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Army & Navy in Victoria, Whiteley’s, Arding & Hobbs, Gamages, Marshall & Snelgrove, Barkers of Kensington …Proper department stores all gone now. My Dad was catering manager at Marshall & Snelgrove in Oxford Street. He used to let me wander round the toy department after closing time (I was 23 at the time) and choose a toy or two. He always said he paid for them, but I don’t think he did. Oxford Street in the late 1960s was full of great shops. Now it is full of not much at all. Nothing much for the looters to steal any longer in many UK city high streets. Nottingham where I live now is absolutely awful for city centre shops nowadays, too.
Yep, last visit a few years ago, used to regularly be around there and night bus home in early hours, but Regent St, Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus in paticular lost its soul. Overpriced Hamley's, Liberty, large pointless Apple store, lots of designer fashion outlets, Selfridges, Watches of Switzerland, Primark,
M&S flagship sold or gone.

Lots of food chains, and café or coffee shops run by non-Londoners, charging tourist prices for generic products and with no apparent appreciation or love of London tradition, culture or behaviour.

It didn't feel the same, nor special anymore. Not exciting.

It started to change imho when the all/late night Burger King on corner of Piccadilly Circus and Shaftesbury Avenue became... a Boot's. The atmosphere and bustle started to turn into a normal shopping mall.
The theatreland and backstreets still add something, and Covent Garden, etc., Punch & Judy pub, etc.

Even Soho and Chinatown behind seems pale in comparison to in my youth.
 
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@Hammy60 of the watches IW sell, are the Vostok's the best in terms of quality? To my untrained eyes they certainly look the best.


Okay now this is a hard one to answer as the best in quality, on the whole though, Vostok Europe is way ahead of most of IW's offering in build quality, look/size may not be to everyone's taste but for build quality they are very good, not luxury, but very good.

As a brand, i rate Vostok Europe way above every other brand on IW at the moment, they are of course the only true watchmaking brand on IW, design and assemble themselves, they are also an open book, you know where the watches are made and by whom, they have no secrets, the rest are brands that love secrets, that have their watches designed and made for them by someone else, they devulge very little info on the watch specs, more often than not we won't have a clue who the actual watchmaker is or where they are made.
For the type of watch VE do, they are a good quality rugged solid no nonsense type of watch with decent quality workhorse movements (Seiko/Citizen), big build to suit those that have a more outdoorsy type of lifestyle, definately not a dress watch although the Gaz 14 range is more dressy but for me it's still big at 43mm for a dress watch, because of the height VE watches don't slip under shirt cuffs easily. If you like the style, big watches, then buy them, nothing really negative to say against them (apart from using Kev and IW), but would suggest looking about for best price and not buying from IW, like a lot of stuff on IW can be found cheaper eslewhere.

Now here is where it gets hard, the Duchump Audace Automatic is actually a very good quality watch, in reality it's the 'Roamer Primeline Daydate' with Duchump branding, in some ways actually better than the Vostok Europe watches, being more dress style watch which will appeal to more people, it has a sleeker more refined case finishing and better quality movement (Sellita SW240 copy of the ETA 2834), we know where and by whom that watch is made, Watchmakers CH in Mendrisio. On the other hand while that watch might be good quality, the brand itself ain't, a bunch of shysters that i wouldn't touch with a barge pole, and that watch is a copy of a design that is made by quite a few good respectable honest watch brands out there so plenty of alternatives to buy instead.

Below that in the quality stakes would probably be some of the other Duchumps then some of the Solar Time watches.

The rest would be a meh to utter crap.
 
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Liverpool is a rare high street exception. Visited for the first time last year. Wow - what a vibrant, fantastic city centre. Great shops, lovely vibe. Friendly people. It can still be done. Nottingham (with charity shop after closed down shop) take note - the politicians that have assisted in killing the place retail wise with their pernicious business rates. Along with all the other prohibitive associated costs the smaller, independent type retailer now faces. Internet shopping we all do in the main, but counteracting the obvious convenience- what an absolutely soulless, lonely and faceless experience it usually is.
 
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Yep, last visit a few years ago, used to regularly be around there and night bus home in early hours, but Regent St, Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus in paticular lost its soul. Overpriced Hamley's, Liberty, large pointless Apple store, lots of designer fashion outlets, Selfridges, Watches of Switzerland, Primark,
M&S flagship sold or gone.

Lots of food chains, and café or coffee shops run by non-Londoners, charging tourist prices for generic products and with no apparent appreciation or love of London tradition, culture or behaviour.

It didn't feel the same, nor special anymore. Not exciting.

It started to change imho when the all/late night Burger King on corner of Piccadilly Circus and Shaftesbury Avenue became... a Boot's. The atmosphere and bustle started to turn into a normal shopping mall.
The theatreland and backstreets still add something, and Covent Garden, etc., Punch & Judy pub, etc.

Even Soho and Chinatown behind seems pale in comparison to in my youth.
Yes, things change and not always for the better. Yes, Oxford Street used to be special, now its full of those American Candy stores. Westminster Council are often cracking down on them but there's always plenty there. I rarely go, if I do its for specific things in John Lewis, I don't spend the morning browsing in all the shops. I love coffee shops but agree there are too many chain ones. However there are a few old style Italian coffee shops in Soho.

Theatreland is still vibrant, I go regularly. Plenty of atmosphere when you come out but those bl**dy pedicabs get on my nerves, they're unregulated, uninsured, rip people off, and play music loudly🤬.

The M&S flagship branch at Marble Arch is still there, they haven't started redeveloping it yet.

I try to focus on the positive things London offers like the free large museums and art galleries. When I'm skint a Sunday morning stroll round the V&A or National Gallery is lovely, but I have to avoid spending too much in their cafe! Some of them open late on a Friday evening which is nice.
 
Liverpool is a rare high street exception. Visited for the first time last year. Wow - what a vibrant, fantastic city centre. Great shops, lovely vibe. Friendly people. It can still be done. Nottingham (with charity shop after closed down shop) take note - the politicians that have assisted in killing the place retail wise with their pernicious business rates. Along with all the other prohibitive associated costs the smaller, independent type retailer now faces. Internet shopping we all do in the main, but counteracting the obvious convenience- what an absolutely soulless, lonely and faceless experience it usually is.
I don't buy huge amounts online but Amazon is often the first place I'll look because there's no way of getting what I want in a shop. I'd much rather shop in person.

I went to Rochester in Kent last year. Delightful main street, nice tea rooms, independent shops (I did spend money in them). There were a lot of charity shops but the window displays were smart and just looked like independent shops.

It trades off its Charles Dickens connection. I went to the Tiny Tim tea room and got a massive pot of tea and 2 shortbread biscuits for £2.50😁
 
I don't buy huge amounts online but Amazon is often the first place I'll look because there's no way of getting what I want in a shop. I'd much rather shop in person.

I went to Rochester in Kent last year. Delightful main street, nice tea rooms, independent shops (I did spend money in them). There were a lot of charity shops but the window displays were smart and just looked like independent shops.

It trades off its Charles Dickens connection. I went to the Tiny Tim tea room and got a massive pot of tea and 2 shortbread biscuits for £2.50😁
Independent shops - that’s the key. We went to Belper in Derbyshire a month or two back. My partner loves crocheting and unusual type wools. A wonderful wool shop there, selling at great prices, she said. Lots of quirky and non-chain type shops in the town. Not the relentless Greggs, mobile phone repairs shops, and charity shop after shop you find locally here. Talking of Charles Dickens connections - back to Ideal World - the Ebenezer Scrooge of shopping television.
 
I thought the Kevski-Pete summit was the usual pantomime last night.

Peter feigning mock anger when Kevin read out the sales phone numbers completing Peter half-finished attempts.

Then we had Peter's "kiddie in a sweetshop" reaction to the big colourful orange watch. You can wear it with anything he said. Really? Look great with a dress suit (not).

What's happened to all the "collectors" which were mentioned so often on IW2?
Aren't they buying now?
 
On moral grounds alone you despair of a man happy to go along with the amazing prices pantomime last night, when apparently, some of the very same watches featured are being sold cheaper on his own website. So keen usually to price compare in their own favour - strangely silent to show prices elsewhere last night.
 
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I thought the Kevski-Pete summit was the usual pantomime last night.

Peter feigning mock anger when Kevin read out the sales phone numbers completing Peter half-finished attempts.

Then we had Peter's "kiddie in a sweetshop" reaction to the big colourful orange watch. You can wear it with anything he said. Really? Look great with a dress suit (not).

What's happened to all the "collectors" which were mentioned so often on IW2?
Aren't they buying now?
The bit I watched contained a mention of some collector who has six or seven and would want to add that awful orange watch to his selection because it's one of only 60 in the world - followed by the usual tripe about people asking you about it, not only is it a talking point...........
 
Peter coming out with some bullshits.

Most watches are hand assembled, and it's a 21,600bph movement not 28,000.

As for the crazy price £329.99, it's £325 direct from Kev's web site.
Kevin Reynolds is a salesman, pure and simple and a very smug one too.

He doesn't give a damn about getting the best value for customers but it's an insult to claim a discounted price when his own website is cheaper.

Twister.
 
The 3-in-1 wallet, keyring and pen was another "come on guys what more do you expect for £9.99" slightly annoyed Jeremy presentation.

He tends to get frustrated when sales are a bit slow although this is the sort of item you'd find in any cheap seaside gift shop along with the Elvis mug and the novelty darts set.

And now he accuses any viewer not using an electric toothbrush of living in the dark ages.

He is quite charmless.
 

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