The shoe event horizon

Phil_aka_Pip

... seems unlikely to happen, despite Douglas Adams' predictions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24899808

They're not the first and they won't be the last.

I worry that soon you won't be able to try on a pair of shoes before you buy them because the only way to buy them will be on line. With feet like mine, it's the devils own job finding something to fit anyway. This will make it worse

ToneControl

nah, the high street will only consist of shoe shops, pie shops, fashion shops. Boots, mcD's and TK Maxx

Do you have pies down south, or would it be "Pauls" or Bento box outlets?

not_the_dj

ToneControl said:

nah, the high street will only consist of shoe shops, pie shops, fashion shops. Boots, mcD's and TK Maxx

Do you have pies down south, or would it be "Pauls" or Bento box outlets?

And opticians, we've got 4 of them within about a mile of each other.

chillidoggy

And charity shops. We've got more of those than anything else.

Phil_aka_Pip

There are plenty of wimmins fashion shops in Stowmarket. And a Boots that's completely useless, plus umpteen charity shops. No McDs or TKMaxx thankfully. There was a shoe shop where I managed to get some safety shoes which fit, but tbh they're not that comfortable. It closed over a year ago. My most comfortable shoes are a pair of ECCO walking boots, but they're beginning to show signs of wear on the soles and may start leaking this winter.

There isn't AFAIK a pie shop, but there is a Greggs, selling all sorts of sticky and/or fatty things that aren't good for you.

CabbageCat

ToneControl said:

Do you have pies down south, or would it be "Pauls" or Bento box outlets?

In London it seems to be Pret everywhere. "Would you like couscous with pepper or pepper with couscous, sir? OK. Would you like pepper with that?"

ddlooping

And hairdressers...

Phil_aka_Pip

There are a few of those too in Stowmarket.

Lixarto

Mobile phone shops, although I suspect their time is also limited.

(I'll give charity shops the benefit, as there's a sound reason for their proliferation).

ToneControl

and six different variations on pound shops

Phil_aka_Pip

None of those in Stowmarket. I'd say there are far too many kebab shops, nobody appears to go in them and they're all owned by the same turkish family. btw the same people now own the debenham chippy, and the quality there is all right - if you go at the right time. Sometimes your chips will be a bit soggy (I still grin when I remember Philip Madoc saying "I don't like soggy chips" in the Don't Tell Him Pike episode of Dad's Army) ... these kebab shops must be a deliberate tax loss

Jalapeno

Lixarto said:

(I'll give charity shops the benefit, as there's a sound reason for their proliferation).

Rents that cripple everyone else ?  Wait until there's an upturn and they'll be out on their ears !

ToneControl

More kebab shops sounds like a positive move, I could live on those

No more coffee shops please

We probably need more Apple shops too, full of tables full of the same items over and over again, with a bit of shelter outside for the messed-up people who like to camp outside them every time some minor upgrade is released (rather than just pre-ordering it at a premium reseller and picking it up on the release day)

bertie

I thought they'd both already gone to the wall anyway ?

holnrew

Are there not loads betting shops and "arcades" full of fruit machines all over the place in the rest of the country?

Panama_Jack666

Having size 15 feet, I gave in on high street shoe shops long ago.

Phil_aka_Pip

Panama_Jack666 said:

Having size 15 feet, I gave in on high street shoe shops long ago.

So how do you get to try on shoes to see if they fit before you buy them?

randomhandclaps

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Panama_Jack666 said:

Having size 15 feet, I gave in on high street shoe shops long ago.

So how do you get to try on shoes to see if they fit before you buy them?

Try on shoes?  Are you actually a lady?

Phil_aka_Pip

randomhandclaps said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Panama_Jack666 said:

Having size 15 feet, I gave in on high street shoe shops long ago.

So how do you get to try on shoes to see if they fit before you buy them?

Try on shoes?  Are you actually a lady?

No point in buying them if they don't fit. It's easy to find shoes that have the "right" size number on them but they're either too big or too small. Finding shoes you can wear all day without making your feet hurt is a prime requirement.

TTony

randomhandclaps said:

Try on shoes?  Are you actually a lady?

Gets a giggle from me

octatonic

At least it wasn't Timberland.

I'd be fucked.

Well, just naked, really.