Shops of yore

... and it may well have been ME that sold it to you Hugh . The shop was called R.E.S (which stood for Radio & Electrical Services) where I worked in the mid-sixties. Upstairs we demonstrated (by timed appointment!) and sold top-end hi-fi separates; Quad (their electrostatic speakers were something else!) Revox, Sony, Garrard (301 turntables), SME, Teac, Wharfedale & Goodmans (when their speakers were world leaders) the list goes on. I have noted these details in another post but the shop was then managed by Graham West - who went on to open the Panthos Recording Studios in Meeting House Lane, Balsall Common. Edit: The sign above RES can be seen on the left in the photo below, showing a big ear and the words "HI-FI". It was No. 13 City Arcade, which is now a flower shop. Many thanks to Ghengis Smith for re-posting the pic It was the other way round Baz, Dixons were originally (I think) where the travel agents now stands near WH Smiths, then moved to where Tesco Express now stands (more recently MVC) before moving to the current Waterstones site, where they traded until they closed.

Hello Dutchman, I remember REP as being in Much Park St, and as you said next to the gate house at the far end, I think it was just along from the Dolls house museum? But you seem to be on the ball with locations so maybe I have it all wrong. I do know that REP (Radio Experimental Products) moved from Much Park St to the High Street on the same side as the Council House. From the original location I used to buy Clive Sinclair books on electronic experiments etc, and I bought my first transistors from there. The Barton brothers first shop was in Ford St at the side of the Pool Meadow Bus Station, they moved to the City Arcade next to the Thistle Pub. They were called City Electronics. when it moved it was run by only one of the brothers, they had a fall out as far as I remember? As for the O'Brien factory, they made coils etc, I cannot remember the range I used at the time only that they were made in bright colours, the name of the factory was called Repanco, again, from memory they were not associated with REP. But as per usual I may have got it all wrong, but that's how I remember it. Many hours spent in the search of radio bits. Colin.

Hi Baz You're correct about the location of REP but I'm not sure what you mean by "at the side of Pool Meadow Bus Station"? Electronic Services was on the south side of Gosford Street roughly half-way between the Old Morris and the Colin Campbell. Gosford Street was right at the top of Cox Street while Pool Meadow was right at the bottom.

For Tony - no idea where the image disappeared to

That's Halford's sign nearest the camera top-left if I'm not mistaken?

Yes, and there's Central Sewing Machine shop where I still owe them two pounds owing on a new machine. They had moved when I went in to pay them. Nobody seemed to know where they went, and that is going back to the year dot!!!!!! Well it's here if they want it. And Timpson's the shoe shop, I used to go in there so often it's a wonder I am not on there just coming out.

Working in the "Arcade", I often visited the bread shop (their sign is 3/4 down on the right in the pic) to buy a couple of their "hot pork and apple" batches (another local phrase). I say "batches", they were actually a french bread stick, cut in half and stuffed with filling. At a cost of two shillings (10p) each! I'd return to the back-room of the shop and sit and eat them - invariably listening to "pirate radio" on one of the shops "transistor radios" If my memory serves me correctly, there was a Mens Barbers on the right side of the photo, which shared the premisses with another trader (may have been with Timpsons?) Anyone else remember this?

The memory is on the blink Dutchman. I had to think hard and now on reflection the name of the road was Ford Street, or Upper Ford St. If you as you could then drive in from the top end of Ford St ie, past the old Fire Station on your right pass one of the entrance to the Pool Meadow (where the old one man air raid shelter used to be) then I think you could turn into Ford St (as it was). On the right there was a row of shops, in that row there used to be the shop (as I recall owned by the Barton Brothers), now the shops were knocked down and it could be they were relocated to the address you know, I am just not too sure, and as you already know they ended up in the City Arcade. I still may have the road name wrong but the location is correct as best of my knowledge. Regards. Colin

Hello again Dutchman, just so you know I have corrected my post, re locations of REP, sorry for the mixup. Colin.

This seems a good site for old record shops and photo's, you'll find Hanson's and Virgin's photos and old stuff a bit further down on the site page, hope it's of interest. Old Record shops and venues

Wow, that's brilliant, thanks Foxcote, all these jig-saw pieces are finally coming together! I'd forgotten the Chinese restaurant as well (which coincidently, is currently a shop selling Oriental foodstuffs) I remember the "partition" and now realise why I must have thought it was "shared" - thanks for correcting my memory.

Glad you were pleased, he has just remembered a 'Steak Bar' on the first floor accessed somewhere on the opposite side, he celebrated something in there once but remembers it cos it was the first time he had heard of Scampi (very much the thing then 'in a basket' wasn't it).

Wasn't that accessed through a separate door and staircase, about half-way down?

Yes, he reckons it was in the region of the record shop and was accessed through a separate door. He remembers the Queen Victoria road end had a pub called the 'Thistle' and the Birdcage end, there was one called 'the Climax'.

Stairs up to next floor. Don't know whether you have seen this one before.