The smallest 'shop' in Staffordshire

As small rural communities dwindle, facilities - including village shops - disappear.
Hollington is a good example of this tendency, as there are possibly only a couple of dozen scattered homes now left in the vicinity and very little else except sheep.  But, they do still have a pub, The Raddle Inn. 
Outside the Raddle is a vending machine, selling bread, milk, bacon, chocolate bars.
Clever,

Elvis Presley ... in Staffordshire

What's this?  The head-quarters of the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain?  Down a side-street in a small market town in North Staffordshire?
Yup.

I was completely bowled over to come across this small office/record shop (it only sells Elvis stuff of course, many limited items, and Elvis DVDs, books, memorabilia etc). Manager Vicky Molloy was very welcoming - and has even set up a (vinyl) record player so that people can bring in their favourite Elvis discs and sit about, on the sofa provided, talking about them.
Vicky, who now manages the fan club, lives nearby; and thought an Elvis shop would be a nice idea... She is there most times, at Cross Street in Cheadle.

This post was featured on the Friday Shoot-out Photo Blog

New chips on the block

It's a mystery... but there are two types of businesses that seem to insist on having puns in their name - fish & chip shops and hairdressers.  In Staffordshire there are hundreds of them: The Codfather; Alias Quiff & Combs, Head-Turners; Our Plaice etc etc

This fish & chip takeaway in Blythe Bridge has managed to go further - and work two puns into its name of 'New Chips On The Block'. 
It is also a literal description, as the shop was taken over by new management recently.

This post was featured on the City Daily Portal Photo Blog

Co-operative town

Tamworth seems to have a lot of Co-op shops in a small area - from supermarkets to funeral parlours and travel shops. Not to mention a Co-op bank.

It appears that the original Tamworth Co-op project was set up 130 years ago; and its founder, a vicar called McGregor is still commemorated to this day as a major benefactor to the town.   This Victorian building is still home to local Co-op projects - as it was over a century ago.

Thus, it seems that the Co-op movement's place in this part of the world is treasured by the townspeople - who continue to have a pro-active fondness and loyalty to the whole Co-operative ideal.

Blondes, redheads & jet-black hair

Blazing scarlet hair is not the unusual sight it once was; and this is because wigs and hair extensions can be worn nowadays almost as a matter of course.  You can have whatever hair colour you want now, it seems.

It's only when I saw this shop front-window absolutely filled with a choice of wigs that I realised just how much a fact of life false hair is now.
They can look stunning when on though.

Trading since 1914 - and going strong

Williamsons is the most old fashioned – in a very nice way – shop that I think I’ve seen in a long while.
In fact, it doesn’t seem to have been changed since the 1950s... with its long glass cabinets all made of polished wood. (The cabinets actually date back to 1931).

Miss Oldcroft, who has been there since forever, runs it on behalf of the family. The present Williamson descendant lives away so she doesn’t come in all the time.
This same Williamson is the widow of Arthur Berry, the painter and writer – so that explains the small gallery upstairs dedicated to the artist's work.

Williamsons, which can be found in the centre of Longton, will celebrate its century of trading next year.  It trades mostly in jewellery, ornaments and photography equipment.
I wonder if any other shop in Staffordshire has been owned by the same family for one hundred years and is still trading...?

See: Williamsons - heritage site...

Nemesis... now

It is very, very dark by 6pm these days, and in some neglected city streets, after workers have gone home, you can barely see your hand in front of your face.

This facade you see in the photo, underlit by strong lamps, gave me quite a shock as I saw it while driving round the back of Longton.  It reminded of that movie where the main character is assailed by ominously-appearing signs in the environment - and I wondered if this sign was intended for me personally in the same way! (Nemesis is of course the revenge of the gods on the over-arrogant...) Hmm.

The phenomenon was made worse by the fact that there is no indication at all on the building as to what Nemesis Now actually is.  It turns out that it's a place that makes Gothic-style figurines.

Hair dying among the comics

It's always pretty colourful in the Forbidden Planet comic book shop - but Leigh (the upstairs assistant) never fails to add even more vibrancy with her multi-shaded hair. In this photo, her hair is fairly muted; it's usually even more varied. Still, green, blue, yellow, red and turquoise is enough to be going on with for the Christmas shift.

The shop (in Hanley) has two floors of comic books, graphic novels, anime and associated product. There's something for all - even cheapoes like me who buy the 50p back-issue comics.

Link: Forbidden Planet