Candy Cabin is a small newsagent in the middle of Droylsden. What's amazing about this place, and…read morewhat marks it out from all the other dull newsagents out there, is that Candy Cabin has an immense selection of bagged sweets. Literally, it's just like my childhood in here. This is exactly the kind of place I would have come in to every day after school when I was younger. Lemon sherbets, liquorice. They've got it all. And the guy is super friendly as well.

It's relatively easy to cater the needs of the student population, but not so simple to achieve the…read morecult status that Gaff's has achieved. Living in Whitworth Park for 2 years my local off license was McColl's - it was accessible, it was cheap, it had decent opening hours - yet I never would've dreamed of buying a McColl's t-shirt! It is impossible to walk around Fallowfield without seeing a student in a white t-shirt with the red Gaff's logo plastered across the front. Any small corner shop in Fallowfield would be stupid not to stock cheap alcohol, fags, pot noodles and energy drinks. And there are many shops which do, but none which have seen the success and received the following that Gaff's has. Having never lived in Fallowfield I've only ever been into Gaff's a couple of times to pick up cut-price under-the-counter cigarettes for my Fallowfield friends. I'm disappointed to see that this is a service that they no longer provide. I have also heard rumours about the sale of illegal substances out the back, but they are all 'friend of a friend' rumours, so who knows? From the outside the shop looks pretty awful. It is plastered in posters for various clubnights with horrendous names such as Pout and Vodka Island, for which they sell tickets.

Gaff's is a Manchester Student fallowfield life establishment!! This is the first time I am…read morereviewing a corner shop and it will probably be my last. The only reason I mention this place is because of its legendary status in Fallowfield among students. You see this place operates for the sole purpose of making students life heavenly. It is open till late for all your late night needs, it is as reliable as your iPhone. You can buy tickets to all the big gigs in Manchester's nightclubs, dvds and beverages for those late night house parties. Absolute gem!!! In fact I urge you just to pop in if you're ever driving through fallowfield, even if it is for a carton of milk. You will realize that you walk out with more than you came in for, because you remembered you needed it, such is the fantastic variety of stuff on the counter. I love you Gaffs!!!!!!!!

This shop has just recently had a refurbishment and it was well needed…read more A handy convenience store that is located well away from many other shops, I'm not sure if they hike the price on stock because of this, but the prices are fairly reasonable. The most local shop is the Shell garage down the road, which is just a rip-off for most things. Most of the staff are friendly, even if you do see a lot of new faces.

Despite the seemingly never-ending revolving door of staff who seem to change on a weekly basis,…read morethis is not too bad a shop. It does what it says on the tin it sells alcohol, cigarettes and the usual staples but if you are looking for specific items you are better off going to a supermarket. There has been recent refurbishment but there is still a long way to go before it feels welcoming in there. The biggest advantage of having this shop so close is the cash machine even if it does seem to go against the grain to have to pay almost £2 to access your own money!

It was M&S for coffees, Eccles cake and chocolate croissant today at M&S Altrincham; a rather…read moreupmarket posh village. The coffees were cappuccino and splendid Cortado. The iced water on tap. The village has a delightful market in the centre where one can buy dressed crab, cooked whole lobster and my absolute total, complete favourite, in all the world, potted brown shrimps, sealed in butter. Forget caviar and lobster this, with good buttered toast, is the true food of the gods. Ambrosia. There are flower sellers, cake sellers, sellers of LP's from the 1960's, cheese sellers offering small batch local cheeses, folks with woodfired ovens for sourdough pizzas, beer and wine sellers, upmarket hand made chocolates, oriental and Jamaican food (I don't think I could face goat curry) and a fish & chip shop. I'm sure I've left out a lot of purveyors in this snapshot. It's also teeming with competitively priced coffee places, cafes and bars and as the competition is so fierce there's no downmarket offerings.

Marks and Spencer in Altrincham is a fairly good location, although it isn't the best/biggest…read morelocation in the area, and I do prefer their Manchester Market Street and Bolton stores, this isn't a bad alternative and it is one of my favourite stores in Altrincham town centre. It has improved a lot since my last visit, the store is now much cleaner and free of clutter to warrant an upgraded rating. The selection in the food hall was good, they had a nice range of products, again this might be slightly less compared to other stores, but I still was able to find the majority of what I needed which was handy. This store is also using the new Mobile Scan and Pay, where you can scan items and bag them as you shop in the Food Hall, pay via your phone and walk out, this is a feature I love but it always makes me feel strange as you just walk out of the store, it makes you feel like a thief, even though you have paid, you do get a payment proof on your phone incase someone does stop you, but I am worried about the security of this if someone is dishonest. Most of the staff seemed friendly and happy to help when required. Above-average Marks and Spencer store, a great brand to have in Altrincham if you don't feel like going into the city centre or another larger store.

A small Boots Store in Chorley's Market Walk, the facilities for a small town are good with a large…read morePharmacy, a small selection of toiletries, drinks and an Opticians next store. It is set out like an extended Boots Pharmacy style store, no mini department store vibes like a larger store etc. The store was clean and free of obstruction. Opening hours (like the selection in many areas compared to larger stores) are limited. 3* - OK Boots location, there are better/larger stores nearby such as in Horwich (around ten minutes on the train)

Situated at the top of Market walk, next to Woolworth's. There are several sections in this small,…read morebut well provisioned store. I use the chemist section quite a bit for prescriptions and there is a good value service where they order and pick up your prescription for you. The rest of the store is split into the usual sections, the one bit i do find slightly disappointing is the three for two offer section, especially at this time of year when the hristmas offers are on. The two tills at the front can get quite a few people queuing and people often use the perfume counters. The staff are quite good at giving advice on products as well.

i love this little shop! It is in such a convenient place right outside the market. I come here a…read morefew times a week to pay my bills at their paypoint and to put on the lottery. They sell magazines, confectionary and cigaretes. I think the staff in here are lovely and very helpful. The lady who works there did a lucky dip for me the other week and i won a tenner i think shes my lucky charm! :) The only bad thing about this shop is that it is very VERY small. It only fits about 3 people in at a time! Quite often they have offers on their magazines chocolates. I like to get a good bargain from here. Also they have just started selling wispas again so i ithink im guna stock up!

Warrington Market runs Monday to Saturday in Warrington town centre, a couple of minutes away from…read moreGolden Square Shopping Centre - it has both an indoor and outdoor market, although the outdoor area does seem much more popular in terms of business but I just don't see the hype sadly - with huge crowds, queues at certain stalls and people just walking past fresh produce smoking (I hate the smell and sight of smoke especially in a market which is supposed to be quality - surely areas like this should have a smoking ban like indoor locations are smoke-free in the UK?) The indoor area isn't much better it feels a little old - the dirty floor and horrible, rancid smells inside don't help - as soon as I entered I was forced to persevere past the horrible wind as you entered which blew the horrible smells right into your face which was simply vomit-inducing. It really does seem the growth of supermarkets which has had a bad effect on markets has affected this one - reviewers state this place was even in decline around ten years ago and by the looks of things, it seems to be surviving by the skin of its' teeth and it's really far from the place it once was. 1*

There are a few very good stalls of note in the market that have stood the test of time but…read moreunfortunately there are some not so good ones. That and the fact that more than a third seem to be empty means that the market is getting worse not better. It seems to be going in the direction of the rest of Warrington town centre, Downwards. Well done to the handful of good stalls on there. Notably the Game and Fish stalls along with a good veg stall. Mr Tasty brightens the place up and now has the largest stall in there. If a fraction of people in Warrington stopped using the supermarkets all the time and paid a Weekly or even Monthly visit to the Market then it may be able halt the decline and improve. The Stall I like include the following. African/Jamaican produce Caribbean Hot food store Cheese store Sausage Store Mr Tasty Butchers and cooked/roast food Veg store Game Store Fish monger For others there is a sports/angling store A cafe' Lots of clothes, shoes and bag store. A pet shop, hairdressers lots of place open and close in a short time. Last time I visited one of the three halls was almost empty.

This place is a really small grocery shop, selling a few bits of fruit and veg and other basic…read moregroceries that are usefully if you've run out of cereal or bread. There's a pleasant enough young guy serving behind the till, but there are also a lot empty shelves here and it's not the kind of place I would go unless I needed the most basic of essentials.

I live very close to Farooq and it is one of my favourite places to visit…read more Okay, the stock isn't astonishing or even well-priced. Essentially, it's your typical shop that's good for picking bits up when you can't be bothered going to the supermarket. However, what makes this place so pleasing is the staff. The most basic of shops (say, a packet of crisps) takes me 20 minutes because I end up having a chinwag with the owner and his sons. In an age when chatty shopkeepers seem to be dwindling in numbers, I cherish these places as it really does make you feel like part of a community. Pop in. Say hello. You'll be telling them all your life story before you know it.