VISITING WHITBY'S OLD TOY SHOPS

Me and the Missus joined family in Whitby on th Yorkshire coast over Christmas. It was good to get back to this coastal jewel and stay in the town again after a few years' absence.

Besides the aura of Stoker's Dracula [written there] and the ensuing gothic sub- culture infusing the old fog-bound streets it was also good to catch up on the die-cast cars always on offer in a couple of Whitby's many independent shops.

One of them is the famous vintage toy kiosk on the corner of the old town square. Its more of a lean-to than a full blown shop and at the best of times can only fit one or two people in. With Covid there's even less space so I stood outside, staring at the well-stocked window displays and chatted to the proprietor, who I have bought from for over 30 years. I didn't purchase this time round but we reminisced about older times when I'd bought for instance a Fairylite Stingray off him for a fiver. That was years ago and it was good to see the kiosk still going strong after all this time. Do you know it?

A more conventional shop and equally reduced in accessibility is Collectables Past and Present on Skinner Street. This store holds a huge stock of old and new die-cast, bric a brac and models. With entry reduced to the two people my Son-in-Law went in first with Moonbase Junior, who came out with a nice Corgi 007 Moonraker Space Shuttle for £12.95 that his Dad had bought him. Loose and minus the satellite the Grandson was suitably chuffed. 

Next the daughter went in and bought a Russian ceramic polar bear for £25, which she saw in the window and loved partly dow to the association Whitby has with these noble animals. 

Next in was yours truly along with Moonbase Junior again and all we wanted to see was the purveyor's Matchbox Superfast stock. I bought 8 lovely Matchbox for £15 including a felt-pennable scrap Mercedes Benz regular wheels for Junior to do up. 

I'll blog the ones I got soon, which included a gorgeous purple Dodge Charger. Lovely!

 Last but not least, the daughter took Missus Moonbase in and bought her Mum a post-Christmas gift for £20, a nice ceramic ornamental green hare. The Missus was touched. After they came out the shop promptly closed!

Have you been to either of these long-established die-cast shops readers? Did you get any die-cast for Christmas?