Thursday 14 May 2009

British Nostalgia ???? Past Times

Advantages: A cop out when you can't be bothered thinking gift to buy for someone

Disadvantages: Overpriced, actual attractive artefacts from the past can be found cheaper on ebid

Past Times is an excellent place to cop-out if you really can't be bothered to think about what you are going to buy someone for Christmas, Birthday, anniversary or whatever. 

Its essence is playing on nostalgic yearning amongst consumers. So expect stuff like books about Grannie's recipes, retro style phones and radios and garden statues done in the style of the Flower Fairies; Charles Rennie 'Mockintosh' mirrors and tartan mugs with Winston Churchill sayings emblazoned on the side. 

The range of gifts they sell is large, but to be honest most of it is not original and are you are probably better off goint to an online site like ebid and finding an original artefact from the past to give to someone. 

Yes you will find a quick gift here for someone, but I will bet it will be in the back of their car next time they have a car boot sale. 

Now here is a little anecdote. 

I was in one of their shops one day, waiting at the till with an enquiry. Two oriental guys are stood next to me and the assistant was seeing to them, now without going into detail these guys were taking gifts home to, I will make a broad assumption, somewhere in the east. 

So they look at some bits and pieces and one of them says in broken English: 

"Something typicarry Blitish Prease" Now don't get on at me for stereotyping, but that IS what the guy said. 

So off the assistant goes to look for something typically British and comes back with a little tartan case with a tartan whiskey flask in it. 

She gives this Typically British artefact to the Oriental guy who inspects it, looks underneath it, reads something on the bottom, and looks up at the assistant and says.... 



"its made in China" 

Well it made me laugh.

Summary: Easy choice for gifts Items are very unoriginal

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