The Royals Shopping Centre Sold to Regis.

[Mad Cyril]

As anyone my age will tell you the only place to buy Docs was Victoria shoes. Growing up in Hullbridge In the late 70’s you couldn’t buy them in just any shop It had to be a trip to Vic shoes…..

I used to enjoy looking at the slip on shoes that Victoria Shoes had in the window and often wondered who bought them.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Colchester was good for those nice shopping lanes of mainly independent shops. But a lot have closed down now, and a few changed to those mobile phone accessory shops. One of my past adventures, Lol, I used to run the Albany spieler in Queens Road, Southend. Spielers were mainly the East End of London. They were places to meet and play cards, mainly Rummy, Kalooki, Poker and Brag. They had a bad reputation, as they're always being mentioned in books or programs about old type gangsters of the 60s and 70s. We had a mixture of some of the old faces of Southend. We had really nice men, we had bad and dangerous men. We had some great and funny characters. It was all male apart from the tea and food ladies. The banter was the best ever. Happy days. Anyway, I used to go up to Colchester to get the better make of playing cards, plastic coated so hard to bend or mark, etc, as would bend back into shape. And things like poker chips. This was all before the internet selling. They had the best shop for all games and casino supplies, in the lanes there.
It was there for years, but someone told me it has sadly closed down? Perhaps one of the Colchester people on here could confirm. They also sold the most amazing chess sets I have ever seen. based on different themes. The Napoleon one was a good one. Sorry about that, back to The Royals. Those new owners will be looking at the shops as secondary. They will be looking at where they can build those flats the sea side of The Royals. They will also be thinking of the future, as they are well aware that physical shopping is in decline. They know in the future they will have excuses for converting more of it into flats, and going upwards.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Would make a reasonable indoor amusement leisure area, ten pin bowling, maybe roller skating, rock climbing wall etc, it is well positioned for sea front?

They now have the new ten pin bowling alley, a stonesthrow from The Royals called Kingpins at the old TOTS, Although Remblance is taking the p with the prices he charges for everything in that place. AR Darts, £19.95 for 30 minutes for example. As for roller skating, it's not like the old days on Pier Hill when there was virtually no health&safety. When anyone broke an arm, it was unlucky, and that was that. Nowadays, it's high insurance and a sue culture. My friend was a Teddy boy skater there back in the day. He fancied opening up a roller skating ring in Southend, but looking into it, he said it wasn't worth the hassle, especially the injury side of things, with angry parents and claims for this and that.

 

[united we stand]

As anyone my age will tell you the only place to buy Docs was Victoria shoes. Growing up in Hullbridge In the late 70’s you couldn’t buy them in just any shop It had to be a trip to Vic shoes…..

It was embarrassing to not have cristened them by Friday night after the village hall disco.

We were entertained by the Shake Mohamed disco ( two blokes wearing tea towels and ray bands) Back then cultural misappropriation was wearing docs and not booting someone when the opportunity arose.

Two songs were banned…. Kung fu fighting, you can guess what happened…. Plus Ally’s Tartan Army….. The lads wearing docs would circle round and boot anyone suspected of even looking at an Arbroath smokey. Friendly fire had become a problem.

I grew up in hullbridge (mum still there, she was a dinner lady at riverside), and got my DM’s from vic circus, and staypress/ Pringles etc from rose hills and records from the place near rose hills.
Things were threat back then
The first punk ((as I recall) with massive DM’s was Martin ( can’t recall last name) who lived round the corner to me in abbey close.

 

[rigsby]

I used to enjoy looking at the slip on shoes that Victoria Shoes had in the window and often wondered who bought them.

I grew up in hullbridge (mum still there, she was a dinner lady at riverside), and got my DM’s from vic circus, and staypress/ Pringles etc from rose hills and records from the place near rose hills.
Things were threat back then
The first punk ((as I recall) with massive DM’s was Martin ( can’t recall last name) who lived round the corner to me in abbey close.

I do remember a punk who lived that way but his name is Chris Horton.

 

[The General]

As has been said, the high street is too long and its confused. The top end would be better for shopping / restaurants due it being pedestrian friendly and the likes of Molo, wagamamas, brickhouse and Nandos there. But the bottom end has the big boys like Primark, M&S and H&M so its gunna take them ages for it to ever make sense so until then its gunna be a mixture!