I do remember the cartoon booths, but never actually got past getting in and imagining what the cartoon would be like if I had any money.

Just for the sake of nostalgia, for years my mum and I went shopping at a big Safeways (Exeter? We lived in Shepton Beauchamp) and right by the checkouts there were see-through plastic robots filled with various billious colours of ‘fruit’ juice. I was desperate to have one and after many sessions of pushing the trolley I was finally allowed (this is a non-story, sorry). It was horrible, and once I’d drunk all the bright blue chemical, the robot looked crap.

Also remember getting to the far side of the car park with a laden trolley and seeing my mum gasp and put her hand over her mouth. She’d just walked out with the shopping and forgotten to pay! She went back and paid.

She’d just walked out with the shopping and forgotten to pay!

Sounds like that store could have done with Harry’s aunt on the job (as it were).

The first Safeway I recall was in Shambles Square in Manchester city centre. Last orders were called the day the IRA let off a ton of fertiliser based exsplosive just around the corner.

me and mum used to smuggle embarrassing items into other peoples trolleys.

but yeah, i remember back when you didnt go shopping, you swapped a few chicken or your eldest daughter for next weeks supplies. thems were the days.

This far in and no mention of Victor Value…

I get the impression I’m a bit young for this, but I do recall going to Kwik Save with my mum and sister, in my Dad’s bright red MkI Golf GTI, with T’Pau on the radio, and my Mum’s ENORMOUS 80’s perm taking up pretty much the whole car.

Good times.

the village I grew up in had a VG and a post office … both pretty much selling the same things. there was also a local butcher. I remember there used to be a fish van that came round to the village twice a week and my mum would walk us over to go get the fish. ( i had totally forgotten about that till this thread … in fact it wasn’t a van, it was a caravan that he sold the fish out of ! )

the local supermarket in the town was a Prestos iirc, which became safeways, and now morrisons.

I still call it safeways.

In supermarkets I remember that you had to ask for the cheese and how much you wanted and it was cut with the cheese wire … i remember I ways wanted a cheese wire cutter and always asking for one for the house 🙂

ohnohesback – I mentioned V V on page 1 😕

Sorry I missed it. That was a life saver when I was skint.

VG,

Mace,

FINE FARE,

SAFEWAY,

LIPTONS,

CO-OP

Delamere, part of Tesco for clothes,

Victor low,

Presto,

Bejam,

Cordon Bleu,

Woolworths,

Kwik Save,

Victor low,

William Low ?

Twas victor Value,

Also Mac fisheries,
and
Gateway

so many names have left the high street, either going bust or re named, or even closed down.

We used to have a Saverite, a small International and a Liptons. They used to charge 5p for a carrier bag in about 1982, was of course a lot more money then than it is now – with reference to the Welsh carrier bag law.

Then the cattle market moved out of the town centre and on the site they built a huge International (very small by today’s standards) it was the first place in town that looked like a modern supermarket. The others were just a couple of small dingy shops knocked together.

When I was about 14 or so (so 1990 ish) they opened a BIG out of town Safeway – that was amazing.

Amazing how things have changed eh?

If you feel nostalgic and want to re-live the 1980s food shopping experience, go to Germany.

I vaguely remember video booths in the presto at cramlington. What I clearly remember is the trolley bloke. You gave him a pound in exchange for a great big lump of plastic an h let you take the trolley to the car.

A whole pound!!! And that would have been about 1977.

W had a liptons in the village, now a spar think.

you’ll be impressed
you’ll be impressed
you’ll be impressed at Presto

We had a Bejam (later became iceland) I always tried to get mum to do the shopping at Tesco though as they sold toys.

I worked for dewhurst butchers in the eighties, who then bought out baxters.
2 massive butchers chains all gone now.

before that, our local dewhursts was owned by eastmans, another chain.

allyharp – Member

I can remember Gateway, later Solo, later Somerfield.

I think I can remember cartoon booths, though not 100% sure I’m not just imagining the image now having heard about them in the OP.

My dad still calls it gateyway! Allyharp are you from devon?

I remember Bejams on a Friday evening,all the blokes and kids waited outside whilst the women were inside doing the weekly shop.

I also recall the pleasure of sticking Greenshield stamps in the book.

Anyone else remember Walter Wilson’s? Or was it just a north east thing? I remember the one on Stanley front street, it had buckets where you could scoop your own sugar/cereal/ stuff like that into a bag. Probably late 80s or early 90’s when they disappeared.

Mos, I can remember Hillards, used to play in their head office car park on my BMX in the early 80s. Carters toy shop in Bradford, best toy shop ever!!

Londis!

We had a Walter Wilson GG. In fact me and the Mrs stil call the Co-op thats replaced it as “Walters”.

This was up in Northumberland so it may be just a NE thing.

In 1980 I worked for International Store we though we were better than Gateway but Gateway bought us out

We also had Liptons,Oakshots ans a Mac fisheries in town and a Timothy Whites store

Budgen?? was one in guildford from memory – early 80’s

I also recall the pleasure of sticking Greenshield stamps in the book.

My mum bought my first two wheeled bike for me with green shield stamps.

In 2009 when my granddad died we found a half bottle of sherry tucked away in the back of one of his cupboards with a Presto price ticket on it. I remember he had a mk1 fiesta (from new) up until about 4 or 5 years before he died with a “I’m going to Mainstop” sticker in the back window (mainstop was local to us and became presto)

Panda cola and American cream soda

Cresta (it’s frothy man!) is what you should have been drinking 😉

GlitterGary – Member
Anyone else remember Walter Wilson’s? Or was it just a north east thing? I remember the one on Stanley front street, it had buckets where you could scoop your own sugar/cereal/ stuff like that into a bag. Probably late 80s or early 90’s when they disappeared.
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST

Yeah I remember those buckets for cereal, it was like pets at home dog biscuits but full of cornflakes. I had forgotten all about those.

I remember Bejam! We also had an Orchard down my way too.

I once dated a girl who worked in the Co-op and I remember not wanting to be seen out with her after work because she had to wear a stripey green uniform…

I worked at Gateway in Hatfield town center for about a month doing the night shift stacking shelves. All I remember about it is that the staff played bloody Clannad the whole time. Later on Mrs Llama lived in the flats which seemed to perch on the supermarket roof. Think they have buldozed the lot now.

We had a Walter Wilson GG. In fact me and the Mrs stil call the Co-op thats replaced it as “Walters”.

This was up in Northumberland so it may be just a NE thing.

It must well be a north east thing then carbon. I know what you mean about still calling shops by their old names – I still call the Edinburgh Bike Co-op on Shields Road Hardisty’s. 🙂

As in “The home of the mountain bike”? as the song went lol

The very same! Used to love that advert.

My dad still had a Hardisty Cycles calendar in his garage when we were clearing it out a while back. It was from 1994, what he still had it for I’ll never know. 😀

Anyway, a Snickers will always be a Marathon to me.

and a Timothy Whites store

He shoulda gone into the soft drink business like his brother Reginald.

yep, still call it Hardisty’s

“Home of the Mountain Bike” indeed – and JMC briefly ..

But do you remember Mrs Hardisty ?

(Apologies OP, we digress)

Challenge

Londis!

Still a Londis by me 😉

I thought they demutualised and sold out to Spar?

Didn’t Kwik Save only disappear a 3 or 4 years ago? I bought some pies from the Levenshulme one around then. They were quite nice. The weren’t the “no frills” kind though.