Classic Dorking Shops

Since sanity closed the only place to buy a CD is Woolworths, which means ou can only buy Chart CD's in Dorking. It made me think back to the day in which Track and Groove existed (where Essentials hairdressers now resides). Track and Groove was a classic - Everyone over 30 remembers it!, it got me thinking about other classic shops which, in the past, existed in the town but no longer do.

Track and Groove
A proper record shop which existed in the days of vinyl. It lasted into the CD era but then the owner closed it down to presumably do something else. The atmosphere was dark and inspirational music was often playing. If it had kept going it could have maybe turned into a reputable record collectors shop.

Soupsons
Fantastic when I was a lad. Baskets full of all sorts of minature toys and gubbins at only a few pence each!

Thompsons
Classic toy shop. More expensive and upmarket than Soupsons, the sort of place you went to choose your Christmas present. I remember most the red carpet.

The Magic Shop
Down Church Walk (where Barclays is) Traditional magic shop. Walk up steps to enter and you were confronted by the dark, mysterious atmosphere of a large shop which sold consumer magic products and some old professional examples. A couple of guys ran it, they were great and had a real passion for the subject.

Degenharts
My mum used to take me in here as a kid. It was very boring at that age, full of wool, linen and sewing products. One thing I do remember though was that they had a 'rocking horse' swan.

The Music Shop
There was once a music shop in West Street which had a wide variety of traditional instruments as well as a collection of Synthesisers. I remember the pianos, violins etc were as you walked in and the 'modern' Synths were downstairs. There were Roland, Sequential Circuits and Korg synths that would be considered classic today. Mind you they were more expensive then than now! I ended up with a Casio £40 keyboard!