Ah, all that was you was it!!!! Grrrr!!!!Anyone remember the joke shop which I think used to be somewhere near the Elastic Inn. When we were kids we used to buy all kinds of stuff in there. Stink bombs to let off in the lifts at Owen & Owen, fake turds, fake blood, smoking monkeys (no idea how a plastic figure could blow perfect smoke rings!), itching powder etc. Unbelievable now that a shop could survive selling stuff for pocket money amounts. In my mind's nose I can still smell the strange chemical interior of that shabby looking shop.
Anyone remember the joke shop which I think used to be somewhere near the Elastic Inn. When we were kids we used to buy all kinds of stuff in there. Stink bombs to let off in the lifts at Owen & Owen, fake turds, fake blood, smoking monkeys (no idea how a plastic figure could blow perfect smoke rings!), itching powder etc. Unbelievable now that a shop could survive selling stuff for pocket money amounts. In my mind's nose I can still smell the strange chemical interior of that shabby looking shop.
Yep, that's correct.I don't remember that. I do remember Jokers Corner? which was by the Odeon?
Yup were street urchins in those days. All you needed for hours of fun on the top deck of the 21 Wood End bus was a box of dried peas and a peashooter. No pedestrians were safe from 4 or 5 urchins and our rapid fire technique.Ah, all that was you was it!!!! Grrrr!!!!
Maybe I'm misremembering the location, I've got a vague recollection of a side street in quite a shabby area.I don't remember that. I do remember Jokers Corner? which was by the Odeon?
You'll be fine then. You don't do the city centre.Used to love the bangers you threw at the floor.
Probably get armed police taking you down nowadays if you did that in a city centre.
I used it for all my stink bomb and itching power needs.I don't remember that. I do remember Jokers Corner? which was by the Odeon?
Same for cap guns probably - don't know if you can still buy such things. Remember getting badly burned under my thumbnail scratching at a cap. Used to come in long paper strips in a small round packet.Used to love the bangers you threw at the floor.
Probably get armed police taking you down nowadays if you did that in a city centre.
Yeah, remember them well. Have the sore arse to prove it.Same for cap guns probably - don't know if you can still buy such things. Remember getting badly burned under my thumbnail scratching at a cap. Used to come in long paper strips in a small round packet.
I used it for all my stink bomb and itching power needs.
You used to fire them internally?Yeah, remember them well. Have the sore arse to prove it.
Not always. We'd fire then outside as well.You used to fire them internally?
Could've been Ford Street, I think that's in the right area. My knowledge is a bit rusty too. It was a small single fronted shop I seem to remember. I always wanted some X-ray specs thinking I could see through girls' clothes. Probably get arrested merely for that thought now.There used to be a joke shop close to Highfield Road in Hillfields.
Can't find a good map of Coventry anywhere on the internet.
I think it was at the upper end of Primrose Hill St. But I might have the name of the street wrong.
I remember passing the shop when I walked up there with my Dad.
The window was always very amusing with stink bombs, fake poop and horror masks.
Is that Mother Theresa peeping out of the C R Garlands window, mind she was always a bit of a jokerThere was indeed a Joke shop in Lower Ford Street. It was called Davenports, later to become C R Garlands, which closed in 1986. The joke shop in White Street (along from the side of the Gaumont / Odeon cinema) was called Jokers Corner.
C R Garlands in Lower Ford St...…..
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And again...…..
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And Jokers Corner by the Odeon.....
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Just seems stupid from a marketing standpoint to have a huge sign saying 'C R Garland', what does that mean to anyone passing by in a car?There was indeed a Joke shop in Lower Ford Street. It was called Davenports, later to become C R Garlands, which closed in 1986. The joke shop in White Street (along from the side of the Gaumont / Odeon cinema) was called Jokers Corner.
C R Garlands in Lower Ford St...…..
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I get what you're saying, but the same could be said about Owen Owen, Boots, Woolworths, WH Smiths etc, etc. When a name is well known, that's all you need, and back in the day, C R Garland was a well known joke shop.Just seems stupid from a marketing standpoint to have a huge sign saying 'C R Garland', what does that mean to anyone passing by in a car?
The sign should have said something like "Jokes R Us" or "Stink Bomb World".
On the shop nostalgia theme. I also remember a shop somewhere in the city centre, I think near the back of the Three Tuns pub near a domed newsagent?, that was a kind of small scale department store with just two floors and an escalator. As kids we were always fascinated because on the top floor they kept a large live fruit bat in a cage. Always checked this out when we went to town on a Saturday. I'm sure I haven't imagined this.
You're quite right TD. There was a bird cage in the City Arcade and the pet shop, Fanshaws, was just inside City Arcade. They had the bat, a monkey as well as kittens and puppies. Here's the bird cage...…..On the shop nostalgia theme. I also remember a shop somewhere in the city centre, I think near the back of the Three Tuns pub near a domed newsagent?, that was a kind of small scale department store with just two floors and an escalator. As kids we were always fascinated because on the top floor they kept a large live fruit bat in a cage. Always checked this out when we went to town on a Saturday. I'm sure I haven't imagined this.
It was Benley's before Intershop. Cheap, tatty goods! It was always a joke that if someone came back from town with something that looked cheap it was always met with, "Where did you buy that? Benley's?" Or calling something a "Benley's reject" was really derogatory!Intershop - didn't know that - I'm talking about the early seventies. I think Santa had his grotty grotto in there at Christmas if memory serves.
On the shop nostalgia theme. I also remember a shop somewhere in the city centre, I think near the back of the Three Tuns pub near a domed newsagent?, that was a kind of small scale department store with just two floors and an escalator. As kids we were always fascinated because on the top floor they kept a large live fruit bat in a cage. Always checked this out when we went to town on a Saturday. I'm sure I haven't imagined this.
Same family that owned the City Arcade shop. They moved from Smithford Way to the City Arcade.There was also a pet shop along Smithford way that had a bat. I remember it hanging upside down in the shop. I often used to pop in there to see it. It had a really cute face and big eyes.
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