The Ballad of Burnt Oak

It was a cold drizzly morning on the 8th of January 2018 and there was a small gathering of people outside Burnt Oak’s Tesco Edgware Metro. Tracey Clements, Tesco’s managing director for convenience, stood in the rainy car park gripping her umbrella tightly. She was wearing a red skirt suit, her lipstick sort of matched it, but not quite. There was a smudge of it on her teeth. In front of her was an upturned plastic food crate that was somewhat slippery from the rain. As she stepped onto it she held onto her assistant's shoulder, taking care for her heels not to get stuck in the crate’s holes. She suddenly seemed to remember that she was clutching a slightly soggy notebook and promptly opened it....