Shops of yesteryear
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Thanks, @66Mustang, I thought it would be all over that they were closing them. I should have added that Waitrose does, as I was invited for fresh mussels last evening, they were got from there. Annoyingly, it's still quite a distance to get them. It's why MacFisheries & other fish shops came to mind.As for local butchers, thank goodness there are some independents left. Plus, farm shops, it is pricey, but better quality.0
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@JessieJ I like farm shops too, nicer quality and usually local produce. Less food miles, better for the planet as well if that floats your boat.
You are right it is expensive but doesn't have to cost an extortionate amount. We don't eat out often or have takeaways but we do buy nicer produce to cook at home. Obviously everyone is free to do what they want but I don't understand the mindset of having one blowout meal a week then buying cheap food for the rest of the week. Spread the investment out over the whole week and have nice dinners every day.0 -
I agree about food miles, especially when selling direct, @66Mustang. There is a farm shop near me that has great meat & all cuts, all from local farms, they actually grow the veg & sell that. Started getting a bit miffed when veggies grown & shipped in from far flung places started appearing. To me, that is not what it's about, not at a farm shop. Seasonal & home grown, preferably local & that is doable. A shame really.
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When i was a delivery driver for an agricultural supplier i used to go to farms all over East Anglia, many of them with their own shop, with all fresh veg picked that day, although you had to wash all the mud off of it you knew it was fresh, back in the mists of time when i lived at home, we had veg planted in the front garden, the back garden, me and me dad also had an allotment over the road from the house as well, (those allotments are now a housing estate), and a patch of land behind the back garden, which was previously used for sewage treatment years ago, the local council let us use it if we cleared all the bricks and rubbish off of it, after about 3 months of back breaking digging with me dad every night after school we finally got it dug over and planted. The only things we used to buy food wise was the milk delivered every day, there also used to be a butchers van come round every week, and we got a tray of eggs every week from a local farmer, we also had an apple tree and a gooseberry bush in the garden, we had a shop in the village where you could get any other fruit from. Oh what i wouldn't give have somewhere with a little garden to potter about in, You don't see many people growing their own food nowadays, every body shoots down the local supermarket or has it delivered. I have to confess to having my food delivered due to very limited mobility and no longer drive or i would be round a farm shop every week.0
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@Wilshyboy
Nice story. I don't think anyone can blame you having food delivered when you have mobility issues. I would also love a cottage with a little garden to grow food in.0 -
I remember the milk man use to deliver a few groceries such as bred, milk and I use to like the pure orange juice they delivered.0
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From my personal experience, I think there was a brief resurgence in using locally sourced produce and butchers/fishmongers. However, with the cost of living crisis people cannot afford that choice anymore. Mass producing is unfortunately the cheaper option and people are thinking more about their finances than where products come from or the local economy. I don't fault them for that.2
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I grew up in the 90s. Woolworths was always a favourite for CDs and Christmas presents, as was Past Times. Also remember MKONe, Tammy, Au Naturale homeware shop, Comet, Dixon, Game Station, Virgin Media, BHS. Brings back lots of childhood memories, miss those days!
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@Marie88 and @life, Do you remember Zodiac Toys? I used to work in their distribution warehouse, from what i can remember i think there were 88 shops to deliver to, and from the start of October till a couple of days before Christmas we used to work from 6am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 4 pm on a Saturday, and if you were a real glutton for punishment, 8am till 1pm on a Sunday, busy times but great fun to work for, plus at weekend working they used to feed and water us for free.0
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Toys R Us are back online with a few stores open across the UK!
Not the same as it was, but still a blast from the past.0 -
I never liked Toys R Us. Kids everywhere. So much noise and colour and boxes stacked so high I was always expecting an avalanche to come crashing down. Also seem to remember a terrifying massive giraffe although that may have been just my local store. That was back in the day when ASDA used to have a terrifying cow head in the milk aisle as well!
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@OverlyAnxious
That is my exact memory of Toys R Us as well ha ha. But don't remember a giraffe.
Were you one of those kids that didn't like kids and would prefer to sit with the adults at weddings and parties and other such events?
I was one of them
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Another shop I vaguely remember as a kid but never really went in except maybe once
The off license
Was basically a shop that sold alcohol and nothing else
Now the supermarkets have a pretty good stock of alcohol, I haven't seen an off license for ages
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My parents still have a local off-license and I specifically remember a few when I lived in Scotland.
My current small town has a wine shop that sells lot's of other kinds of alcohol but it's a touch upmarket to be called an "off-license" despite it literally being one.0 -
@Jimm_Scope
That's interesting to know, thanks.
That said, I find the idea of an upmarket off licence odd, because the products are all branded.
It's not like a local butcher being better than the supermarket, because the food is actually better.
If it's branded stuff surely it doesn't matter whether you buy from Asda or Waitrose?
Hope that makes sense?0 -
I remember we had an off licence just down the road, it must have closed at least 10 years ago. It's a Scope charity shop now 😄1
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We never had a ToysRUs local to me when I was a kid, so I never went in any back then. I do remember seeing the adverts on TV and loved the music! I went to one in more recent years before it closed down, we don't have kids but my partner collects lego and we went in now and again to look at the sets.0
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@Wilshyboy I've never heard of Zodiac toys. I lived in a fairly small town growing up. I guess their stores were in larger cities? I bet it was tiring with the long shifts! Sounds like you had some good memories working there and they must have looked after their staff with the free meals and drinks!0
