Christmas Shopping
The Dorking Gala Night is more of an event than a great opportunity to do some shopping although many people thankfully still do.
Apart from the odd bit of Internet shopping for a DVD box set or something, I intend to do all of my Christmas shopping in Dorking. It is something I have done for years. I only go elsewhere if something is massively cheaper or unavailable locally. Many people would be suprised at the variety of goods on offer.
People ought to get this into their heads. They complain about the town but don't support the local economy - instead driving off to Guildford etc to buy identical items available here.
posted by The Cockerel @ 11:33 PM
4 Comments:
this is very true, it has been highlighted on her before, another benefit of shopping locally is the time saved on driving to other towns and trying to find parking
Was in Dorking yesterday (Saturday) afternoon to do as much of my shopping as possible in Dorking rather than going to the soulless, clone towns like Epsom, Guildford, Kingston etc.
My observations are as follows. I noticed that there was a distinct lack of Christmas spirit. The majority of people were just window shopping rather than going into the stores buying their goods. I overheard a young couple who said "that there are much better bargains to be had at Bluewater and in Crawley". What a shame that people would travel miles and miles via the M25 and queue in crowded multi-storey car parks rather than shop locally which is much more convenient.
Also observed that Age of Elegence seems to have lost its way recently. They used to have a downstairs fully loaded with Christmas gifts, trinkets etc. At present, the downstairs is closed off and the shop is looking rather empty at present. Sincerely hope that this is not the next shop to disappear from Dorking High Street. The former Music4U unit has had a quick turnaround. It is now a ladies clothing store called Farber. I think there is one in Reigate as well. It did not seem to be attracting much business yesterday as the prices are a little on the steep side! Woolworths is another shop which seems to be getting worse and worse. The place is a shambles. I fell over numerous boxes on the floor yesterday afternoon and the newspapers were littered around the front door. The place is very cluttered and does not make for a very pleasant shopping experience.
Still, all in all, I found plenty of Christmas gifts yesterday in Dorking. What is amazing is the range of shops which we have and are so fortunate to have. The car parks were full, which is very positive and I hope that this continues in the run up to Christmas.
The units which seem to be attracting the most business are the newly opened The Lemon Tree, Steamer Trading, M&S and Clears.
Finally, congratulations to the Going Places on the High Street, for the tackiest paint work on the front of their shop. I really love the 1970's orange paint (not!). Surely it time for Mole Valley District Council to step in and get it removed asap. This unit is in the centre of a conservation area and it looks really cheap and nasty...
Can i second Going Places for an award of the most awful looking shop front. Who on Earth was paid to come up with such a colour scheme, it's beyond me.!! there are some great looking shop fronts in the town and also brightly coloured one's that attract the eye with out looking gaudy.
I have done some shopping in Dorking and some shopping in Guildford. Dorking is okay for some gifts but I find it a bit limited. Guildford is an excellent place to shop and I disagree that it is soulless - it is an historic market town with cobbled streets, lanes, markets, a high street closed off to traffic, cathedral, river, castle ruins, excellent parking - I could go on. I love shopping there and love shopping in Dorking too. I don't really see why I should try and do all my shopping in Dorking, particularly when I have sometimes found the service wanting. I agree though that there are many very good shops.
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