Pick'n'Mix - the joy of the chaz in '26!

DigForVictory

Stunning tops, Rosa! The Betty Barclay almost has me pondering trying to knit.
I adored Boswells as the only place that 'did' Christmas with a live train set occupying the centre of the toy department so quite a lot of young people could be parked boggling whilst their parents conducted sotto voce transactions. It wasn't just children, either - one canny woman left a somewhat grouchy teen & his stressed father silently entranced whilst she shot off to the nice frocks. My parents would arrange to meet 'by the trains' and exchange ideas, bags, responsibilities, secure in the knowledge we would move off on command but not otherwise, as we wanted to know if the red train would come out of that tunnel or another one. (Really excellent automation long before it was easy - that or someone remotely driving & enjoying their socks off at the gurgles & murmurs.) Boswells did both the deeply functional & the somewhat intriguing kitchenware before Lakeland made itself known that far south... They started with luggage, so of course I got the schoolbag that actually lasted there. (I think Covid really did for it, but the site has to be worth millions even if it isn't next to the westgate retail mayhem).

goldfinches

My father was great friends with one of the Boswells bosses and he had a miniature steam railway in his garden that you could ride on, it was this sort. He had a simple loop of track and would invite all his friends to bring their children for rides every so often and we loved it and he clearly adored being the train driver. That was one of the highlights of our childhood and we were always imploring Dad to take us again instead of making us go out for another walk or cycle ride. 

Miró

DigForVictory said:

Stunning tops, Rosa! The Betty Barclay almost has me pondering trying to knit.
I adored Boswells as the only place that 'did' Christmas with a live train set occupying the centre of the toy department so quite a lot of young people could be parked boggling whilst their parents conducted sotto voce transactions. It wasn't just children, either - one canny woman left a somewhat grouchy teen & his stressed father silently entranced whilst she shot off to the nice frocks. My parents would arrange to meet 'by the trains' and exchange ideas, bags, responsibilities, secure in the knowledge we would move off on command but not otherwise, as we wanted to know if the red train would come out of that tunnel or another one. (Really excellent automation long before it was easy - that or someone remotely driving & enjoying their socks off at the gurgles & murmurs.) Boswells did both the deeply functional & the somewhat intriguing kitchenware before Lakeland made itself known that far south... They started with luggage, so of course I got the schoolbag that actually lasted there. (I think Covid really did for it, but the site has to be worth millions even if it isn't next to the westgate retail mayhem).

If you are ever in Northallerton you might consider calling into Barkers, (a proper old fashioned department-type store).  Their cafe has a choo choo train running around a track on a shelf just above head height against a backdrop of old shops!

First chazza purchases of the new year....BHF shop in Otley...a Hobbs cream jersey top with scoopy neck & 3/4 sleeves £3.  Then in the St Gemma's Hospice 99p shop....in the upstairs bric a brac section I spotted a Sloggi undercracker box!  Cautiously peeking inside I could see 3 pairs of B/N uc's in a sealed package.  Price 99p!!  All currently in the wash 

Wednesday2000

I've never heard of Boswells or Jenners.

There used to be a department store near where I used to live in Ilford called Bodgers. It closed down while I lived there, before the pandemic.

Bodgers Ilford

C_J

I too lament the demise of Gill’s and Boswell’s - if ever you wanted something and couldn’t find it anywhere else, you would always find it in Boswell’s. Before the late Mr CJ and I got together he was dating the owner’s daughter!

I know it’s not within easy cycling distance but there is an excellent old fashioned hardware shop still in the High Street in Kidlington:

beanielou

@miro. Amazing bargain on the Sloggi. 

Floss

Barter Books in the old Alnwick Station also has trains above head height.

I found an M&S quilted down jacket last week - £6. It's a rather lovely deep red, the colour of a glass of Pinot Noir!

Rosa_Damascena

Wednesday2000 said:

I've never heard of Boswells or Jenners.

There used to be a department store near where I used to live in Ilford called Bodgers. It closed down while I lived there, before the pandemic.

Bodgers Ilford

I always found Bodgers to be all fur coat and no knickers (although I did buy some nice cookware there when I first lived in the area around 2000). Perhaps I was spoiled by Keddies - now that was a department store! The Echo ran a headline when it folded in 1996: "Who Killed Keddies?", complete with magnifying glass.

I bought a Jisulife portable fan today - all of £3. RRP £30+.

Wednesday2000

I've never heard of Keddies. I used to go into Bodgers to buy Dylon dye to dye my charity shop clothes a different colour. That was about the only thing I ever bought there. There were some good charity shops in Ilford.

goldfinches

@C_J thankyou for that very useful piece of information. If I can't get there on two wheels there's always the bus! Very intrigued to hear that your OH briefly dated someone I've crossed paths with; I remember thinking both girls so glamorous and grown up and envying them tremendously when I was a gawky tween.

@Miró those undercrackers were well spotted, clever you. I like the sound of your Hobbs top too but find that three quarter sleeves always make me look like a wrestler which is rather dispiriting.

The weather has finally decided to stop raining here so I'm off for a walk and maybe a browse in the Oxfam shop, wish me luck.