Do you remember the good old days before the Ghost Town?

[tongue_tied_danny]

1 minute ago, Cosmic Joe said:

There's one in Onion Street in Dundee

There's a few records shops in Dundee. Assai and 13 on Union Street and Le Freak on Perth Road.

Mo-Fidelity in Montrose is also pretty good. About the only shop in Montrose worth visiting these days.

[tongue_tied_danny]

2 minutes ago, approximately dave said:

The biggest loss for me personally in Inverness was the loss of the bookshop newsagent in Union Street which went through a few name changes in its time. I first remember it as Melvens and it finished as Thains. I was a regular whom bought all my magazines there having my own folder for all the magazines I ordered never missed a copy of NME or Autosport, the staff were brilliant. I had been known to spend all afternoon in there browsing the books going through every section for something interesting. Waterstones is good but it doesn't have that same magic about it.

There's a decent second hand bookshop in an old church in Inverness. 

[Cosmic Joe]

13 minutes ago, approximately dave said:

 

Hen Broon caught on camera 

[CityDave94]

2 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

I was in Inverness earlier this year. I thought that the town centre had held up a bit better than most places. The streets were quite attractive and there seemed to be fewer empty shops than elsewhere in Scotland.

 

It's improved recently with the empty spaces from the loss of businesses during the pandemic being filled. The Eastgate Center still has a lot of empty units with another shop just about to go down the pan.

[CityDave94]

3 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

There's a decent second hand bookshop in an old church in Inverness. 

Leakeys, don't know if still true I haven't been in there for a while to know if there still is a restaurant upstairs but their soup was legendary. Recently someone pointed out about why do they have a large wood burning stove with thousands of books around, asking if this is not a fire hazard?

[Cosmic Joe]

Second hand bookshops are brilliant. There used to be one called Big Bairn Books in Exchange Street in Dundee. Sadly gone now. 

[tongue_tied_danny]

1 minute ago, Cosmic Joe said:

Second hand bookshops are brilliant. There used to be one called Big Bairn Books in Exchange Street in Dundee. Sadly gone now. 

Big Bairn was great.

There is another that opened on Perth Road about a year or so ago..

[Alert Mongoose]

In my uninformed opinion most of the demise can be traced to the disappearance of What Every Woman Wants outlets.

[Sergeant Wilson]

31 minutes ago, Crazy Days said:

Used to do a cracking steal mince pie but then at the same time you had Fishers who had a supreme chicken pie which was only available on a Friday and Saturday.

Everything tastes better if you steal it.

[CityDave94]

One for those who know Glasgow well. Years ago 1986 I visited Glasgow with friends to watch The Jesus and Mary Chain at 'the Barrows' we had a wander around the shops and on Buchannan Street and next to the comic book shop Forbidden Fruit there was a record shop. I don't know if my memory is playing tricks on me but I remember going downstairs and the place was like anarchist punk heaven. Anyone remember the name of the shop?

Another loss in Glasgow was the American Clothing Store on Bath Street which changed name during the 90's to Flip, I think they moved elsewhere in the city before finally disappearing. There was one on the South Bridge Edinburgh as well. Brilliant for t-shirts, you could buy 4 plain black t-shirts for £20.

There was also the Virginia Galleries which was great for small shops selling 2nd hand stuff and finding something unique, popular with students.

[Sergeant Wilson]

6 minutes ago, approximately dave said:

One for those who know Glasgow well. Years ago 1986 I visited Glasgow with friends to watch The Jesus and Mary Chain at 'the Barrows' we had a wander around the shops and on Buchannan Street and next to the comic book shop Forbidden Fruit there was a record shop. I don't know if my memory is playing tricks on me but I remember going downstairs and the place was like anarchist punk heaven. Anyone remember the name of the shop?

Another loss in Glasgow was the American Clothing Store on Bath Street which changed name during the 90's to Flip, I think they moved elsewhere in the city before finally disappearing. There was one on the South Bridge Edinburgh as well. Brilliant for t-shirts, you could buy 4 plain black t-shirts for £20.

There was also the Virginia Galleries which was great for small shops selling 2nd hand stuff and finding something unique, popular with students.

23rd Precinct?

Edited December 26, 2022 by Sergeant Wilson

[Dan Steele]

13 minutes ago, Cosmic Joe said:

Second hand bookshops are brilliant.

Barter Books in Alnwick is tremendous. Well worth spending a day there - and they do great food. 

[CityDave94]

7 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

23rd Precinct?

It might have been in an earlier incarnation, but I don't think that record shop lasted very long as it was gone on my next visit a couple of years later. I do remember 23rd Precinct on Bath Street as the go to place for vinyl, dance music, techno, drum and bass, white label pressings etc. Sad to hear of its demise particularly now with the return of the vinyl record.

[tongue_tied_danny]

15 minutes ago, approximately dave said:

One for those who know Glasgow well. Years ago 1986 I visited Glasgow with friends to watch The Jesus and Mary Chain at 'the Barrows' we had a wander around the shops and on Buchannan Street and next to the comic book shop Forbidden Fruit there was a record shop. I don't know if my memory is playing tricks on me but I remember going downstairs and the place was like anarchist punk heaven. Anyone remember the name of the shop?

Another loss in Glasgow was the American Clothing Store on Bath Street which changed name during the 90's to Flip, I think they moved elsewhere in the city before finally disappearing. There was one on the South Bridge Edinburgh as well. Brilliant for t-shirts, you could buy 4 plain black t-shirts for £20.

There was also the Virginia Galleries which was great for small shops selling 2nd hand stuff and finding something unique, popular with students.

The Virginia Galleries were great. I believe that the building was damaged and had to be abandoned after it subsided due to building work next door.

 

[rollstar]

On a Saturday in November in the 1980s there was nowhere better to be than a city centre Tandy shop, drooling at computers, analogue hi-fi and the availability of an impossible range of components such as DIN plug connectors and styluses.

[Hard Graft]

59 minutes ago, Crazy Days said:

Used to do a cracking steal mince pie but then at the same time you had Fishers who had a supreme chicken pie which was only available on a Friday and Saturday.

Fishers, sadly long gone, used to do a treacle scone and a fruit scone as well.  Both were outstanding but the chicken pies were indeed the dogs bollocks.  Mathiesons did a decent custard (vanilla) slice and years ago (50+)you could get a bag of broken biuscuits for next to nothing. 

Also in Stenhousemuir, Gardners the Butchers did this thing called a Country Slice which was meat and veg covered in pastry and was very tasty. 

I also remember the Co-Op butcher in King Street, Stenhousemuir with the sides of beef hanging down and the sawdust on the floor.

[RH33]

Hailing from a small village a day out to Inverness was always a big deal. Pre the eastgate extension! Usually would make wollies pick and mix last stop, not have enough cash and have to pick out and put back the extra

I online shop as much as I can as I hate shopping. I was in Braehead recently though and the number of empty units in noticeable.

Family in Golspie have a hardware/gift/toy shop and they continue to run a successful business even as online shopping increases, bigger names like home bargins now have a place in Tain.

Paisley high street is a sea of boarded up shops, there needs be thought put into how these areas can be reassigned and redesigned as the era of the high street is gone.

[Boghead ranter]

1 hour ago, approximately dave said:

In the picture are those two cars both Ford Cortinas but different 'marks'?

The one on the left is deffo a Cortina. The one on the right might be a Zephyr, or even a fancy Escort.

[Derry Alli]

1 hour ago, Cosmic Joe said:

There's one in Onion Street in Dundee

No there isn't.

There's thirteen records and Assai in Union St.

The only other record shops in Dundee are Assai in the Ferry and the greatest of them at this point ...

1 hour ago, tongue_tied_danny said:

 Le Freak on Perth Road

 

[The Mantis]

10 hours ago, approximately dave said:

I would easily spend an hour in this shop in Inverness.

In Inverness this shop below was the go to place for your punk and indie vinyl and or if you simply wanted to browse and listen to The Ramones or The Buzzcocks blasting out of the shop's speakers.

The Other Record Shop was also in St Mary’s St in Edinburgh, and Aberdeen and possibly other towns. Had a quick search and it seems to be the same chain.

1 hour ago, approximately dave said:

The biggest loss for me personally in Inverness was the loss of the bookshop newsagent in Union Street which went through a few name changes in its time. I first remember it as Melvens and it finished as Thains. I was a regular whom bought all my magazines there having my own folder for all the magazines I ordered never missed a copy of NME or Autosport, the staff were brilliant. I had been known to spend all afternoon in there browsing the books going through every section for something interesting. Waterstones is good but it doesn't have that same magic about it.

It was actually Thin’s. I loved visiting Melvens when I was up staying with relatives in Sneck. The flagship James Thin was in South Bridge, Edinburgh which was the main bookshop for all the students and I spent hours there. I had an auntie who served behind the counter and she gave me pretty hefty discounts. The chain went into admin in 2002. It’s been Ottakars but is now Blackwells.

I also remember Leakey from when he was in the Arcade/Market, then he moved to a shop along the river nearer where he is now. I always though he was a miserable b*****d especially when I saw him dealing with guys who brought books in. The word is, the church cost him £100k.

Edited December 26, 2022 by The Mantis