Throw your heart to me...

When I was little there was a newsagents in Ayr Street called Dargos. 

Isn't that a nice name for a newsagent. 

It had a doorway set back from the street and a wee path enclosed by a display wall on one side, and the shop window (side view) on the other.  The shop was full to brimming of newspapers, and magazine, the floor was wooden, real wood, not laminate, and not polished; but a floor worn and loved by years of trade; customers walking in, chatting and walking out. 

There were newsagenty nicnacks in the wee dooket to the front of the shop - stationery, pencil cases, jotters, marbles, scrapbooks, scraps, rubber bands, labels, package labels, masks, bubbles, pencil sharpeners, rulers.  You were surrounded on three sides by a stationery heaven. 

The counter ran from about half way into the shop half the width of the shop back - the shopkeepers had overalls on - probably to keep them clean from the newsprint, which came off newspapers and magazine in those day.  The counter held the usual array of sweets and chocolates, and there were jars of sweets for 2oz paper bags. 

The newspapers and the magazines lay on the low shelves to the back of the shop, along with bigger items, like jigsaws, boxes of chocolates and the like. 

I associated Sunday's with Dargos; because Sundays were reknowned boredom days. (Sorry John),  After Sunday School, or Bible Class, there was nothing.  Shops weren't open, the town was deserted, but Dargos would be open.  Me and my mate could spend a good hour in there examining the wares.   The best of times were when they brought in specialty stationery - my very favourite was a tiny packet of pencils.  No more than an inch and a half long, and each pencil maybe 1/4 of an inch, six of them, in a tiny little packet, and they were "Peanut" ones. 

Completely and utterly useless.  Too small to write with, too small to sharpen.  But there's something about little tiny versions of things which makes them very, very appealing. 

I'm like that now with alcohol minatures. 


:-) 


Dargos is no more, it became Nugents, and then moved next door; it became an Antique shop, and now - it's where I go for a wee hair wash and a good natter.