Decline In The High Street

[Ron Tamburrini]

Decided to to go into the city today for some oil paint.

We have or did have two good art stores in Glasgow where you could always acquire what one might need re paints,brushes etc, so heading to my preferred store I ducked in out of the rain and made a be-line for the paint racks ,firstly where the hell is the Old Holland rack!! after three circles of the shop floor I managed to locate it "thought to myself why the hell did they move it way over here"
lets get a tube of Indigo blue, but none to to be seen and less than half the display full of other
colours.
Not to worry lets go over to the WN rack, cheaper anyway! but nope they got nowt either .
I was going to buy a couple of WN series 7 brushes no change would have been had out of £20 also, then thought sod you lot if can't even stock
bread and butter paints I might as well get the lot on the net the train fare will cover the postage and
the goods will be cheaper also.

Conclusion the net is wonderful but it is seeing the demise of the city shops .

Ron

 

[Helm]

Lucky you we just have pound shops,charity shops and cash for gold round here

 

[Don]

Ron, know the shop you refer to very well, they normally have a huge range in stock. Are you sure they wernt just low in stock.
Would hate to get like the town Helm describes above, oh wait we have one just near us, Kilma..........
Anyway I am blaming you if our art shop closes!

Don

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

We are a major city Steve!! much to the disapproval of the Edinburgh lot
It was much like going to the builders yard and them having no cement or worse still a pub with no beer

Maybe it was just one of those days went to the bank and asked for a better rate of interest WHAT!! bums rush again

 

[callum]

Hi Ron,
I was in Glasgow last week and one of the things that would stop me from shopping there in a hurry is the streets littered with craters that tanks would struggle with let alone cars.

Regards Callum.

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

Where are you from Callum
The city I'm just back from the other week, streets are littered with dog ****, cops in armoured landrovers with machine guns and Browning pistols, just to keep your mind off the dog ****, burning cars and road blocks .
A few pot holes ain't gonna bother me ,compared to that in fact I was never so glad to set foot on dear old Glasgow

 

[taffjones]

I used to go to a good one just behind George square.

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

I used to go to a good one just behind George square.

Taff
For some misguided reason they moved up to Georges Cross just out of City centre and gave up the best location for an art shop in the city, realised they had made a total horses ass of it and got back in again in a different location but have never recovered from that Faux pas ,it takes a lot to drag me away from the comfy location of Bearsden these days ,so totally miffed when they have not got the art basics.

Now here is a point ! how many filling stations actually stock motor oil , no room they need all the space for sweets buns and Booze ,can anyone else say if this is a British thing or do Gas stations in other parts of the world encourage there clients to drink and drive

 

[Don]

Where you live Ron the drivers are too pissed when they get to the petrol station, to remember to buy booze for the drive home!

Don

 

[lolok]

Well here in Poland there is little room for sweets..You can take your pick of Yummy BP hotdogs and 20 varieties of Vodka..
The government wonders why Polands roads are littered with dead drivers and pedestrians ????? Thats with real drink...You should see what happens after the Poteen...
I remember Trevor Mcdonalds "and finally" item,well here we have a round-up of the days more spectacular crashes and pile-ups..
The most tragic or funny in a twisted way is the annual cull on November 1st,All Saints Day..Families gather to visit the cemeteries and leave candles,chat and catch up on 12 months of gossip.This is followed by the inevitable drinking binge and utter carnage when driving back across the length and breadth of Poland.So adding to the visiting list for next year !!!!!!

 

[DEL]

Where you live Ron the drivers are too pissed when they get to the petrol station, to remember to buy booze for the drive home!

Don

And this from the guy who pioneered drinking 4 star in Saudi

 

[Don]

And this from the guy who pioneered drinking 4 star in Saudi

Driving in Saudi was life threatening and thats without drink driving. The breath analizer used on every ocassion one of you round eyed guys drove was to use the youngest policeman in the car to smell your breath! and he is always right!

Once got run off the highway by an overtaking dustbib truck, very proud of that.

Don

 

[Dan Morton]

Long ago, I have concluded that most of the brick and mortar art stores in the US are going to go the wall. It's just a matter of when. There's a Dick Blick in town and a Hobby Lobby. Half the time they actually have what I want. Internet is now my first choice for all art supplies.

All the best,
Dan

 

[Don]

Sadly you are correct Dan and I am sure that Art Shops like Hobby Shops woll all go the same way.
The problem is for people like me who love to browse through a shop, pickng things up to examine them.
Cant do that on the internet, just no feel of excitement in finding something you have never seen before.

Don

 

[Mark S]

......Cant do that on the internet, just no feel of excitement in finding something you have never seen before.

Don

I dunno Don, perhaps you're just not visiting the right sites, mate.

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

I dunno Don, perhaps you're just not visiting the right sites, mate.

 

[Funky50]

Long ago, I have concluded that most of the brick and mortar art stores in the US are going to go the wall. It's just a matter of when. There's a Dick Blick in town and a Hobby Lobby. Half the time they actually have what I want. Internet is now my first choice for all art supplies.

All the best,
Dan

Seems like its not only art stores....anybody remember the good old model shops where I used to spend my Saturdays looking at the fantastic models my Half a crown couldnt afford.....Happy Days

 

[Ron Tamburrini]

Seems like its not only art stores....anybody remember the good old model shops where I used to spend my Saturdays looking at the fantastic models my Half a crown couldnt afford.....Happy Days

Clyde Model dockyard in the Argyle Arcade glasgow was the PLACE ,my first revell kit ,historex ,kit tamiya ship my first everything, well almost

 

[brian]

Clyde Model dockyard in the Argyle Arcade glasgow was the PLACE ,my first revell kit ,historex ,kit tamiya ship my first everything, well almost

My favourite shop when i visited the big smoke with my dad many moons ago.
Brian

 

[DEL]

Mine too Brian. Do you remember the actual model dockyard on display...spectacular....it was never the same after it moved out of the arcade.
I can just remember after visiting the Dockyard, being taken to Wilson's Zoo situated up a tenement stair at the corner of Oswald Street.
There you could see a lion, panther, baboon, monkeys etc, all in cages about the size of shoeboxes and probably never saw daylight for decades. An old guy used to get in the lions cage with a whip and try to get it to do tricks. I believe its only trick was to pee on the audience. What I remember most was the smell....and that was from the drunks who wandered in to torment the animals.
In retrospect a deathtrap.....a thing of nightmares......a Glasgow version of the Island of Doctor Moreau