caution - unwarrented rant ahead

i have lived in this wonderful country, england, my adopted land, for 12 1/2 years. and after all this time, there are still occasions where the entire system completely eludes me and i find myself wailing and teeth-gnashingly screaming why? WHY????? WHY IN GODS GOD NAME WOULD YOU EVER EVER SET SOMETHING UP TO RUN LIKE THIS???????????

i have found that the answer to the above question usually has something to do with the fact that the system in question worked perfectly fine in neolithic/norman/edwardian times and the fact that you have a problem with it is probably because you are a new world softie and if you don't like it you can bugger back to where you came from.

but can anyone, anyone explain to me the rationale behind supermarket organisation???? and why there are no goddamn poppy seeds for sale even though you can buy poppy seed buns? and why when you go into a shop and ask for something perfectly normal, like, for instance, poppy seeds, the staff look at you almost pityingly and say, oh no, not here. as if you are perhaps asking for, say, keys to the nearest moon base.

and how, exactly, i am going to make ukranian poppy seed cake without poppy seeds????????? hmph.