This is a brilliantly named shop for the sort of items it sells - cheap and cheerful household…read moreessentials. Need loo roll? Toothpaste? Shampoo? They've got it! And at a fraction of the supermarket price. The most handy item I've bought here is 8 Litre storage boxes at just £4 each which were an absolute lifesaver when I moved house. The shop itself is messy and unorganised but you can't have everything!

So your looking for that infamous orange handled brush, or a selection of vaious different sized…read morered storage containers, or that dog chew toy that will keep the mut entertained for hours... but wait... you only have £5.74 i your pocket and you lef your wallet at home, surely there is no where that will stock all those things for that price, think again! ok so it might be a little exageration but it is a multi purpose cheap store, that does as the pack man style logo suggest help you beat the credit crunch. I am a fan of stores like this, more so of the smaller versions, but with each one you walk inside with that sense of the unknown, you could come accross anything within 4 seconds of stepping inside... what an adventure!

The Better Food Company has been a long standing flag ship in the organic food movement through…read moreBristol. The building is really split into two sections of market place and restaurant, although as you can probably imagine the two co exist rather nicely. Indeed there is a lot that is rather nice at The Better Food Company. The well stocked supermarket, for starters, packs a firm punch in the line of sustainable, environmentally friendly products. From large vats, one can refill empty bottles with Ecover biodegradable washing up liquid. From equally large buckets and bins one can fill up bags with various teas, dried fruits and cereals. The selection of breads and biscuits is pleasantly extensive, catering for vegans, vegetarians and, like myself, those with wheat allergies. Indeed this is one of the few shops I have ever found where I can buy many gluten-free foods. If you know what I'm talking about I definitely recommend you come here. A short walk past the beautiful, hippy cashiers in multi coloured layers will bring you to the cafe restaurant. An inviting array of tables and chairs with an enormous people-watching window (you know who you are!) is often bustling busy. Mothers with children and prams, students and locals all flock here for the delicious home cooked, organic and quite affordable food. For many The Better Food Company can be quite the day out.

While there are many small, local shops in St Werburgh's and Montpelier selling organic and whole…read morefoods, it's still immensely helpful to have one big organic supermarket where everything can be found in one place, and at this one you can stop off for lunch at the adjoining cafe, too. Catering to wealthy eco-lifestyle types, it carries a range of high end organic food, with particular nod to the excellent fresh bread selection. It sells all the things you'd expect from this sort of shop: soya milk and yoghurts, ecologically friendly home products, gluten-free pastas, etc, along with a very good booze section. There's not actually as much stock in the shop as you might expect from how large it looks from the outside; it's all very spread out. So while it gives the illusion of being a whopping superstore, it is more like an indoor market. Even so, you will absolutely find everything you're looking for, and you'll get a smile from the very helpful and knowledgable (I bet the training here is thorough!) staff.

I love that you can follow the progression of this Bristol store by old shop signs at increasingly…read morebigger stores up Stapleton Road, up to its current destination in Fishponds Trading Estate. It is difficult to describe - basically a homeware shop with a bunch of oddities on top - think pictures of Jesus standing beneath holographic waterfalls. Apart from the sheer fun of going round here, during the heatwave five years ago this was the only shop in Bristol still to stock fans. Genius.

Rajanis is the stuff of legend for the cheap and cheerful. Only if you're prepared to trawl through…read morea warehouse of junk, tat and odds and ends to find what you're after. And if what you're after is a job lot of chairs, or a mop or a big bag of mixed sweets. I'm doing it an injustice. Wholesale is the right name for it (despite selling to the average person off the street too). They stock a whole host, floor-to-ceiling - gifts, cards, stationary, candles, ornaments, mirrors, luggage, beauty and cleaning products, household goods, crockery, catering supplies, DIY products, pet supplies, gardening goods and furniture, curtains, towels, cushions, blinds, bedding, toys and electrical goods. All at warehouse discount, bargain basement, super-duper low prices. The Xmas decoration section itself is breath-taking - you could decorate an entire village with what they have here - tinsel, baubels, trees and lights a go-go. Rajanis also has a café on site, a cashpoint, delivery service and pensioner discounts on a Thursday. Phew... it's like an entire new city of stuff.

A very newly opened store in Bedminster, just before christmas I believe…read more It started out as a shop that had almost everything, and was packed to the rim. From goose fat to wardrobes and puppets to fruit it had almost anything you could think of. Then slowly over the few weeks after it opened the store began to filter through all it's stuff and it seems to gradually be turning into a cafe/brick-a-brack store. There was a very friendly shop assistant who used to work there, but I haven't seen her there for a while, I hope she hasen't left because I didn't think to much to the managers people skills.

Never have i walked into somewhere I expected to be an antiques store, to only be greeted by a…read moregreat big chiller cabinet full of vegetables, yoghurt and other chilled products. This place really does house a strange array of products for sale, with furntiure of various age and price sitting quite uncomfortably next to the 'chiller cabinet of wonder'. Situated under the red brick archway/walkway of Bedmister Parade, this shop is not the easiest to spot, and the sign adorning the shop's front is quite similar to one you would find situated above the doorway of those independent £1 shops. The girls that work in here are really pleasant and are a true joy to share a few minutes of conversation with, as well as being very helpful with your purchasing. A strange shop which you have to visit to believe - if you can identify it!

I've always been a fan of lidl and I'm particularly keen on my local one in bedminster. The car…read morepark is spacious and there's always spaces, you need to remember your £s for the trolley. The shop itself is well laid out, I don't like the fact that the fruit and veg isn't In chilled containers but there we go. They sell good quality branded and own brand produce very cheaply and they achieve this by having a no frills approach, you need to pay for bags and they whizz you through the checkouts super quick but overall the shopping experience is relaxed and pleasant. Their lasagnes, tortellini and Greek yogert are all really good and they so sell lovely ice cream - their prosecco is the best I have tasted (and I've tasted a lot!)

I can't pass this shop without that Afrikan Boy song popping into my head "One day i went to Lidl,…read moreI went to shoplift at Lidl..." Not that I have ever shoplifted at Lidl, but the prices are indeed a steal. The fruit and veg is a bit up and down at this store and I don't really like goats cheese and cheddar from here. They do a range of very tasty salamis and meats, super cheap for tinned food, juices. They also do an excellent range of catfood called Opticat. Beware the junk food aisle, so good its dangerous. I also love the range of weird and wonderful items they have - recently they had a fantastic range of gardening tools for example at ridiculously cheap prices. There is ample parking here and I have chained my bike to the railings of the supermarket trolley bay without any problems. This LIdl tends to be quiet most of the time and is a far more peaceful and fun shopping experience than Asda in Bedminster.