chaplin

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Primates were us

They're closing down one of London's oldest pet shops, Palmer's in Camden Town's Parkway. Back in the 70s they used to have a window full of sleeping puppies. However, even that was a step forward from what they used to specialise in in the 30s, as this old facia announces.

10 comments:

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  2. Ooh, that's my work manor! Palmers at that venue actually closed a couple of years ago, but is still operating in a much duller shop up the Parkway. The next part of the sign says 'talking parrots', and I hope it's never removed; that frontge ought to be Grade One listed.

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  3. It hasn't sadly burnt down tonight?

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  4. I'm not sad to see the back of pet shops with puppies in the window, waggly tails withstanding.

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  5. burning a large part of north london seems a bit extreme to get rid of one pet shop!

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  6. Anonymous11:00 am

    Wasn't it Ken Livingstone's newt emporium of choice?

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  7. They used to keep the reptiles upstairs and I would regularly pop in there on my lunch break and pretend to be browsing the chameleons and iguanas all the while marvelling at the boxes of live food (crickets and grasshoppers)
    Cheaper admission than the reptile house in London zoo up the road as well...

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  8. I was only thinking the other day, about my flatmate and I walking past a pet shop in Richmond that had two kittens in the window.

    We just went in and bought them.

    I don't think you're alllowed to do that now.

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  9. It's hard not to feel a swell of regret as a 'good old London' shop turns into yet another coffee chain etc until you realise that they vacated that shop years ago and moved over the road to this.

    http://blog.ivanpope.com/photos/uncategorized/dsc00115.jpg
    and you wouldn't miss it one iota. Look at it. It wouldn't look out of place in the arse end of Bradford.

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  10. Giant cats and miniature alsations though? I'd go there.

    (No rights issues there DH, sorry about that.)

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