This is a great little collection of shops that have uniquely remained together, even after moving…read morefrom The Swan in Yardley to Acocks Green. Entering the store you are greeted on your left by a jewellers, and on your right by a shoe repair service; And at the back of the store lies a clothes alteration department. If you are a new customer, from my perspective, you're not sure exactly what to look at first, but I'm guessing that all three areas have built up their own regular shoppers, who know exactly what they are after. I love the independence of each, and the way they have survived by supporting each other. All three staff members are also very friendly, and the store feels warming, homely and old fashioned when compared to corporate businesses. The jewellers section also stocks a variation of unusual gifts too. From Betty Boop mugs and clocks collections (which are perfect for any enthusiast), to metal money boxes and watches. So it's a great place to buy presents for somebody. Or simply get your shoe repaired.

These guys are a great example of not giving in to the big, corporate bullies. When the Swan…read morecentre was sold to Tesco they effectively lost their small, independent businesses as they had nowhere to trade. Instead of accepting that they joined forces, found a nearby shop and trade as a collective. They had been at The Swan for nearly 20 years but wouldn't have been able to afford the rent on a property individually. The result is an extremely successful, wonderful and quirky arrangement that delivers three businesses for the price of one. There is a key cutter and cobbler, a jeweller and a haberdashery. The services they offer also include engraving and clothes alterations. All three businesses are friendly, helpful and normally cost very little. If you need one of these services and are looking for a bargain then this is the place for you.

As a little independent craftsman in the Jewellery Quarter opening times can vary but he's usually…read moreabout from 10am and will leave handy little notes when he's popping out to the Post Office or for Lunch. I was signposted to here whilst in need of something engraving that required special tools. Be warned the trek to the top of this building seems particularly steep even for a Jewellery Quarter works space. Upon finally making it to his work studio the little half door counter allowed me to spy the jumble of a great workspace full of tools and machines that I just wanted to quiz him about. The chap was really helpful and polite, taking all my details so that he could let me know when it was ready. For the princely sum of £5 I got the little present my Mum had bought for my nephew all nicely engraved with his details and everyone was happy.

Left some heels for re-soling and when received them back they had a mark on them from a bic pen,…read morewhen asked to fix it, they did a botched paint job that made it look even worse. Do not recommend for shoes you care about.. not worth the lack of help or service... no apology or anything for the issue they caused and made worse! They didn't even seem to care.

The word cobbler evokes a Dickens-esque scene from the 19th century for me. I have a soft spot for…read morethese old trades that still inhabit obscure spots around the city - I admire the artisan and I admire that in an age of excessive consumption and mass manufacturing there's still enough demand for an ol' cobbler. My favourite brown oxfords had worn down to the point I was worried that they might wear through to the sole of my foot. So on a quest to find a suitable place to perform the repair on my beloved shoes, I was pointed in the direction of the Piccadilly Cobbler. I fantasised that I might have been greeted with some cockney rhyming slang and a nod of a flat cap, unfortunately my fantasy was not realised, but nonetheless he swiftly returned my shoes to their former glory as I wandered around town. Some things just can't be replaced sentimentally, aesthetically and economically so in the instance of waning soles here you have a cobbler. Good day.

I've had some excellent banners printed from here for various events and I would return to Brindley…read morePrint without hesitation if I needed something of the same form again. The service is great, they went through the processes that would lead from the original small-scale design to the large banner that they would produce. This reassured me that the quality of the design wouldn't decline in this transition onto the large banner format. The outcome of the product was really impressive, the design retained its vividness and colour scheme. They offer a variety of other services for all sorts of events and circumstances that might require a very particular style of printing to achieve the desired product. Great company, great service - I highly recommend them.

I don't like launderettes, I don't use them at all really but I had to one time because I didn't…read morehave the facilities of a washing machine for a whole week. I was so depressed at this point in time because I find going to launderettes irritating. So, I was forced to go and use this particular launderettes services and I was pleasantly surprised at how great the service was. I expected the machines to be dirty (I constantly had this imagination about what launderettes were like); but like I said this place really surprised me. Their facilities were clean and the staff were super helpful; I think they must have realised I was a little concerned. From my first initial experience with Wash World, I have now slightly changed my opinion about launderettes; not saying that I'll be using them all the time but this place is actually quite decent.

Now I rarely use launderettes, if at all. But I have a bizarre reason for going to this…read morelaunderette. At my friend's house (who is currently washing-machine-less) she did a great job of not letting me know that her olive oil had a leaky lid - so as I eagerly looked forward to some French bread and olive oil, rather suddenly I found myself covered in oil. Acting swiftly I to had abandon this simple pleasure in search of somewhere that I could wash my outfit to avoid risking it marinating in olive oil for an evening and becoming totally irreparable. Wash World provided this place and I entered, after receiving a few scowls from the locals, donning a pair of old gym shorts, a vest and left my clothes to run through while I returned to finally enjoy my French bread and olive oil. I arrived back, a thorough cycle was complete and although my clothes weren't entirely repaired Wash World was there in my time of need. I proceeded to enjoy my evening in the knowledge that my clothes weren't scarred for life, and for that I think they deserve 5 stars.

I needed some replacement keys for a property which is let out. I drove passed and noticed this…read morelittle place. I stopped over and found it was run by this old school gentlemen. He was quite funny actually. He was able to copy my keys very quickly. The keys worked out to £3 per key which was decent. I have normally had issues with keys which I have had cut from other places before but I am glad to say these copies worked the first time.

Pretty good gaming store, can be towards the more expensive side but have good selection of…read morereasonably priced second hand games. They sell games for every console and including PC. They no longer have any games for retro gaming which can be a shame. Its a very small shop for one that has so much custom. It gets very busy especially toward christmas. They also sell blu rays and umd's for the psp. A good shop to buy great games

The game stores are located everywhere, Coventry has 3 , (i think, ) The name says it all really…read more They sell computer games for the pc, Playstation 3, Ps2, Psp, X box , Wii and the Gameboy sp. This store in the middle of the city centre is the biggest out of the two here. It has multiple titles for all platforms. Prices are usually competitive, but could be found cheaper occasionally by a few ££ if you search the web. But it means waiting for it to be delivered. You can also buy UMD movies and a small amount of Blue ray Dvds too. The staff are usually quite helpful, b ut you get much better customer service from the game store at the ricoh arena shopping park. They have a second hand section with titles from all platforms, which is a great thing. But some of the prices are only £2-£4 cheaper than the game brand new. I thought the point of selling second hand games was to make them cheaper?? Correct me if im wrong. A few of moans i will give about the game franchise is the fact they no longer have the following : 1) 28 days refund policy. Where by you would buy a game, eagerly get home to play it and find out how crap it was. You could then take it back for a full refund or buy another game. This policy has been removed, which is a shame. 2) The old school games section. No longer do they sell games for retired games machines such as the SNES, Megadrive, Game gear. To buy these you have to go elsewhere, or search the internet. 3) The shop seems crowded, with little room to move between stands and people! But there are worse, a lot worse (gamestation-far to clostraphobic!) So there you have it, my review of the Game in the middle of the city centre. Game recievs only 3 stars due to the poor 2nd hand pricing structure, which is either stupid or very clever as some people would prefer to spend an extra couple of ££s to have a game new. They get more money out of us!!! And no longer having the cool 28 day refund policy.

I went into the store at Market Street, Lichfield on my lunchbreak yesterday. I just wanted a pair…read moreof boots heeled which I was wearing at the time. The guy at the counter said it would take around half an hour but I was on my way back to work so he said to bring them back the next day when I wasn't wearing them. I went back today prepared to leave them for half an hour. There was only one person working in the shop. There were a few people waiting and he completely ignored them and carried on with repairing shoes with his back to us. One man walked out. After about 10 minutes he had the courtesy to ask if he could help me and when I said could I leave my boots and come back in half an hour, he said he was too busy, it would take a few days!! I said that he had told me the day before to leave them and it would only take half an hour and he said it wasn't as busy yesterday! I was just walking out when another man came in and said he had left a watch for a new strap and had been told he could pick it up today and the employee told him he hadn't done it yet!! Will go elsewhere in future, rude and unprofessional. Incidentally the store opening hours shows 8.30 a.m. but when I passed at 8.50 am on my way to work, it was in darkness. Had hoped to leave my boots then and pick them up at lunchtime. I would avoid unless you want to wait a few days to pick anything up.

I went with my two daughters to get our passport photos done. On arrival at the shop, we were…read moresurprised at how much you can get done there, shoe repairs, key cutting, jewellery and watch repairs, engraving, never mind the passport photos service. The man on duty in the shop was really, really nice and even though we turned up while he was quite rushed off his feet, (he is the only member of staff there), he was polite and attentive to every customer. I would have no hesitation in using this shop again, especially now I know how much you can get done there!