What shops do you remember and miss from your local high street?

Our local towns, villages, and cities are such a changing landscape aren't they. Where I live the town centre hasn't changed that much over the last few decades but the shops and businesses occupying the buildings has - not always for the better, but sometimes.

Does anyone remember Woolworths? I used to love our local Woolworths. I bought my first music singles and albums from it - the last one I remember buying there was Michael Jackson's Dangerous album, it was on the night of our local Christmas Lights being switched on!

I found this picture of my old "Woolies" - it closed in 2009, which feels much later than I thought!

NickEmmett Yes, I definitely remember Woolworths in the town I grew up in, though I don't recall shopping there much. Also Hoopers, Dingles, and Debenhams. Marks and Spencer has also disappeared from town centres, as has some Edinburgh Woolen Mills. Department stores seem to be suffering the worst but not so for Newton Abbot's 'Austins Department Store' with its 5 individual outlets.
There's also Carpet Right and Wilko. All to be missed as a regular place to shop.

I doubt that there are many who remember the time when every reasonable sized town had a Tandy Store.

Tandy - "the home of electronics" still exists in the USA, but ceased trading in the UK twenty five years ago.

My first acquaintance with this Aladdins cave of electronic gadgets was some fifty years ago and it changed the course of my life.

It was there that I first saw an early microcomputer which, in the 1970s, cost about £500 (today equivalent to £10,000, so Google tells me) and equates to the price of a small car.

I marveled at the device which although simple, by today's standards, caused me to take up an interest which eventually changed the course of my career and my life for the subsequent thirty years.

So please add Tandy to the list of those which are sadly missed.

Also please add to the list C&A Modes colloquially known as coats and 'ats (last UK store closed in 2001).

I remember the torture, as a small child, having to accompany my mum while she pored over the wide selection of ladies clothes.

Incidentally C&A still exists on the continent with stores in Paris and other major cities.

We have a large Marks and Spencers not far from where I live BrianGotts , I go there quite often - to be fair, most often on a Saturday morning for a coffee whilst my son is t football training!
There's always lots of different, maybe smaller, department stores in local towns - we used to have a Debenhams in our nearest city, which is Leeds, but I'm not so sure it's there anymore!

MikeAstill I remember Tandy, I thought I bought some things from there in Leeds when I built my first PC around 1997/98 - I believe they evolved into Carphone Warehouse, which I think are still in many towns and cities. I also think I had some similar Saturday afternoons with my mum and grandma sttumbling around C&A in Leeds - I always have a twinge of nostalgia when I see them in Europe!

NickEmmett Thanks for your reply.

Yes, Marks & Spencer still exists as a big store on trading estates, outside of town centres now but you can't beat a coffee & cake or a lunch at a department store like ours - Austins.

NickEmmett Wilko, Wympy and Debenhams. I lived in Brum for a while -yup, I've lived almost everywhere in the UK- I and use to cut through Debenhams to get to the train station. They had THE most welcoming and nice team. 😔
I didn't notice Wilko was gone until a couple of years later though so maybe there's a reason they are gone. However, I feel bad for the workers. These big companies go into administration and thousands of people lose their jobs.