Okay, so I "borrowed" this idea from another forum but I thought it was an interesting topic of discussion...

What St Helens shops that have now shut down do you remember or miss?

I remember when Wetherspoons used to be Star Value... the smell of the raw meat used to make me feel sick and I'd try and hold my breath until we got downstairs to the grocery bit!

Also remember What Everyone Wants, which was where Argos is now. I think it should have been called 'What Everyone Doesn't Want' as I can't remember there ever being anything great on sale in there!

Also, Tommy Balls opposite that (now Bon Marche) which sold shoes. I always remember Marie saying something which made me laugh... one of her kids' friends had said something nasty about their (probably expensive!) shoes and Marie came back with the sharp comment "Well, look at him, walking around in Tommy Balls best!"

Oh, and the fruit shop on Westfield Street (C&Ds???) where Marie and my mum got chased out of because Rachael (Murf) who was about two at the time had picked up loads of cucumbers and bit the ends off them!

I remember toy and hobby being where Argos is now and then haha before then it was where Chloe's bar is...

Fine fare anyone??? where B&M is and the little cafe to the left hand side with wood beams on the outside..

Helena house god rest its soul..

Safeway where TJ Hughes is in the hardshaw centre..

The cinema (savoy) loved that place its criminal it got rebuilt and never opened...

Oooh, I dom't remember Safeway being where TJs is! I remember them building the one where Tesco is now though.

I also remember Morrisons on Boundary Rd being Co-op, Normid (what kind of a name was that???) and Discount Giant!

Anyone remember The Sweater Shop and The Body Shop being in the Tontine Arcade (now the Lagrange Arcade)?

Also, is Tyrers the oldest shop in St Helens? I don't even know anybody who shops in there any more, God knows how it's still going!

Oh and along similar lines, who remembers the shop at the bottom of Croppers Hill (now Utopia hair salon) that sold tabards and overalls? You never ever saw anybody going in or coming out, yet it was open for yonks!

The shop that holds most memories for me was Woodsies, it was run by Annie and May Woods and stood at the top of Crispen Street. It was a really old fashioned shop and Annie and May were straight from the victorian era, they even has bustles on their skirts.

The shop had a window full of sweets, and the inside of the shop was jam packed with all sorts of yummy and not so yummy stuff.

Annie and May were a real eccentric pair, and even if they didnt have what you wanted they would always offer you an alternative. I remember going in one day and asking for Arrow Bars (caramel sweets) May said they had no Arrow Bars but did I want some Horror Cards!!!

It was a great shop but I don't know how they managed to survive because every kid who went in for sweets came out with pocketfuls of stuff they hadn't paid for!! - Happy days