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Dark Fruits and duvets: Inside Tesco, Reading Festival’s most iconic venue

Truly, if you know, you know


Reading Festival's been on a bit of a decline recently. Just how many times can the Foo Fighters play one stage until they become a part of it?

But among that decline, one icon endures. One that, whenever you went, you'll hold in only the highest esteem: the Reading West Tesco Extra, or big Tesco.

It's where everyone stocks up for the weekend, whether they need a bit of extra booze or they've forgotten to buy a tent. A supermarket transformed just to keep the party going.

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Hordes of 18-year-olds wander the halls, past duvets and roll mats at the end of each aisle, wondering if they can trade their A-level results for a crate of Stella.

The staff look stressed, any time they can possibly ID someone, they do.

But the showpiece, really, is the sheer quantity of tinnies they manage to cram into one superstore.

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It's honestly like Ikea. Even in the space between shelves, the staff have managed to sandwich some bottles of vodka.

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And when they're putting a procession of crisps above the crates, it's hard to tell whether they're acting as surrogate mothers or cold-headed capitalists.

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When we say every single aisle has a special offer designed to trap the manbag-wearing campers-to-be, we're not exaggerating.

The Tab tried asking Tesco how much they actually sell. No reply. It seems the secrets will remain secret.

Things have changed since the glory days of 2014, when Tesco decided not to give the good citizens of Reading their normal fruit and veg aisle. Salads were swapped for enough bottles of Jager to make you feel hungover through your screen.

That change is reflected in the staff. The weekend is still the stuff of legend among the staff as youngers replace disgruntled locals. "Such fun," one tells us.

But since the festival shut a gate, far fewer people find their way to big Tesco. "It's not as good as it used to be when it was crowded," one staff member said.

And so, what started as a trip to the shops turned into a haunting metaphor for the decline of society. 2014 seems like a speck in the rear-view mirror.

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Grime, Dark Fruits and ketamine: How the kids of Reading Festival have changed since 2012

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