The guy to the right is looking in the window of Beryl Houghton's camera shop.
I bought some of my film and photo equipment from them, but they were a bit snooty unless you were buying something expensive.
Walk past it from time to time and I have no idea what is there these days. There is a cafe at the other end of the row, I only know that because they put out tables & chairs in good weather.
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.
Yes, I remember it. It was a bit of an 'old curiosity shop'. It was quite dark and as you mentioned,"shabby".
I remember the fella who ran it had a bit of a presence of the costume shop owner from Mr Benn. But without the hat.
As kids we used to roam all over town - remember us wondering whether we could fish out all the pennies from the fountain in the precinct. There were also coins pressed into the floor of the cathedral which we were fascinated by. Haven't been back for years and I expect they have been worn smooth to obliteration. I think there was an entrance by these precinct fountains down to the market via a fishmongers - and we used to find our way to the top of the market (a car park up there I think) to go in a ten-pin bowling alley. We could never afford to bowl but we spent hours on the pinball machine there attempting the holy grail of the free replay - ahh! the satisfying clunk when you got one.
As kids we used to roam all over town - remember us wondering whether we could fish out all the pennies from the fountain in the precinct. There were also coins pressed into the floor of the cathedral which we were fascinated by. Haven't been back for years and I expect they have been worn smooth to obliteration. I think there was an entrance by these precinct fountains down to the market via a fishmongers - and we used to find our way to the top of the market (a car park up there I think) to go in a ten-pin bowling alley. We could never afford to bowl but we spent hours on the pinball machine there attempting the holy grail of the free replay - ahh! the satisfying clunk when you got one.
On top of that car park is where I learned to ride a motor scooter. They had lessons there (run by the RAC if I remember right) on Sunday mornings.
I remember the bowling alley, I think it closed and became a supermarket (Tesco?).