If you're throwing a party and want to pull out all the stops, pop along to Poppers the Party Shop…read morewho will send you off with paper hats, banners and, inevitably, party poppers. In fairness, it's not a great place if you're planning a sophisticated party - but for some good old fashioned shindig, then this is the place for you. Also great for hen and stag nights, as well as the wedding itself as it's one of the few places on Gloucester Road you'll find confetti. The shop assistants are friendly and chatty so if you're looking for something specific, ask away!

I love it when a whole shop is dedicated to the act of partying! It is just a great thing…read more So if you need some party poppers, colourful plastic plates, novelty banners, wedding stationary, cups, glasses, T-shirt printing and many more items then Poppers is the place to go! They are very friendly and helpful in here (who wouldn't be being in a party shop all day long!) and I think I can pretty much garantee that they will have whatever you are looking for (when it comes to party related items!)

Catering primarily to offices, Elworthy is a decent supplier of office furniture and supplies…read more They've got anything from chairs and desks, filing cabinets to hole punches. They operate Uk wide from this Westbury Park premises, and as an independent business are able to offer free and impartial advice on any items in question, as well as a free CAD design service for offices looking to supply themselves on a larger scale, free installation and free disposal of old desking. With market competitive prices their extensive catalogue is likely to find you what you need at the right price.

I'll be honest, I'm not too much of a fan of this tiny place in Clifton Village. For one, they…read morehardly have any computer gear or synth stock on display, never mind stuff that you can actually play with, plus they tend to frown at me when I walk in, never let me browse contentedly alone and always ask me whether I need any 'help'. "Nope, just looking", I say, but they obviously don't like timewasters here. And it's not as if I'm even that much of a timewaster, as I occasionally splurge about half a year's wages on music equipment, but I like to feel that I can ease into a sale (that it's my idea and not theirs, essentially). And, on the times when I have actually bought something, they want to know my full name, address, phone number, email and even the size of my... Only joking, but they do want to know an awful lot, just for me to buy a bloody MIDI cable or some shiz. Ergh.

The reason they take your details is to make yours and their life easier so if you do as you say…read moresplurge on a load of audio gubbins and need them delivered (if like me, you live in Cornwall with no audio/studio outlet) they don't have to take it all again each time you buy or order. Plus, they do really good deals on such splurges. Well worth it!

When I win the lottery, this place is number three on the visit list (after going to quit my job…read moreand the Ferrari dealership). They've got Hi-Fis to make your eyes water here. Gorgeous sound quality from even some of the cheaper stuff on offer will put you in a bad mood and go home to your I Pod speakers. It's not just about audio here, although that's definitely what they do best. The TV selection is excellent. They're really good at helping to buy you the right thing. I don't know my LCD from my plasma. They were able to explain, without talking down to me, the benefits of each in a way that made sense. Something every shop selling expensive goods needs to be able to do, but a lot can't. Somewhere that deserves having several hundred quid spent at, Richer Sounds offer a better alternative to the big chain warehouses that sell electronics.

Busta Rhymes is an artist whose name I took a long time to realise what it meant. As slowly as…read more'bust a rhyme' crept in I also realised that perhaps this place wasn't run by someone called Rich but that the sounds are actually richer. A long standing flagship on Whiteladies rd this is Richer Sounds and this is where the knowledge lies. Many years in the game the more than competent staff know pretty much all there is to know about speakers, amps, sound and all the rest of it. Check online if you want before you come here but they're always full of high-end hardware and absurdly low prices. They'll put you together a terrific bundle and they even have a fully sound proofed demo room to try before you buy. Two thumbs up to Richer Sounds I say.

Back in the day when I had time to take interest in the stars, I bought a really good pair of…read morebinoculars with the help of the friendly staff at Jacobs on Whiteladies Road. I've been in a few branches of this shop, but I've yet to find one where the staff are both friendly, helpful and accommodating. Obviously, they've got the usual range of Jacobs equipment, from cameras through to torches, but the staff really do make this branch stand out above the rest. They'll take the time to let you try out each model they've got in stock so that you know you've got the one that's right for you. There seems to be a particular focus on tripods in here too, as a large part of the floor space is taken up with tripods - you know where to go if you're in need of one of them.

As far as camera shops go this place is ok. Where it loses ground on so many of the other stores in…read moreBristol is it's variety of lenses. With places such as the camera exchange offering a vast amount of new and pre-owned lenses from Sigma's to Sony's, from fish eyes to massive zoom lenses. Thats not to say there is anything wrong with jacobs, it's just that the stock on offer isn't as wide as some people would hope. There's not just camera's in here, you can find mini-dv and digital camcorders as well as a variety of camera excesories and films, very helpful if you want to resist the digital revolution as much as possible and keep faith with the good old fashioned cameras.

Perhaps not the most exciting of shops, but very necessary nonetheless. Pan Tools can be found in…read morethe quiet, residential area of Bedminster that is Bedminster Road. A longstanding business which sells a range of hand tools, power tools and accessories, the shop attracts a steady flow of customers despite its remote location. Staff here are power tool specialists, so if you need help getting to grips with your new gadget (we wouldn't want any nasty accidents occuring with chain saws now would we?) then don't hesitate to ask at the desk. Prices are pretty reasonable and there is a great variety of stock.

If you like more individual jewellery (rather than chain store stuff like H Samuels or Goldsmiths)…read morebut can't afford expensive price tags, you could do worse than check out this little shop in Bristol's Broadmead shopping centre, the Galleries. Argenteus is an independent store (there are only a couple of others in the same business) and sells mid-priced jewellery from a rage of makers, the stock includes cheaper imported collections as well as some hand made pieces by named designers. The shop sells mostly silver and silver with gold. A good choice for a gift, reasonable prices and plenty of choice.

I absolutely adore this small stall from the covered section of St Nicholas Market. Inside the…read moremodest wooden boxes on Memories stalls sit prints of black and white photographs dating back over 100 years. There are pictures of Bristol's city centre, Bath and everywhere in between to peruse through and mentally compare the difference between the ages. Ranging from £8 to £20 per print (more if you opt for a framed picture) I feel it's a reasonable price to pay to own a copy of local history. I love searching out photographs of places I've worked or lived and seeing what they looked like all those years ago. Nerdy? Or a bit of innocent fun? You decide! It's a great stall to visit whether you're a local or tourist to get a flavour of Bristol in a bygone era.

Want to hop in my time machine...no I'm not Dr Who, I'm just visiting Memories down in St Nick's…read moreMarket. Actually I am Dr Who now get in my box Amy Pond...anyway... I have actually been down to Memories on quite a few occasions to have a look at Bristol over the years; it almost seems so much more beautiful and wonderful. I suppose if you were going to photograph it now on an average weekday you'd probably catch a group of students staggering out of what used to a beautiful building and is now an Aussie theme pub. But all the beautiful old photography is arranged into locations alphabetically e.g. if you're from Clifton, Clutton or Clevedon you can get digging and try and find that photo of your house from the 1860s (as my friend did, he obviously bought that image immediately). The photos usually set you back around £8.00 each, at least they did when I wrote this, unless you want a much larger version of the photo then the costs rise. But I was only half joking about the time machine; looking at the images is like a taking a brilliant tour of Bristol though the ages gone by and as you whizz around Bristol in the the 19th century, you might just learn an awful lot about this beautiful city.