Kitchen Garden Forum

A letter in the local newspaper poses the question"where are we to buy the bits and bobs for everyday use?"
The letter lamented the loss of being able to buy black cotton,needles,being able to browse and buy Carters seeds daffodil bulbs,seed potatoes,or spray to kill weeds and other goods necessary for modern living.
Killed by the credit crunch,a century old,an institution but not to be rescued by public or private monies.
Wilkinsons is the obvious alternative,a ten mile round trip for me,whereas Woolies was local.We now have a gap in the High Street which will be filled by what or whom?

we can get needles, cotton, seeds etc in the village , still a 4 mile round trip, woolies and wilkinson have both been a 25 mile round trip. i pop into wilkinson every time i go to the town centre,(must be at least 4 times a year) cant remember when i last went to woolies... our woolies seemed to sell sweets, entertainment discs, childrens clothes and toys. dont think i shall miss them.

I agree with you Richard, all I ever bought from Woolies were the occasional CD or DVD, nothing else that I can remember. I am sad to see them go though, Woolworth's was an institution and all those poor people who've lost their jobs...

We have a wonderful shop a mile from me in Hillmorton (called Madden's) that sells everything you can think of with the exception of furniture, clothes and alcohol. I have yet to ask for something and them fail to supply, from camping gas to paint, pints of beans to rat poison, ice creams, newspapers, seeds, cards, sweets, wool, hardware, string, loose nails, you name it. Even if you can't see it they usually "have some out the back". What's more, the shop is usually full of people so long may they last.

A shop like 'Maddens' is worth its weight in gold! For my needs we have a small country town high street 1 mile away. The shops combine to provide just about everything I have needed in the last 4 years (except clothes & IT/Comms equipment, I get those via Internet/mail order). I even managed to buy a Porringer the other day in the high street! I support the shops there as much as I can.
However, I could not source the new diaries for 2009, not anywhere around here. I had to go to T****'s, 14 miles away.

I have never shopped in Woollies!

The memory of my last visit to Woolworths Pwllheli will stay with me for a long time, I'm sure.

Signs on windows: 50% off
Pack of batteries: £4.99
Sign over battery display: 30% off
Total on till: £5.29

Work that one out
I wonder if the assistant was offended when I told him where they could be stuffed

No wonder they went bust - can't even organise a closing down sale

Our Woolies was much the same when I ventured in. Nothing had 50% off that I could see, most was 10% off but it was still flying out the door.

I know it's sad to see an old familiar face disappear from the high street but it was stuck in a time warp. They just didn't seem to know how to cope with competition. While everyone moved on, Woolies was just always the same good old Woolies with its pick and mix sweeties, some CDs , DVDs and videos, cheap kids clothes and a peculiar mix of tools, kitchen stuff, light bulbs and shoe polish.

John

Our village shop is a sort of Woolies in miniature. They sell all sorts of stuff from needles and cotton to selloptape to confetti to elastic bands and DVDs. And they are a post office, and open from 6am to 7pm. Brilliant, and I hope they can stay in business for ever. Can't get olives there, though.