Kingston has always provided a fantastic shopping experience, and the 1970s were no exception.

We had some lovely individual boutiques in Crown Arcade, including a vintage clothes shop.

A popular boutique called Sensational stood in the Market Place, and Burn’s and Dee’s Place was in Castle Street, almost opposite the Green Shield stamp gift centre. Chelsea Girl was a hot favourite at the time, which we all loved best.

For our vinyl singles and LPs, we went to Musicland, in Church Street, which stocked all the latest music.

The original C&A was in the Wilkinson building and seemed huge and opulent at the time.

We were lucky that the Kingston branch of Dorothy Perkins sold the Biba makeup range, where we could buy our Posh Prune lipstick and nail polish to match.

Brady’s Arcade was a wonderful, colourful emporium, selling everything from records, posters, stationary and mugs to cushions, clothes and bric-a-brac.

You could carry it all home in a brightly coloured swirly-design psychedelic carrier bag.

Bentalls was always an exciting store to visit. In the summer, we would go to the Silver Cafe and sit at the counter on stools to eat our ice creams from tall glasses, while watching the bustle of Kingston through the window.

Christmas was very special, when the Wolsey Hall in Bentalls would be packed full of Christmas cards and decorations. I can still remember coming out into the cold street, the snow falling lightly, and hearing the Salvation Army band playing on the corner of the street where HSBC bank stands.

SHEILA DOLERY
Surbiton