another, then another, then another at each junction thereafter, until a left turn off towards the town confirmed that the superstore in question was in fact just the new look Sainsbury's. If you get up closer to the store, as I did this morning, you'll see huge banners making bold claims about the new store which, by all accounts, has had a bit more than a lick of paint. I can't comment on the inside of the store as I haven't had the pleasure yet. I haven't seen an signs for Waitrose, Lidl or Somerfield on may travels around the town, so how come Sainsbury's get away with it? Presumably they did have permission from the council to put them up. They already occupy the most central and prominent part of the whole town, which they helped recreate into a concrete jungle and unofficial skateboard park, so why do they need to emblazon their ads across the rest of the town. Enough is enough for Lord Sainsbury and his crew, we are not Sainsbridge we are Tonbridge. TMBC stop licking their hygenic boots and let the penny drop, this town survived medieval sieges, Henry VIII's Reformation and the Luft waffe bombing it, it will long out live a chain of food shops. And by the way, how is it possible to spend £3.5 million on a store reopening, that's a hell of alot of loaves of bread at 78p each to sell; surely getting Kelly Holmes to cut a ribbon can't cost that much, especially when she's on contract with them anyway!....