WHO REMEMBERS? The UK Nostalgia Podcast
Join "amateur" historians Andrew and Liam (thrice bronze medalists in 'The South Yorkshire Rememberers Chalice') as they travel back in time like Nicholas Lyndhurst in Goodnight Sweetheart and try to remember things from the past.
Do you remember Woolworths? Do you remember when Marathons changed their name to Snickers? Do you remember Del Boy falling through the bar? If so then come and remember with us. If not then stick around and we will probably remember it for you. You literally can't lose so why not hit the play button as hard as Paul Sykes hit that shark?
WHO REMEMBERS? The UK Nostalgia Podcast
Who Remembers........Shops That Are No Longer On The High Street?
Remember when shopping meant physically visiting stores instead of scrolling on your phone? This nostalgic deep-dive explores the retailers that once defined our high streets but have now vanished into memory.
From music stores where you'd spend hours deciding how to spend your monthly £10 album budget to sports shops packed with everything from football boots to pigeon shooting equipment, these weren't just places to buy things – they were cultural institutions. We revisit the listening posts at Our Price, the towering shelves of Sugg Sports, and the Friday night ritual of choosing videos at Blockbuster, experiences that shaped not just what we bought but how we connected with each other.
The social dynamics around these shops tell fascinating stories about British culture. School playground status was determined by whether your parents shopped at stigmatized budget supermarkets like Netto – a stark contrast to today's pride in Aldi bargains. Department stores like Debenhams weren't just retailers but community landmarks spanning multiple floors, while electronics shops like Dixon's windows would be crowded with men watching football results come in on Teletext screens.
Some closures hit particularly hard. Woolworths was so beloved that even the government considered intervention to save it – extraordinary for what was essentially a variety store. Its famous pick-and-mix selection and everything-under-one-roof approach created an appeal that transcended age and class, making it a true British institution whose loss still resonates today.
As we reflect on these retail ghosts, we confront an uncomfortable truth: we're all responsible for their demise. Every online purchase represents a choice we made collectively that transformed our high streets forever. What have we gained in convenience, and what have we lost in community and shared experience? Join us for this bittersweet journey through the shops that once defined British life but now exist only in memory.
Hello and welcome to the podcast who Remembers?
Speaker 2:In this episode we are asking who remembers shops that are no longer on the high street used electrical cars?
Speaker 1:for something called the internet Stop jockeying.
Speaker 2:That's good, but none of the locals got paddling. Yeah, that's for me. The robot list gets a gas bank. You can't win anything with kids. Pac-man one of the superstar video games in the business. Do you threaten to overrule them Before we can't get through again? Remember when it's the lowest level conversation this is history. This is history. This is history, but when it's the lowest form of conversation. So this is something that Ange sort of asked us to do and we thought we'd make it a double episode in a way. So she's asked us to do. Remembers Sheffield in the 80s, 90s, basically growing up, but we started talking about how many shops don't exist anymore and we thought that's an episode. Isn't it in itself that shops on the high street that you don't find?
Speaker 1:anymore. Yeah, and this will be focused on shops that aren't in Sheffield anymore, because that's where we grew up, but hopefully, even if you're not from the steel city, you still can find something in it for yourself. If you still find it wherever you are, the shops presumably have gone in the same sort of ways in towns and cities talking about sort of nightclubs and things like that we might do a more specific sheffield who remembers, but this one is just about the shops.
Speaker 1:And I think the other thing as well is we're still not quite figured out with this whether people like the episodes where we do a specific moment, like they take that split, or they just want some general sort of Peter Kay who remembers.
Speaker 2:Well, I'll not mention any names, but a certain former podcaster's other half said that we sounded like boomers on the sweets one, the food one where what were the sweets? One where we know the food, one where we're just basically going oh, what about that?
Speaker 2:which is uh, yeah, that's that's what, that's what we're good at, that's that's that. That is what we're good at, listing foods that still exist. That's our, that's our. Uh, that's our best bit of remembering shop style. I did a bit of research into this one because I wasn't sure what was still going on and I got a bit I won't say rabbit hole, but I got a bit sad, genuinely nostalgic, when I was going through and I thought, oh God, I've spent so many times in these shops Because, obviously, shopping now, when was the last time you went shopping? So I'd like, for instance, when I were a kid, if I wanted to go and we'll start actually music stores, like some music stores you don't get anymore, but I don't know. They'd be four or five in sheffield city center and I'd go between them just looking for the best. You know what can I get with my 15 pound, or whatever it'd be. I'd be able to get three albums here, or maybe a couple of singles or whatever.
Speaker 1:Well, it's 10p cheaper in.
Speaker 2:Uh, in our price, yeah but I'd walk around seeing what the so I'd be in town for about four hours getting an album. I talked to our mate Travelling, actually, about this and he was like saying for £10, he can't believe that for £10 a month now he gets everything on Spotify, Whereas that £10 would have got him one album. What 20 years ago?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I suppose that is of all the things that have kind of gone up in price and got less in quality. Yeah, I mean even like a cassette single, were you is of all the things that have kind of gone up in price and got less in quality. Yeah, I mean even like a cassette single. What are you talking about? Two pound 29, two pounds, I think I I don't know I'm gonna.
Speaker 2:I've got a feeling cassettes were about 199 maybe and I think that maybe the, the, I don't know cds I've got a single like four or five quid, I think about 3.99 or something like that that's what I'd have said. Yeah, and I think that that is crazy, isn't it?
Speaker 1:like that's, you obviously get a b-side and whether there's any sort of additional content on there, but but that's all you could go and listen to like, whereas now, yeah, you pay this small subscription fee and you've got access to every song ever absolutely everything.
Speaker 2:But we'll go into the stores, like we'll start with music, if you want.
Speaker 1:Like I said, because shopping didn't mean scrolling on the phone, did it, whereas now, well, you had no option to do that, and sometimes no, unless you were in that sort of culture. So if you're buying music magazines or computer game magazines, you'd sort of know what was coming out when. But sometimes you just go and have a a look and say, oh, I didn't know they had a song coming out. Yeah, I didn't know they had a new album coming out.
Speaker 2:Our Price was the second largest music retailer probably in the country in the 80s, behind Woolworths. So in 1971 it started and it sort of lost out when HMV came around in the 90s. But what I remember about Our Price, I'm pretty sure it were our price. They had their own radio station, didn't they? Do you remember?
Speaker 1:Ah, I didn't, but yeah, now you've said that that does sound right.
Speaker 2:This is our price radio. Why not buy the new single from David Gray, or whatever it'd be? And then I always remember did they have? They had listening? I think HMV still do this. You know listening posts which were brilliant.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But you could go behind the counter and say, can I listen to this album please? And they'd say, yeah, do you listen to it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll buy that then, but didn't they have like I wouldn't say booths, but like headphones in the corner. You could go and you could press a number and it would play like a. I don't even know if it played a full track or a bit of a track.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure. Yeah, so then you'd have an idea to do that quite often. I think there'd be eight albums or whatever to choose from and you could press like things and listen to anything. Oh, that sound of that. Have my 10 pound and that's my album for the month you know what.
Speaker 1:That's far better, though, isn't it like? Don't get me wrong. Obviously, realistically, having access to all the music in the world is great, but it's kind of not, is it?
Speaker 2:no, because I I'm a massive, massive music fan, as you know, and no album. I can't think of any album I've heard in the last 10 years, since I've been listening to Spotify, that I love as much as my older albums. And I don't think that's to do with getting older. I think that's because I don't invest as much time in it, because I think, oh, this is good, oh yeah, but I could be listening to that. Do you know what I mean? And you listening to that? You know I mean and you listen to something else well you.
Speaker 1:You was obviously. Yeah, you're well into your music and when I was I don't know 17, 18, uh, we weren't me and you weren't in a romantic relationship, but you like to do uh at that point no, but you like to create mixtapes for people, don't you um?
Speaker 2:I love are you. That's a massive thing I used to love doing.
Speaker 1:I might do an episode on mixtapes and I was like at that time I bought my ford escort, my first car I'd got a tape player on it, um, and and you create me these like little mixtapes. Yeah, it was brilliant. I'd hear a song and I'd phone you up and say, who's that? That's absolutely amazing. Like I need to hear that album. Yeah, sometimes that would just be a one-off song and I wouldn't love it, but that was sort of your way of finding bands that you'd hear a song you loved and think, oh good, who's that? Everything is just so immediately available. Now You've lost that. Like you don't have to go searching for the things you love.
Speaker 2:I was talking about this on Friday actually, when I was watching the game with Ben and Traveller. I was saying that you used to buy a CD and almost try and make yourself like it, because I thought I spent £10 on this. I'm not going to get another CD now for another month or whatever. And I'd listened to A lot of the time the albums I bought or whatever. I didn't like them. I never grew to like him. Dark Side of the Moon for me that's my unpopular music opinion. I never got into Pink Floyd but I bought it. Now I've listened to Dark Side of the Moon once and say that's not for me and that's it yeah, never again, yeah.
Speaker 2:I tried to get into it because I paid for it. Pet Sounds is one of my favourite ever albums. First time I heard it people putting these next to Beatles, probably one of my second favourite album now, or something like that. But because and it wasn't because I tried to make myself like it in the sense that, oh, I need to, I gave it a chance and I thought, oh, that bit's actually. Oh, actually that bit, oh, that's amazing. Now I would not do that these days really sad.
Speaker 1:I bought Sony Walkman, but one that at the time was seen as really advanced, where you could press a button and it skipped to the end of the song. It looked for the sort of silence on the tape but I read it wasn't great for the mechanism. So when I bought the Verve Urban Hymns, the number of times I've heard the Rolling People, despite thinking it's one of the worst songs I've ever heard, it's ridiculous, because I just let play through.
Speaker 2:I just, I just listened to the album seven minutes long as well. It's like a long song, isn't it?
Speaker 1:I mean, and for me as well. It's like particularly. I mean, like jodie often says she thinks I have autistic traits, I think we all do, but I I fixate on not just songs but bits of songs. I listen to the first 30 seconds of what did I send you on when I went on holiday.
Speaker 2:Oh, sweet Harmony, sweet Harmony, let's play together.
Speaker 1:I don't like the vocals on it, but I found an instrumental. I listened to the first 30 seconds on loop for about an hour and a half Genuinely as well, which is mental. But yeah, I've endured the rolling people many more times than I would like to Other ones that are not with us anymore.
Speaker 2:Virgin Megastore I don't know if that that might have been the one that I bought the most from, maybe Virgin Megastore.
Speaker 1:I'd go HMV, I think.
Speaker 2:Possibly, I would say HMV's still with us. Another's the big one Andy's Records. Do you remember Andy's Records?
Speaker 1:Oh good, hell yeah, I work here.
Speaker 2:My first ever job. I'll do a little anecdote for you here.
Speaker 1:It wasn't yours, Chop, though, was it?
Speaker 2:It wasn't my shop, it wasn't Andy's Records now, but a guy came in because I only worked Christmas temp and he asked for the Top Gun soundtrack. I probably told you this story before, but accidentally, because what you used to do is get the CD, you go in the back. So the cover you go in the back. You get the cd, you go in the bar, it's on the cover. You go in the back, you pick out top gun, you put it in. And I'd not put top gun in, I'd put top loader in accident because obviously it's next to it top loader dancing in the moonlight dancing in the moon, yeah.
Speaker 2:So he came back later on that day and I I can't put into words how angry this man was. It was my first sort of as an adult like 17, 18 or whatever it had been and he was going. I fucking wanted this Top Gun soundtrack for ages. I fucking. He was absolutely furious so I went it back because I'm really sorry. I went it back and I thought I'm going to get sacked here, but I don't care, I'm leaving next month. So I put Spice Girls in it instead. This time I said okay, and he didn't look and he went out again and I just hope to God he got in his car, yeah, and he never came back again, but I did lose my job a couple of weeks, like well, I wasn't kept on and that man was.
Speaker 1:Tom Cruise.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was so angry. Obviously, nowadays I'm a bit older now. I would have just said I think the problem here might be you, because no one's this angry about not getting the Top Gun soundtrack immediately.
Speaker 1:He'd gone home and drove back. Why does he need to listen to it now? Yeah, but that is quite a big inconvenience. To be fair to him, it doesn't really mean when people can't just do the job. It's like people want praise for doing the job. Just have a look.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but he felt he's wrong because when I put Spice Girls back in it.
Speaker 1:He's not wrong. He asked for Top Gun.
Speaker 2:You gave him Top Gun, yeah but would you have had a look, just to be on the safe side, because I thought it's bound to have a look here. But I'm going to risk it. And then I put the Spice Girls in and he didn't look, he just stormed out again, really angry.
Speaker 1:So I thought yeah, fuck you, yeah, I don't.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I'm delighted by my move. It's one of my greatest achievements.
Speaker 1:I think the tagline was where music really matters and they sort of promoted themselves as this independent record company. Was it like a Sheffield thing or a Northern thing on his records?
Speaker 2:I don't think it was. No, it started in Cambridge Market. It started by a guy called Andy Gray. Was it really? Yeah, not the Andy Gray. I've played the music, but what was really annoying is they had these things like we are a proper music store. That's why I went for the job. I'm into music, I know my stuff and all this, and what you had to do is listen to the same songs, same albums on repeat that were in the charts at that point. I can't remember what they were exactly. David albums on repeat that were in the charts at that point. I can't remember what they were exactly. David Gray, wyatt Ladder.
Speaker 1:Every day, every single day All Saints, craig, david, was it that sort of era, craig?
Speaker 2:David were around, yeah, around, the time of Toploader had just come out, or whatever that was. I think maybe. Coldplay had just come out I don't know if it was Gabrielle Madonna were out on one of her albums, maybe music. You heard music that she had out.
Speaker 1:To be honest, that applies to almost every era since about 1960.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's very true, that's very true. But yeah, music stores. You've literally only got HMV now and I'd like to know how many songs.
Speaker 1:Sorry, I think I would imagine now the only sort of sales they get is the sort of retro stuff. Is the people?
Speaker 2:buying vinyl. Yeah, really, really big shame. Sports shops next JJB sports. I thought that was still a thing I did, I did.
Speaker 1:I think JD sports still exists, don't it? And I think Decathlon yeah.
Speaker 2:Decathlon still exists as well. It jd sports stores, jjb yeah, decathlon still exists as well. Jjb were massive for a little bit and, by the sounds of it, they they got a new ceo in and he basically opened stores everywhere like in the space of about a year, and they just couldn't afford to do it, so he got bought out by mike ashley sports direct.
Speaker 1:Ah, yes, is that jjb became, like Ashley's, sports Direct. Ah yes, jjb became Sports Direct did it.
Speaker 2:Yes, Sports Direct now is JJB.
Speaker 1:JJB was the go-to at one bit, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:Well, you say that I think by far the biggest sports shop in Sheffield.
Speaker 1:And I thought it was just in Sheffield. Oh right, OK, You're going to perhaps tell me something I didn't know there.
Speaker 2:Then, it's in a few other places around the northern area. But you know what I'm going to say Sugg Sports. Sugg Sports Sold fucking everything. Sugg Sports, you had a footy shirt. It sold guns for pigeon shooting Subutio.
Speaker 1:You could get football kits, tracksuits, trainers.
Speaker 2:Rollerblades, ice skates, two stories high.
Speaker 1:I once bought a roller hockey stick when that was the sort of the craze. If you wanted anything sports related, a baseball. You could go and get it at Suggs Sports.
Speaker 2:It was huge as well as a building Like absolutely huge.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it was actually Was it?
Speaker 2:It might be Maybe I was just small. I think a bit of both.
Speaker 1:I think it probably was a decent sized building and you were smaller.
Speaker 2:But there were no. I don't remember any other sports shop at that time If I wanted, Like I used to play football as a kid. Oh, we're going to Suggs Sports then and get you some boots. There were never, by the way. I always thought it was Suggs Sport as in the sink of a Maddener. No, I didn't not Sugg Sport.
Speaker 1:Our sports shop in the middle of our street.
Speaker 2:But yeah, there were no like debate, like oh, where should we go for Best Deals? Should we go to Decathlon? Should we go to Sports Direct for your football?
Speaker 1:No, obviously you're going to Sugg Well, and how many times did you go like and obviously it'd be the same for Wednesday fans. But as a United fan, you just go and walk around and sort of look at the United shirts and tracksuits and that You'd seen them the week before. But you'd say how can we go into such sports?
Speaker 2:But even the other teams. It was the first shop I remember going in where you had Newcastle, man United, liverpool.
Speaker 1:The main teams as well, weren't they? Yeah, that's obviously annoying. Now you could get ski wear. You could get yeah, everything.
Speaker 2:Basketballs, all the sports, all the cricket gear, all the sports, all the cricket gear, all the cricket gear you could get as well. I used to buy. Just done a dyspraxic thing, by the way, I was talking with my hands and I just smashed my phone on the floor.
Speaker 1:But anyway, carry on yeah, we've not made a big thing about your dyspraxia, have we? It's not smashed, it's alright. I used to buy chalk for my all slash snooker table as well in sub sports oh yeah, they had all the snooker stuff as well, didn't they?
Speaker 2:Yeah, honestly, if you're not from Sheffield and you're listening, we're making it sound like the greatest sports shop of all time, and that's because it was the greatest sports shop of all time? Yeah, and maybe obviously a lot of nostalgia played into that but it were unbelievable.
Speaker 1:But it didn't feel like these these days you have this massive, big warehouse that he sort of traipsed around, this kind of felt like more like a local village shop, where it was like you'd almost sort of try and catch them out and think like well, you're not going to have all of them, but I wanted some bearings for my rollerblades. Oh yeah, come around here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we've got them, no problem, yeah it's like now you're going to JD, you know what you're going to get If you go to JD, you've got your Adidas, nike, whatever it is all in a row.
Speaker 1:Well, JD sort of became more fashion-branded, didn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you know what you're going to get if you walk into Sports Direct realistically, Massive cups for a kick-off. Why are the cups so big in Sports Direct?
Speaker 1:Absolutely huge Sports Direct. But yeah, I think I've got one on my cover actually with a massive Ireland flag on it that came from Sports Direct.
Speaker 2:Why are they so big?
Speaker 1:It's far bigger than it ever needs to be for a hot beverage. I don't drink hot beverages.
Speaker 2:Hot beverages aren't even renowned for sporting like things. Neither are they. Who has a hot beverage? It's like that PTK thing. Yeah, you get Kessilon for Mcackinrow.
Speaker 1:Here it's been two pints of coffee please two pints of coffee, please.
Speaker 2:I've got. I'm playing cricket later on. I need it after ridiculous how big they are. But yeah, probably a lot of this is because I was young, but I remember going into sugar and not really knowing what I'd come out with I remember lots of times probably wasn't a favourite customer going in knowing that I wouldn't be buying anything.
Speaker 2:I just liked to have a look around. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just having a lot of fun with bouncing balls and stuff and doing kick-ups, yeah, brilliant. Another thing you don't get anymore, and there's a massive one here. You might know more than me. I've got two examples here. The main one is the big one, but I'm talking video shops. Blockbusters obviously no longer with us, but the video shop I used to go in was Swiggy's. I don't know if that was just a Sheffield thing, I don't know if you remember it, london Road.
Speaker 1:No, I don't know Swiggy's.
Speaker 2:I used to love video stores doors as a kid. My dad would take me in like we'd sort of he'd go and look at the adult, not the adult the porn material the adult material and I'd be. Yeah, now he'd go and look at, like the, the horrors, or massive, massive horror film. My dad and I could spend hours going through the I don't know he-man or wherever we're into into, you know thundercats, like, yeah, we're just going through the vhs and picking one out.
Speaker 1:So exciting having this vhs yeah, I think we mentioned it on a recent podcast as well that you kind of had to enjoy it, because that's what you got. You had this for one night or two, depending how long you rented it for. So you kind of had to just go and enjoy it and even if it wasn't great, you'd sort of have to think right, well, I'm going to get through this, this, and sort of try and find the positive in it. Find the positive in it.
Speaker 2:And then I think.
Speaker 1:by the way, I think Blockbuster had the chance to buy netflix that's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, like a relatively small amount.
Speaker 1:And yeah, because I remember, as blockbuster was kind of fading, I think we were still doing something where you you got a dvd from them, but when you sent that one back you'd get the next one and you'd pay so much a year. And I think netflix tried a sort of similar thing initially before it all went streaming.
Speaker 2:That's right, yeah, yeah, yeah, netflix or nothing really and, like I said, blockbuster didn't have the chance and there were nothing. I've got a funny story about blockbuster actually a guy that I work with now, I used to work at blockbusters. The listener will be the judge of that okay, well I was talking to? Uh, yeah, we were on about 9-11. As I don't know why, I seem to talk about it anyway yeah and uh.
Speaker 2:I said where were you when 9-11 happening is all working at blockbusters? He's straight face, said people are coming in and saying what move is this? Brilliant that's, but that's the joke. That is funny, come on yeah are you not laughing at that? No, I am laughing.
Speaker 1:I'm trying, I'm trying not to know the guy.
Speaker 2:He's one of those sort of guys. You'll know what I'm on about. I don't want to say his name. He's never made a joke in his life. You know what I mean. He's like sort of yeah, straight-laced.
Speaker 2:Yeah, never, ever, ever made a joke and I will laugh him out of it. Just looking at me like I were mad People. What movie is this Brilliant? Yeah, I used to love it. I used to get scared as well by the ones that my dad had been by him. Not the porn again. The horror films I've still got images of like Predator's face.
Speaker 1:I remember as a kid the Hellraiser.
Speaker 2:Hellraiser yeah.
Speaker 1:It was quite frightening as a child.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And it even Stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember watching it. We stayed up late one night when we were really young and we'll have to do scary horror, the first part was really scary and creepy and then I remember watching the second bit and just thinking this is absolutely ridiculous, like it's just farcical, yeah, but wow, that's a bit scary, isn't it?
Speaker 2:did you hear that? No, what happened? Oh, sorry if you don't come for it recording, liam, just edit this bit out. But my dog just barked as soon as I said that that was quite scary, wasn't it? And he was like whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 1:I'll leave it in either way, so we'll see Right, fair enough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's still going. Anyway clothes stores Debenhams, which is still going online, but you will not find it on the iStreet anymore, unless you go to the Middle East, which is a no Debenhams anywhere. No Debenhams at all in the UK anymore. It got bought out by Boohoo.
Speaker 1:That's a sad state of affairs, isn't it?
Speaker 2:That was like a staple Debenhams that was huge Debenhams, three stories in sheffield, I think it were. Oh, I think you're talking four or five, maybe even more. Yeah, perfume on the top?
Speaker 1:I think not that he's electrics on the top, I think. I think on the top.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he walked into the person computer games yeah perfume.
Speaker 1:You walked into on either floor either one or ground, I think, depending which way you went in yeah my cousin used to work there. Yeah, yeah. Well, furness's mum worked there in female fashion or something. So sometimes when we used to go to town I used to see her. I thought she still worked there. To be honest, I didn't know. It wasn't a thing anymore.
Speaker 2:She's like one of the Japanese people at war refuses to leave, yeah she's still in the building. It's not over. It's not over. I'm sticking to devonham's yeah, really sad and a lot of ones, other ones here that um, cna. I mean I love the logo for c, remember cna.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so bright as a kid is this just because like online, like ebay, amazon, is that?
Speaker 2:yeah, because they just killed this sort of thing, haven't they? When was the last time you bought clothes in a clothes shop? I can't, genuinely can't think of the last time. Probably, actually, when I went to Chapel St Leonard's and there is one, what's it called? Designer warehouse?
Speaker 1:I think it's called yeah, something like that designer outlet or something yeah something like that and I got like some crappy thing for about £10.
Speaker 2:But that were it.
Speaker 1:Coming off. Yeah, this last place. I forgot my swimming shorts. It's a chap from St Leonard's, so I went to buy from either Yabba, dabba, doos or Badda.
Speaker 2:Bing, badda Boom, badda, bing, badda, booms. Yeah, I mean like I said, but you don't really go in.
Speaker 1:I'm shocked, strange, isn't it Strange?
Speaker 2:yeah, I was thinking like, oh God, debenhams is not here anymore. But then I'm thinking well, I used to go in there probably at least once every two weeks for something or other. I don't know if this is the same with you. I used to go downtown probably once a week.
Speaker 1:I know I was younger I'd go on a mall, I'd see what copied PlayStation games they had, and then I might buy a T-shirt or something from Top man.
Speaker 2:Yeah you don't do that anymore. I went down once to get an air fryer for my mum for Christmas last year and I was walking around I was lost. I was like going what that weren't here.
Speaker 1:Why is that there going? What it's just gone?
Speaker 2:Another one from you, and again, this is another one that I think is mainly Sheffield. You actually told me about this one it's Cole Brothers. I never understood Cole Brothers.
Speaker 1:It's part of the John Lewis partnership, isn't it?
Speaker 2:They're all renamed John Lewis now.
Speaker 1:But were they all Cole Brothers or was just a Sheffield on Cole Brothers?
Speaker 2:That is a great question that I cannot answer.
Speaker 1:to be completely honest, I never understood why it was called Cole Brothers. I never saw any signs that said Cole Brothers. The branding inside said John Lewis Never knowingly undersold. Was their sort of big thing, which blows my mind because I always thought they were quite expensive.
Speaker 2:Cole Brothers blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 1:I don't know, by the way, if I had some sort of like repressed bad incident in in call brothers.
Speaker 1:I used to have like a feeling that something, something wasn't right when I was in there really yeah, I mean, I once, as a really young kid, left like I had like a like a sort of comfort blanket sort of thing. I had like a blanket that I once left, like a sort of comfort blanket sort of thing. I had like a blanket that I once left and I don't know if I got it back or if a mum got me another one and said it was the same.
Speaker 2:It's like that scene off Marsh where actually you killed a baby. Do you remember on the end of Marsh where he thinks he's killed a chicken because he's repressed?
Speaker 1:his mum.
Speaker 2:He actually ended up killing a baby. You actually left, I left behind a sibling yeah. Left behind a sibling, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know. I used to have a feeling of sort of darkness when I went in there. I used to think, like something happened in here. I don't know, I'm not sure.
Speaker 2:But it was Sheffield only, so I'm not sure. But the toy shop on the other side of the road.
Speaker 1:That was great. I always felt good in there. Yeah, yeah, they had a lot of Lego and sports stuff across the road?
Speaker 2:I don't really. No, I can't really no.
Speaker 1:I mean, do you know, on the same so, where kind of where Wetherspoons is? It might even have been the Wetherspoons.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So opposite. Cole Brothers the sort of big department store you go to the toy slash sports bit opposite.
Speaker 2:I can't remember it.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, sports bit opposite. I can't remember it, oh wow, as a professional rememberer. Is this not part of your press thing that you invented this part of our floors, don't we?
Speaker 2:yeah, well, we'll move on to technology, and I didn't know this one either.
Speaker 1:Pc world is no longer with us yeah, I mean I, I didn't know that, but I'm not stunned to hear it.
Speaker 2:Well the bit. Obviously pc will more fame. Probably most famous I'd say it's on the Wikipedia page. Anyway, you know what happened at PC World in November 1997?.
Speaker 1:What happened at PC World in 1997? November 1997. I don't know, you're sort of implying there's some sort of terrorist attack or something. Maybe that's because you mentioned 9-11, I'm thinking. What happened at PC World? Did it get hacked?
Speaker 2:No, what happened is Gary Glitter took his laptop in and that's when he was found by a member of staff to have child abuse imagery. Yeah, they were in a PC World. Why would you take that in? I mean he probably just put it in a recycle bin. Then they think he deleted it. You know, in everyone.
Speaker 1:Just thought I'm clean to have some work done on yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, his computer had broke down, just get a new one. He must be like a rich man, gary glitter, but thank god he did take it in, because we might have never known what happened.
Speaker 1:Obviously questions g Gary about the content.
Speaker 2:Yeah, imagine that, though, if he'd have not taken that in, and he could have died this year and people would have just said oh, Gary Glitter, but he might have been doing Glastonbury and stuff, and it all changed on that one day in November 19th, a fitting tribute to PC World.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the law and justice of PC world. I found this as well on the Wikipedia page In December 2000,. A response to the perception that PC staff were too young and often lacking in knowledge and communication skills needed to go on a set of e-learning courses. So yeah, basically there were that many complaints about all the staff they had to like retrain every member of staff.
Speaker 1:I know they were all sort of shocking at this, but I remember once going into pc world to buy a laptop and a guy come over and he said, can I help you? And I said no, I'm just looking. And he stayed right next to me yeah and I said no, I've said, I'm just looking. I don't know if I'm buying anything today. And he said well, if I can help you. And he stayed where he I said, honestly, if you don't go away, I'm going, I'm going to spend my money somewhere else.
Speaker 1:He stayed next to me, so I just walked out and he said, sir, I could help you with this I hate it. That was me done. I thought, no, I'm not spending my money at PC World.
Speaker 2:I hate that.
Speaker 1:Although I didn't know about.
Speaker 2:He should have said to me so before you walk, out.
Speaker 1:we found out about Fairy Glitter and I said, right, okay, just move back a little bit and we'll talk.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we'll talk about it, but I hate it in clothes shops. Anyways, one of the reasons like I'm glad you don't go into clothes shops anymore is that when you go in and say can I help you, and you're like no, what are you looking for? Created that that were a good customer service, because it's obviously not what the employer wants to do. But employer just wants to sit behind desk, listens at radio. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1:he don't want to be like, yeah, I don't know where that cross what I mean, where did that come from? I worked for you at sainsbury's for a while. I worked on the meat and fish. You worked on the vegetables. Imagine, just like sort of leaning over somebody's shoulder looking at pork chops- pork loin steaks. By the way, if we do the Bama's pork loin steaks, by the way, if you're interested in that. It's just ridiculous. Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2:Oil shops are terrible for it, pc World, curry's and all these shops where I go in, and I didn't know anything about computers in the 90s. Internet sort of just got. And looking back in hindsight not in hindsight I knew at the time I'd say, hi, I'm after a laptop, I'm just starting college or whatever. And they'd say, well, this one here is the one that you need, because this has got that you know you're fucking talking about, leave me alone. And so no wonder pc world has gone down. But on the other technology one, yeah two ones.
Speaker 2:I I sort of combine. Them is a little woods and rumble. I was two different companies. In my opinion, I could not tell you the difference between.
Speaker 1:So to me Rumbelows was just an electrical company, little Woods was almost a blend into Argos. It was a catalogue, it was a shop. Ah, of course, yeah, little Woods catalogue, yeah, but I'm thinking more of sort of Corby, so this is not Sheffield related. When I used to go down and see my grandma in Corby, we'd go to Littlewoods and they'd have a lot of stuff in the shop but there'd be the catalogues at the back where there'd be more of the toys and stuff that you could look for, and I don't know if it's one of them places that you I don't know if this is positive or negative, because you could sort of do your Christmas shopping at Littlewoods, but I don't know if you could sort of build up your savings through the year to pay for it.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, yeah, or if you paid for it and then paid it off the year, because one seems like you're building a savings account to buy your Christmas stuff and the other one sort of seems like we've trapped you into debt. You bought your stuff now and now you've got to pay us back on interest. Clever.
Speaker 2:I don't know which he was. To be honest, Very, very clever. He started as a football pools company.
Speaker 1:Littlewood yeah, yeah, littlewood yeah.
Speaker 2:But I think I get mixed up because Rumbelows and Littlewood both sponsored the League Cup in the early 90s, yeahffield Wednesday.
Speaker 1:obviously our arch rivals won this in 91.
Speaker 2:A little bit too young to remember, but it doesn't exist anymore Rumble. So therefore, in my opinion, take the trophy away from him, because that doesn't exist either. You can't win something that doesn't exist, you having that.
Speaker 1:Have we ever won the John Pates or whatever it is? We haven't won anything since, genuinely no, no, no, we've won.
Speaker 2:We've won the Alex Sabella Cup, which were two teams. Is he still around?
Speaker 1:yeah, he's died well, does that count?
Speaker 2:no, we've won the. We did win the Steel City Cup.
Speaker 1:Steel City Cup? Yeah, and the Steel City does exist, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:and the Steel City does exist. So, yeah, we are the champions actually, yeah, so sad sad for both teams that we've got one trophy between us in about 100 years um but you can't say between us it's yeah, it's proper like sharing the success, though, isn't it?
Speaker 2:between us, mate? It's like you having 42 000 pound and me having 400 power. Between us, we, we've got £42,400. Talking of football, though, obviously, another technology shop that shut down, dixon's, which we spoke about before when we did the adverts, but I don't know if we actually spoke about the shop itself. This is most Dixon's. This is most known for people watching the results after a game.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean there's sort of clichés and obviously in the modern world you couldn't do this anymore. But the guys who'd gone shopping with their wives used to go and stand outside Dixon's to watch the Teletext results come in yeah, yeah, yeah, or even after the game.
Speaker 2:Even after a game, you'd go into town maybe for a drink and you'd get to Dixon's and you'd, just before you, go to a pub having a look at all the schools, because that's the only way you get him. There's no phones. Some people have radios and stuff, but you won't really be taking him to match. So yeah, that's a real. If you told me dixon still existed, I'd I'd have believed you put it that way.
Speaker 1:Obviously got bought out by curry I like the layout of dixon's on the entrance to Orchard Square. I like the steps up with the TVs behind it. Me and my cousin because this was kind of pre-laptop the number of times I went and looked at it. They weren't even like laptops, they were like a word processor. They'd be absolutely dreadful. I don't even know why I wanted one, but it was like a sort of fold, like almost looked like a laptop, but it just had a screen on it with, effectively, Microsoft Word on it. We used to go look at them all the time and think, oh God, I tell you what. This would be absolutely amazing, wouldn't it? It's just a word processor, I don't know why.
Speaker 2:at the time we wanted that. These shops, though, like another one that's not around anymore, comet you go into these places and they would genuinely seem like the future. I don't know, but now, obviously they were at the time.
Speaker 1:I think of Comet. Did they have a? Well, and even as I'm remembering out loud, I'm sort of understanding it, there was a reindeer on the advert, I think, and presumably that was Comet, as in one of the seven reindeer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would have thought so. Yeah, I mean it's. The thing is with they both got bought Dixon's and Comet both got bought out by Curry's, which I'm not. I don't remember Curry's being that big as a kid. Like if you'd have said what were the main one, I would have definitely said Dixon's, and I don't know why that is. I thought the branding were more clear, more striking, should I say, just like Dixon's right in your face. I don't know, I'd probably comment above Curry's. Curry's to me just reminds me of food, so I don't know how that made it so big.
Speaker 1:I always thought Curry's more of washing machines and dryers and household appliances rather than Dixon's to me was like your TVs, your. So where would you get your?
Speaker 2:technology, from now Probably Amazon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you tend to go online. I mean, if I had to go and buy it locally it'd be sort of the Sainsbury's or the Argos in Sainsbury's, yeah.
Speaker 2:Argos. Argos have done well, actually, but I think we're on the list.
Speaker 1:I think they've completely failed, haven't they? I don't know, have they? I read something today that said Sainsbury's bought them for 1.3 billion and they're now worth 300 million, or something like that. They've just not. Oh right, they've not Well.
Speaker 2:What I mean is they've done well to keep going when I went through, when I'm going through, all these shops that are closed.
Speaker 1:Like an old sort of tortoise in a race, dying. I tell you what he's doing well. He's doing well.
Speaker 2:But I went through all these shops and I'm like, oh, the ones that are still going must be really, really good business-wise.
Speaker 1:Well, I think it depends on it. Are they a success or are they just limping on? Yeah, I don't know Sports.
Speaker 2:Direct. I mean they bought out. Do you know what I mean? They're still massive, aren't they? Sports Direct Look at the cups. Yeah, yeah, anyway, we'll move on to Just on the electrics thing as well.
Speaker 1:Something I thought of, by the way that I searched just before, this was Tandy. Do you ever remember Tandy?
Speaker 2:Tandy, tandy, shit, yeah, another one. By the way, this is not electrics. Oh Office World. Is that still going?
Speaker 1:I don't think that Don't know, don't know.
Speaker 2:Office world.
Speaker 1:Another one that is not electric Sorry, just on Tandy, before you move on Sorry. Karen. I thought I wonder if Tandy's still a thing. So I typed in Tandy, come on Tandyonlinecom. I thought oh brilliant, it still exists, they sell. They sell five products on their site. Three of them are capacitors or LED bulbs, and one of them is a battery and one is a 6L6 beam-powered tetrode. I don't even know what that is, and that's it.
Speaker 2:That's Tandy's, and that's Tandy's and that's Tandy's for you. Well, you said Tandy's, this is not electrical or anything. Well, I don't think it was Texas. Remember Texas, Not the band no Texas. It was like a home improvement retailer, a bit like B&Q. Ah yeah, that sounds right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'd completely forgotten Texas, but yeah, yeah, shut in 1999.
Speaker 2:As soon as you said Tandy, I thought Texas, yeah, I'm just looking at. Yeah, shut in 1999. As soon as you said Tandy, I thought Texas, yeah, that's got really striking branding. Anyway, moving on to supermarkets, One that's recently gone which I didn't have a big love for because I think it was fairly I don't remember it being a big thing at all like in my youth was McColl's supermarket.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't necessarily see them as a supermarket. I mean, I don't necessarily see them as a supermarket, I mean I don't know if. I'm blurring two things.
Speaker 2:There was a Martin McColls near me that was a news agent.
Speaker 1:Are GT News still going? Oh, no, that's a good shot. It used to be one of them at Crystal Peaks. No, I don't think so.
Speaker 2:No, GT News used to sponsor the league that I used to play in as a kid, the Football League. Gt News. Goodyear's come up. It's not. That is it? Gt News shot.
Speaker 1:Pop into GT News. I don't think you can still find GT News. I think they've gone.
Speaker 2:One of you are saying that there is one in Meadowhall, but anyway, let us know if GT News still exists.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I don't know if there's sort of two. I think of McCall's as Martinccall's. As a local news agent I think there was a bigger brand than mccall's, which again seems to remember in corby that there was a mccall's there that did but I'm a customer supermarket. They sold computer games and cds and suites and things like that one that I do remember big time is Quicksave.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I remember these being Even at that. I certainly weren't a rich kid or anything like that, but I remember at the time going into Quicksave and thinking this looks shit Like they were wooden shelves, do you know? Basically they had like really crap layouts A bit like you know. They just sort of seemed to shove everything in a corner and say just fucking buy that and get out. I don't know, do you know what?
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, I mean our local sort of shop was a. I was Gleadless Townend when I was little and the quicksave was the one we'd go to generally. I don't know if I remember it being especially tacky, but I think it was like sort of fairly cheap. I think your mum actually, when we talked about doing who Remembers shops and stuff, said you've got to do Netto.
Speaker 2:Netto right Did Quick.
Speaker 1:Save sort of become like a Netto almost.
Speaker 2:No Quick Save got bought out by Summerfields in 1998.
Speaker 1:Ah, Summerfields, yeah, I remember Summerfields.
Speaker 2:It is noted in the. I can't remember where I got this from the research that I did. It basically got pushed out of the market by aldi and netto yeah, which they come onto the scene.
Speaker 1:I mean which I didn't know. But I'm, uh, I'm a, I'm a big um little advocate at the minute.
Speaker 2:Yeah so it's the same at your school. That it were a proper. It were like the, the one of the biggest insults in school that your mom shops at Netto.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I literally knew a guy who his mum and dad did shop at Netto. My mum and dad used to shop at Sainsbury's. That's it your career's ended at school.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're done.
Speaker 1:But what he did was he used to have a branded bottle of Coke and fill it up with Netto Coca-Cola.
Speaker 2:I saw him doing it live I thought he's, I bet. I bet you were one of the ones as well, weren't you going? Oh, you got that from netto they're probably.
Speaker 1:I felt sorry for him because it wouldn't have bothered me particularly. I mean probably would. There's probably an era in my life where I would hate the thought of having, mind you having said that my grandma used to work at golden Wonder and used to give us free crisps and they were like this sort of default crisp, so they had like extra balls of flavour in them and stuff.
Speaker 2:They were horrible and that's what we had for years At school it was social suicide to shop here. I always remember I'm not going to say his name, he didn't listen or anything but we were on a bus and we were coming home from school and someone's mum at school was walking out with a nettle bag and someone goes oh, my God, look. And everyone runs up the window going oh yeah, and that were it.
Speaker 1:It's funny how big a thing. I've not named the cola nettle guy. You've not named the mum with a nettle bag.
Speaker 2:That's how bad, because it still has the stigma, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:I still can't bring myself I saw a comment on my bullet I saw I saw a comment on ready. So my mum shopped at netto and used to make me go in with her to out with the shopping. Every now and then you'd see someone from school in there who had also been dragged in by their parents. The protocol was to instantly freeze and not an acknowledgement and then proceed to nervously watch each other as you were taken around the shop. You then had an unspoken pact that neither of you would ever do and that you'd been in a netto.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you would take it to the grave.
Speaker 1:Brilliant yeah.
Speaker 2:Unbelievable. Another comment is I bought a trumpet in there for £30. They didn't sell trumpets in netto. Imagine that.
Speaker 1:The old, famous netto trumpet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I remember the stories of that?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I think it's funny how Think about all the rich people in the country that this is me sounding snobbish. I don't think I've ever been in a netto. Woo yeah like royalty like Prince Charles, my own Rothschild over here. No, I don't think I've been in one.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I have actually and I think that is from the stigma and I genuinely believe that that is still from the stigma of school. Obviously, they don't exist anymore, which is what I'm talking about. I've done out with them massive yellow bags. You can't like, you can't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they saw good at wrong, didn't they? This is why I think, in a modern world, lidl to me, I'll tell you what they've just got it spot on. Like you go in Sponsored by Lidl. There's bakery items, all fresh Fruit and veg is good. The selection is great. They had a briefly had. What was it? Like? A sort of like a Greek corner where they had some really good Greek food. Last time I went in in it was Italian food. Yeah, I tell you what Lidl have. Just, they've got their finger on the pulse.
Speaker 2:It's a world away from the rumours. I don't know if they're the same at your school, like remember the horror stories in Netto at school? Like, oh, these flies in bread, oh god, they sell crisps for. That was just bullshit Of course it was. You weren't getting away Like even in the 90s, or? But what sort of like. I've been selling flies in your bread.
Speaker 1:I mean basically, though, it just sort of sums up the bullshit, doesn't it? Because actually they just did cheap food and that somehow was like mocked. But why were that?
Speaker 2:mocked. You're buying cheap food. Why were quicksave not marked? Maybe Aldi is now and maybe Lidl is now. At school you have to ask your daughters. You have to say what is the most. I'm hoping that times have moved on, but that was social.
Speaker 1:There's something a bit sort of cooler and a bit more bohemian. Now, though, about that oh no, we don't go to Waitrose, we prefer the fly-tinted cookies. From when was it?
Speaker 2:netto, netto yeah, I'd like to say I'm looking back, looking back on where I I feel so sorry for the people who I'm sure my mum must have shopped it now at some point. I should have asked her before we did this actually, but yeah, it was such a just just. All all these people want is to get food slightly. Same food, same food, pretty much, but slightly cheaper.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean particularly and again he doth protest too much, doesn't he?
Speaker 2:But again, I don't think I did not go in.
Speaker 1:I did not go in, but I know, like with sort of the I think it was probably when Aldi was sort of becoming a thing but you go in and get packs of cookies and, like I remember on dinner time at school, no, it can't, it can't have been, must be. I think it was a cost cutter. And you go in and you could get a packet of biscuits and a two liter bottle lemonade for about 30p. It'd be like, yeah, is this real? Like I can, I can have all this stuff for 30p. And it'd be like, yeah, yeah, all right, they're not, they're not the best biscuits you've ever had, but this is 30p.
Speaker 2:It's 30p. Sorry, can you hear my dog again? He's losing plot today Anyway others.
Speaker 1:This is like one of these things where, like it turns out, you've not got a dog, and this is the start of you having a breakdown.
Speaker 2:I think, if other people can't hear it, that would be fantastic.
Speaker 1:I can't hear it.
Speaker 2:He's just barking. I don't know if he's like a big Neto fan or what, but he's not happy. Other shops that I want to mention, but you're not really going through the categories. We've mentioned this one on the Mabley, obviously, and it's more known for its theme tune, but Toys R Us, which doesn't exist anymore. Wh Smiths do have Toys R Us sections, but WH. Smiths is getting close down as well. Millions of Jeff Jeffries all under one roof.
Speaker 1:What would that have been under? What episode was that?
Speaker 2:It was under the Christmas adverts episode.
Speaker 1:I thought it was quite a good one that so yeah. Yeah, one of our last ones. Check that out if you like that.
Speaker 2:Yes, we'll not dive into. That was one of the most I've ever laughed at.
Speaker 1:So they've been absorbed into WH Smith, have they?
Speaker 2:Which itself is getting closed down. Sad, sad times.
Speaker 1:One that you brought up to me is Beatys. Yeah, so Beatys was a toy shop. Again, it's Sheffield based, so let us know if you had Beatys in your cities or towns, but how would I word it? A bit older as a toy shop, so they had more models and trains and stuff I remember yeah train sets, scalextrics as a toy shop, so they had more models and model trains and stuff.
Speaker 1:I remember, yeah, train sets, scale electrics Um, what were the? I had a couple, actually the air fixed, you know like where you made the planes and you painted them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I didn't do that. No, control cars.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Um, I saw Warhammer and stuff like that. Like do a, I thought it was a bit more of a grown-up toy shop. Yeah, I think so yeah, yeah, that's done.
Speaker 2:Well, I like to test the time. But yeah, beaters, I do remember. I think we mentioned it on the Sabutio episode. That's where I used to get my Sabutio stuff from maybe that old Suggsport, Another one British Home Stores no longer with us. Don't really remember much about that, but I know it's massive.
Speaker 1:Some sort of pension scandal or something that the owner had?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, they got some sort of tax thing when was British Home Stores in. Sheffield. No idea, I didn't bother with that, I don't know. It should probably come back, actually with all the rise of nationalism British Home Stores.
Speaker 1:Only British Home, st home stores. They should rebrand it. I've definitely been in BHS British home stores but I can't picture where it was, I can't think of anything.
Speaker 2:Let us know your BHS memories. We'll end with the one that I think is the one that everyone will remember, and I don't know really why, and I'd like explain why Woolworths, why is Woolworths so beloved by so many?
Speaker 1:people. Well, I think we touched on this in a previous episode. I personally think it's because they had a phenomenal pick and mix selection.
Speaker 2:Do you think that's it?
Speaker 1:I do, yeah, I think, that sort of gimmick that call it a lost leader, if you want and yeah, you know occasionally we'll stray into business talk. That's what we do on this podcast.
Speaker 2:It was only in the 90s that the pick and mix came in. Yeah, but that's when. I don't remember. Yeah, I suppose I don't know. I mean to be fair, it was. I was just looking now. It was the biggest selling shop for music and singles, and albums.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, I think what was good about it is they sort of get you in on this fantastic pick and mix selection Like just brilliant, just just so much to go out. But actually they had sort of bits of all sorts in there. They had like a like toys and board games. They had like sort of gardening bits and pieces they had. There was music, there was computer games. They had a lot of stuff in there.
Speaker 1:but I think like the kind of yeah, come on in, have a pick a mix, see if there's anything else you fancy while you're here I'm just reading now that even the music and the albums and stuff, even virgin megastores and hmv did not overtake wallbush during the 90s well, I think as well, and I might may be completely wrong with this, but in my memory they were one of the first where you could reserve something, so if there was a new single game coming out, you could go and reserve it at Woolworths, so like oh yeah, I know I've got it. Woolworths have already took my money. They're going to deliver it.
Speaker 2:I think that's a common thing now.
Speaker 1:This is how beloved it was, though.
Speaker 2:The then Prime Minister, gordon Brown, noted that the government had considered saving Woolworths but said it was just financially unviable. But the government getting involved as if it's some sort of do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1:like institution, yeah, institution I mean of all the ones we mentioned, like even Cole Brothers, I think. Probably to the older generation, my mum would probably remember Cole Brothers more affectionately. My mum mentioned Red Gates today by the way Red Gates.
Speaker 2:But I can't remember, I can't think of that myself.
Speaker 1:It sounds right, but I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure myself. Anyway, sorry.
Speaker 1:But Woolworths was probably the first time ever a big brand was closing down. I thought, oh no, you can't close Woolworths.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't know. That did mean something quite big culturally to me.
Speaker 2:I've got a quote here yeah, I've got a quote here. Paul Seaton, former store manager at Woolworths, said there used to be an old adage that people need Tesco because everyone has to eat. People trust booze because they call the manager the doctor. But they went to Woolworths because they call the manager the doctor, but they went to walrus because they love walrus. Have you ever heard a kid asking mom, can I go to tesco? No, the whole reason that I love being a manager is that kids and families love coming to walrus purely because it was walrus yeah, I don't disagree.
Speaker 2:I don't disagree, I think, I just like to go into walrus, the store's name, but I don't think it has no connection to ours. But the store's name Woolworths is still the biggest, the largest supermarket chains in Australia and South Africa. But it's just the name. It's just the name, it's nothing to do with the original. Woolworths no connection. Did Nougat get a connection? We're actually going to be called Woolworths Bazaar. That was the original name in England. It was opened in 1909 by a New Yorker called Frank Woolworth Would they still be going?
Speaker 1:if they'd gone, why would Frank Woolworth decide to call it Woolworth's?
Speaker 2:Bazaar? I don't know Woolworth's Bazaar. Imagine that that would never have stood out. Imagine that we're going to Woolworth's Bazaar.
Speaker 1:Pleased to meet you. Yeah, my name's Frank Woolworth. Oh yeah, you're interested in registering a business, are you? I'd like to call it Walworth's Bazaar. Obviously, yeah, it makes sense.
Speaker 2:It's like calling yours Moolie's Bazaar or something like that, instead of just calling it Marley's. Before we get off, you're another one that you brought. Oh, it's not really a shop, is you? Don't get travel agents anymore.
Speaker 1:I mean that could be an episode in itself. I mean there's no way anyone sort of new to this would still be here at this point. We've rambled on for ages, but that sounds painfully boring. An episode on travel agents? But yeah, we might do that, just because of how much of a huge change there is in the way you book holiday massive hassle.
Speaker 2:We're booking an holiday. I mean you, fucking unbelievable shop.
Speaker 1:Teletext was a big thing. Now it's just all done online. Now you can google maps, you can have a look at the place you're going to stay, you can read all the reviews. You used to have to go and basically take a punt, didn't you like? Just here's a little catalog, have a look and, based on a one-page review of the hotel, you're going to have to spend your sort of annual budget on a holiday. Crazy, crazy. To even think that's the way things were done. But yeah, I don't know, was it better, was it worse?
Speaker 2:Was it worse? Let us know in the comments. Anyway, as you said, we've rambled on enough there. It's a long episode. Thanks to Ange for giving us the idea. We were on the list anyway to do Old Shorts and people seem to like the boomer episodes quite a bit, but I've enjoyed that. It was very nostalgic and quite sad, I thought.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is. Yeah, I mean yeah, just to sort of finish, I think, for all these people like us who sort of feel sorry these things have gone, I'm I'm very much the the sort of the man to blame, I suppose, like I don't like there's no decent local butchers around us at the minute, but that's because I went and spent my money in a supermarket and then, on the way back, thought I should have called in there. So yeah, use it or lose it. And we didn't use it, did we?
Speaker 2:Basically, I'll end this episode by saying these shops sadly don't exist and it's your fault, the listener, and you and me, who me, me personally, yep, and you. Thank you for listening to who Remembers. If you want to get in touch with us, you can find us at whorememberspod, at outlookcom. If you are a right-wing fascist, you can find us on Twitter, at whorememberspod, or if you're a Wokenor, you can find us on Blue Sky at whorememberspod. Once again, thank you for listening and we'll see you next time for more remembering.