Right since it is New Years Day, It reminded me of several things. Do any of you remember the good old days when sales actually started on New Years Day or January 2nd. These days they start before Christmas is over and normally there is not much left by 2nd January.

Well this op is going to be about one our traditional stores, Boots.

Now Boots the shop has been in our town for nearly a hundred years and I have got pictures of the store in Victorian Times in Warrington when it was near the main roundabout. Times have changed and it has gone from being just a chemist and branched out into a lot more things. It split and became an opticians shop and the chemist moved further down the street where it is still today, many of you might have seen our Boots as it was where the IRA bombed our town and the lives of two youngsters were taken away.

Boots is a great shop and one that many of us do not take time to have a look at. We tend to rush in for one thing and rush out with it, without thinking about the things that it does sell in general.

Our Boots is on Bridge Street and it has the familiar signs over the doors with the blue background and Boots in a white oval with Boots written in blue. Our doors are oak automatic doors which set this store out from many in our town. The back entrance is a normal setting and has aluminium frames and large panes of glass so that you can see straight into the store.

When you walk through the doors you pass through the security beepers and then you are into the main brightly lit store.

Now Boots have these in our store and I will go into these more with you.
Body Care
Perfume
Pharmacy
Lunches
Bathroom
Disability
Kitchen
Photcentre
Electrical
Presents
Baby care
Holiday Care

Now the list is endless and there maybe some sections that i have missed off. They are very seasonal and do alsorts of things, so in this section I will go into them a lot deeper with you so you know more of what this great store has to offer.

Body Care:- This offers anything from deodorant to feet care and has a large extensive range to suit everyone. It starts at around 99p for deodorants, many of them well known brands and Boots also do their own brand. Feet care is important and they do lovely natural things which is great for those who suffer from aching feet or athletes foot or just want a bit of pampering. You can get face masks and these start from 99p and are great fun to use but also time consuming.

Perfume :- Well they were definatley busy this Christmas Eve, mainly full of men asking assistants what their wives would like, There is a large selection of perfumes from Boots 17 to Elizabeth Arden to Calvin Kline and many more brands. They are all reasonably priced and they offer you special gift sets at Christmas, They are not the cheapest for perfumes but the staff are very knowledgeable in their products. They also sell a large selection of make-up as well as their own brands and prices for makeup and perfume start from as little as 99p for nail varnish up to £60/£70 for your favourite perfume. Do not be put off by the high prices as they also do their own body sprays perfume for as little as £1.50 and their range of body sprays such as ocean deep and white musk is brilliant and acceptable for day wear.

Pharmacy:- This is great and I always use Boots pharmacy for my prescriptions as they always have goods in stock and if they have not got yours, they can order them in quick. Now their is too sections to this, there is the prescription service and the normal non prescription counter.
The prescription side is where you get your prescriptions from doctors and dentists. You can now have a delivery service and also you go onto their computer which is handy as they hold information like certificates so if you forget it, you will not be turned away. They also can pick up prescriptions from your doctors and deliver them to your home. The non-prescription side sells you things like paracetamol or cold remedies. However if you ever want to speak to a pharmacist, they are quite happy for you to see one.

They do lunches for people who are at work and they have special offers on. You can buy a range of sandwhiches, pasta, crisps, pop, water, fruit, vegetables and by mixing and matching you can save a bit of money and this is handy for people who need to eat at dinner and do not want to queue for ages or want a healthier option.

Bathroom equipment is also their, such as shower products and bathroom scales which start from £5 up to £50 for digital ones that tell you how much fat you have on your body. I have a pair of these and they are excellent, mind you after Christmas and New Year I dare not step on them at the moment. They also sell towels and flannels and soap and anything really that you would require for the bathroom.

Disability products, they sell a limited range in shop but have a catalogue for larger products. in store they sell things like, bedding for incontinence and feeding trays amongst other products. They also have a catalogue where you can buy larger items such as wheel chairs and dinner trolleys. All of these are reasonably priced and you must also tell them that as a disabled person you do not have to pay tax on these items.

When you go upstairs in our shop there is a kitchen section that sells everything from George Foreman Grills to Kitchen Scales and utensils, This is a vast range and prices vary but they are all the standard prices and are backed by the Boots Guarantee.

The Photo Centre is upstairs and processes your favourite photos, again prices differ from what you require and what film and camera you have. They will also put your photos on a disc for you so you have a permanent record. you can have different sizes. Now normally when I take in a film they cost me around £7 for a 36 standard film. Here they will make jigsaws out of your pictures and can put pictures on t shirts and cups.

They sell a lot of electrical goods starting at around £7 for a hair crimper to mens shavers, hairdryers and all beauty products that one might want.

They have a large section for Baby care which have things such as nappies, creams, lotions and stock well known products. They also sell toys for children and babies and also a small collection of clothes that start from birth. Here you can can bibs, bottles, dummys, toys, babygrows.

Holiday care is a growing part of Boots and they sell sun tan cream, exercise equipment for you to get into shape for you holidays, they also sell swim wear and towels and everything that you would want for a safe holiday.

Presents, this is where I think Boots comes into a class of its own, Christmas Presents. They sell a large variety of Christmas goods that are well packed and nicely presented. Ok some things are quite expensive but if you work their system, you can buy 3 things and get the cheapest free, so by doing this you can save quite a bit of money.

They also have an Advantage Card which for every pound you spend you get a points and they soon build up. You can redeem these by spending on certain goods around the store and they have offers on every so often where you can earn more points. i had quite a lot on mine and was able to buy a George Foreman Grill and a pair of hair straighteners with it.

The sales at Boots are one of the best that happens. This year I have bought products that have been reduced by 60%, nail sets and also a Cafetiere that was reduced by 70%. The sale is now on, so i would suggest, you go and have a look. There are many bargains to be had.

I have bought a lot of things in the sale this year, that I can put away in my Christmas Cupboard for next year. Roll on Monday when It is payday and I will go and empty the store of all the bargains, unless you get there first, ;0)

This store is excellent as well as having well known brands of products, they have their own range which is often a bit cheaper. The quality of Boots is great and this is one store that I have never taken anything back to.

Well that is an overview what is at my store and I hope it helps you. There might be a lot of things I have not mentioned but then again it sells over 40,000 products so I can only but mention a few.

This is a good store with good and helpful staff and is very well recommended.

Karen xx