From the Editor: When Wimpy was king and everyone had a Coles story

The idea of revisiting a shop which was a childhood favourite for records, posters and pick and mix might have been tempting. But, on second thoughts, I was as guilty as everyone else of not wanting it to disappear but not actually supporting it by shopping there.

But it did get me wondering which shop I would bring back if I had that power. I know that Redgates is the crowd-pleaser answer but – dare I say it – my fondest memories came from when Hamleys was on The Moor.

Please excuse me, I’m sure it is just an age thing. Birthday parties at Wimpy on Fargate were something else, or at least they seemed it at the time. We thought America had conquered the world when McDonald’s arrived at the top of The Moor – little did we know..

While the burger bars made you look cool, there was nothing quite as special as being taken by your gran to have a tiny plate of crab sticks or prawns in the market.

Although, being dragged by my far cooler big sister to the outdoor shoe market at 5am in the morning made a big impression too.

It also used to make us giggle with delight when my grandad visited from Blackpool and thought he was flashy pulling out a £5 note to treat us all on the bus – only to be reminded that our tickets only cost 2p and the driver didn’t have any change.

Aren’t grandparents the best? Even when they left us long ago or we can’t see them because of very modern problems, they warm the cockles of our hearts.

One of my family’s favourite ways to embarrass me is to remind me of the day I made my mum wish the floor of Cole Brothers would open up and swallow us both.

The story goes that we were in a very long queue to pay when I – an innocent tot – saw a very posh woman in a very expensive fur coat.

I only knew one word at that stage of human development so pointed and shouted it over and over as loud as I could.

Unfortunately, that word was ‘cat’ and the lady was not impressed. My poor mum. Have a root back through your own memories, we all need a laugh in 2020.