As a youngster, there was one shop in Leamington that I wanted to visit - Toy Town.
Two wonderful floors of toys and games. My Lego came from there, so did my Playpeople. Every birthday, I would take a crisp five pound note, and chose a new big set from the display in the middle of the ground floor.
I liked the upper floor more though. That was where the models were.
Trains, boats, cars, plastic kits. Paint Glue, tools - you could buy them all. Helpful staff could advise you on the best way to spend your money. The range on offer simply doesn't exist in many retail outlets now.
I miss Toytown. It closed in 1995 thanks to massive rent increases. The Facebook group shows I'm not alone, although I remember working with someone who ranted how she hated the place due to all the staff "looking superior" and the prices being higher than ToysRUs. Well, they've gone too.
Looking at these photos, I wish for a time machine so I can go back and just wander around the shelves with my pocket money burning a hole in my trousers. Looking at models I could only dream of owning, but dreaming that one day I would carry a big box out of the shop...
You can read more about Toy Town here.
3 comments:
Never mind at time machine.
The way things are right now, the concept of wandering around the shelves of any shop, with money burning holes in pockets, seems so far fetched that it might as well be on another planet.
These days, the shops want (or have effectively been told to want) everyone in and out, seemingly in the blink of an eye - none of this browsing / "knowing what you want when you see it" malarkey.
If certain companies had their way, they'd probably quite like to ban us mere customers from even entering shops - instead imposing a system of people being required to buy things "sight unseen" - all paid for in advance using their plastic "flexible friend" - in other words, "click and collect".
Well, I personally would prefer not to click and not to collect. I hope this doesn't offend anyone - well actually, I'm not too worried if it does.
As for paying for things using real cash - that supposedly "old fashioned" folding stuff - which might allow those of us significantly over 50 to keep track of our spending - oh no, they definitely don't want that.
"STRENGLICH VERBOTEN - not allowed - banned - get the message, pal?"
Anyone could almost be forgiven for thinking that "cash" is a four letter word - a dirty word.
I wonder how often "plastic" is actually any cleaner. The same piece of plastic gets dragged out of the same wallet, using the same pair of hands, that have handled all the same stuff - and frequently tapped away at some keypad that might (or might not) get cleaned between customers.
Personally, I suspect that the real drivers behind any moves towards "cashless" payments are probably the same banks that seem to be racing to close as many branches as possible- as quickly as possible - then do the same with "no fees" cash points - and rack up loads of lovely transaction fees.
Obviously, I might be getting slightly cynical. Well I might - or I might just be one of those people who used to watch BBC2's "Grumpy Old Men" - and wonder when they were going to start getting grumpy.
I remember Woking Toys R Us having a truly gigantic illuminated and tiered (nicely with scenic products) encased display with the entire hornby catalogue at the time (early to mid 90s). All those silver wheels, absolutely glorious.
Wow, I was envious when I saw those photographs -- what a great shop! I was fortunate to visit Redgates in Sheffield a few times around 1972. Apparently it too disappeared, in 1988. It looks like proper toy shops are a dying breed, as are model shops.
Excellent comment from Huw! (Especially the line about "Grumpy Old Men".) It simply feels like the Stupid/Crooked have been allowed to take over the planet...
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