O perfil de davepearce1

Of the John Lewis partnership but with a different name, Peter Jones lords it over the King’s Road like big brother, imperiously set on the corner of Sloane Square, looking down on Tiffany’s with proud indifference and lazily snoozing in it’s bulky glory.

Also, it has the glory of a superstore feel very few other stores can match. The sheer quality of goods you find in this place is just about as good as anywhere, bar harrods and Harvey Nichols perchance, and the variety means you can shop for quality homeware, clothes and electrics in one building. You know you’ll all be xmas shopping here, so why deny it?

This funky dvd and cd store on the corner of Shaftesbury avenue opposite the Cambridge Theatre currently has an awesome sale on, meaning you can pick up many top dvd’s (The Darjeeling Limited, Borat, Blood Diamond) for just £3. It’s phenomenal. I mean, that’s cheaper than renting them. It also has a really good selection of interesting music and off-beat foreign films (take a look at the wonderful ‘The beat my heart skipped’). It’s also a much nicer experience than being crowded out in HMV on Oxford Street, with its open, glass windowed-feel, so I would heartily recommend popping along to fopp for your entertainment requirements.

New and small-scale coffee house on Bedford Hill which is standing proud opposite the likes of Starbucks. Run by a lovely elderly couple who bake their own pastries and make some delicious coffee, this place is well worth considering amongst the plethora of Balham cafes. Not an awful lot of seating, but then it’s never been that busy!

Good little shoe store in the centre of Covent Garden, I popped in at the weekend to see if any of the sale stock could beef up my distinctly un-cool collection of footware and bring me into the 21st century without blowing my 20th century bank balance. I was disappointed, to say the least. Maybe I hit the Jan sales too late, but when I got there, a mere 20 pairs of shoed grimaced back at me, none of which I could possibly wear (metallic blue shiny leather slip-ons anyone?), and all of which were still pricey at over £40 each. I peeked at the normal stock but shied away at the cost and the over-attentive staff. What is it with the hard sell in shoe store? Maybe I should just admit that I’m a shoe anarchist and stick to TK Maxx.

I hate to admit it, but I’ve never before visited the must-have city-boy shoe emporium that is Church’s. Walking in, immediately you are struck by the quality of the place. It oozes upper class richness from its lacquered wooden tables bearing polished leather shoes you imagine are only to look at. Picking one up gingerly and turning it over, I almost dropped it in shock at the price of £395. I’m awfully sorry, but how good can a shoe get? Even if it lasts three times as long as a regular shoe, it’s still massively overpriced. Full of loud well-dressed tourists, and pompous looking men in suits offering assistance, I quickly felt out of my league and left. Gorgeous shoes, but unless you’re super-rich, stick to Jones. And if you’re super-rich, you probably have some anyway!

Travel Zone. Sounds like an area of the Crystal Maze. Come in here for all travel needs, it seems to say. Going travelling? Come to the zone! The issue here is, for me, that Travel Zone only sells bags. I mean, a lot of bags, in different shapes and sizes: suitcases, rucksacks, satchels, handbags, massive wheelie cases, in fact pretty much any bag you want. But that’s it. And, although a bag is a large area of the travel market, I would suggest to the owners of Travel Zone that there are other things the intrepid traveller would need. Clothes, for example. Sunscreen, for another. Sunglasses, maybe. Those natty pant-wallets for the dangerous places. Mosquito repellent. None of these are offered by what I would like to rename ‘Bag Zone’.

Risky! Is it, though? If I wander in off the street, will I come into contact with danger? This fleets across my mind for a moment before I accept that I am thinking like an imbecile, and I cross the threshold of risk into the no mans land of clothing retail. Actually what you get inside is a slightly try-hard trendy shop for people who want something anti-gap. The only risk in here is coming out looking like an idiot. Which I avoided. By coming out pretty quick. They aint giving the stuff away either, which, at an economic time such as this, is decidedly risky!

This perennial Health Store located in Southside is a great place to stock up on the essential vits for the January Detox. Massive tubs of multivitamins and protein shakes stare out at you from behind neatly stacked nuts and healthy snacks. The facemasks are a triumph, as well, and for a quid are well worth the effort now and again. The best thing about this store as opposed to, say, Boots is the ability to buy in bulk, and thus cheaper. And the range of curious healthy spirulina-esque produce is extraordinary.

Commercial children’s clothing store, this place is great for those of us who can’t afford to clad our kids in Armani and gap, and actually offers good quality and good value. Not to mention the fact that kids usually grow out of stuff so quickly that spending a fortune can be disappointing.

I came in to get some boys jumpers for my 3-year-old nephew, and because of the fantastic sale on at the moment, came away with a couple of trendy tops for under a tenner. Which left me some change for my greggs sausage roll and a cappuccino!

Large imposing boozer on the corner of Wandsworth high street, offering many youngs beers at fairly good prices. I have to say, though, i’m not mad on this place. The decor is fine but characterless, the feeling a bit cavernous and empty, and the lager was flat.

It’s redeeming feature has to be its size, because you can usually find a seat, and it’s also fairly affordable, but with so many good pubs around here there are better options. Stretch the legs a bit and head to the alma up near the train station.