BOLTS, NUTS, WASHERS & SCREWS…
This has to be my favourite shop in the world. From the moment that my Granddad first took me in to Wakefield when I was just six years old, I was hooked. The shop is situated on the Lea Bridge Road in Leyton, very close to where I grew up and being virtually unchanged for the past 70 years, it gives the impression of stepping back in time as soon as you enter. The layout is what’s known as a ‘walkaround’, with a central island that’s laden with every kind of nut, bolt, screw, hinge, nail, lock and washer you can imagine. Not an inch of space lies empty, with box upon box of stock lining the walls from floor to ceiling. One of the many great things about the place is the service. You’re free to wander and peruse at your leisure, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, you only have to ask, as the guys who run it know where everything is, right down to the very last washer. It’s the kind of place that you can buy nails by the pound, or if you only need one tiny bolt, then one is all you have to buy (unlike the packet of ten that the DIY superstore insists you must have). When you’re done, they’ll wrap the whole lot up in perfect newspaper packages and issue you with a handwritten receipt, with the VAT calculated before your eyes.
