There are two T G Hawthorne stores in Armagh. One located on Scotch Street which sells household…read morefurniture including beds, wardrobes, sofas, dining tables, carpets and wooden flooring etc. Then there's this one on Thomas Street which stocks household goods such as ornaments, kitchen utensils, table cloths, pots, pans, dinner sets, scented candles plus wedding gift and baby gift items. This particular Thomas Street store also has electrical and gardening equipment e.g. strimmers, chainsaws and DIY tools. Prices are competitive, quality high and service very good.

Some people are wise and if they need Christmas decorations will buy them after Christmas when…read moresales are on. This was my reason for visiting Alexanders of Markethill today. Not for myself I might add, as I don't even bother putting up a Christmas tree, however a friend wanted to stock up for next year. Alexanders of Markethill is a large, beautiful household items store over two floors with an upstairs cafe. Throughout the year it sells a range of dinnerware, cookware, home accessories and offers an interior design service. Coming up to Christmas more than half the shop is taken over with Christmas stock including trees, decorations and artisan foods. It's fantastic to walk around and the Christmas items are stunning - some of the best I've seen. However, even with a sale on, I still think it quite expensive. For example my friend purchased a Christmas wreath and a decorative thingymajiggy for across the top of her fireplace - even in the sale this totalled over £110.00! I would never spend such money on a couple of Christmas decorations no matter how beautiful. Anyhow, if you've money to burn you'll love it. My favourite items were a couple of reindeer made out of what looked like papier-mâché newspaper cuttings - to be honest I'd be inclined to have a go at making them myself rather than buy them. Therefore for me, a trip to Alexanders would be more of an inspirational field trip, however for others it's a great place to pick up some fabulous, festive items. Unfortunately I didn't try the cafe but it was busy which I take as a good sign, so I will definitely return to try the cafe and have another browse. I might even be tempted to purchase some wine glasses or pots and pans on my next visit...

Just a little review update here, after receiving a message via YELP from a fellow 'patron' about…read moremy prior review of Alexanders, stating that " All companies are fighting hard to stay afloat in the current financial climate but comments like this can result in local family run businesses disappearing from our province altogether" well I just felt I needed to clarify my review, I have been into Alexanders many times over the years and I base my reviews on my experiences on the day, service, price and all other things we YELPERS should do. Now certainly Alexanders is an impressive store, in fact there are 2 stores in Markethill, one selling furniture and the other household items which includes the cafe on the 1st floor, in all my visits I could honestly say I have never found a bargain, the stock is overpriced, but yet I still visit the store, as I prefer to shop with local traders where possible, but my pocketbook is not bottomless so value for money always wins out! I stand by my original review, the cafe is expensive and the few times I have eaten in it were not great. Alexanders need to drop their prices a bit and buy bigger tea pots.

Got my skirt done in a rush! Perfect tailoring and very friendly service. Pricing good too..read more

McEvoys used to be the Bees Knees in Newry, forty years ago it was THE shop to go to for fashion,…read moreundergarments, wool, needles and every other imaginable/unmentionable requirement drapery wise. Over the past year or so it has plummeted in standard and shot up in price, (the elderly and young were the staple clientele of McEvoys). Why did they have to change it? I'm a great believer in 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' if you had a sick older relative in hospital...get them something in McEvoys, a child ready for school...get them kitted in McEvoys..a nice new pair of big women's pants...go to McEvoys. Now they seem to have tried to move upmarket and more 'fashion' based, basically just like all the other department stores around. McEvoys, go back to your roots, big pants, thermal vests, fleece nighties, fat men's pyjamas, terry tea towels, knitting needles, wool, stuff for turning up hems, bed socks, thick welly socks, flat caps and cheap and functional baby clothes. Basically the stuff that is far too un trendy to be in most other places but essential to the older person. Granny will pay a small fortune to have a decent pair of knickers that will come up past the waist band of her skirt you know. And you can never have too many thermal vests. Go back to where you were 10 years ago it will be much better!

Their cafe was buzzing busy. Their coffees are very good and the staff friendly and welcoming. It's…read morequite a comfy place too. There's a new food menu for spring and I guess a lot of the food is pre prepared off site and heated/assembled in store. I'd rather go into the food hall and buy the in store made sushi for lunch.

I've been here twice now and both times experienced crappy service. The staff here were unhelpful…read morethe first time and downright rude the second. Won't be back, won't recommend friends or family to come here either. Not the m&s standards I'm used to as a loyal customer!

Just bought white goods in the Expert Electrical shop upstairs…read more 10% cheaper than Harvey Norman, & over 15% than Power City. I actually don't know how they can compete with these larger outlets, but in fairness they really do. I've bought loads of white goods over the years, in Dublin mainly, but this was the first time that anyone insisted that they gave me a walk through of all the products features. Furthermore, he takes the code from inside the unit & registers the guarantee for you! Found the chap insightful & helpful. Couldn't recommend the store highly enough.

If you're one of the blue-rinsed hair brigade you'll love Bon Marche. It's a ladies clothing store…read moreselling comfortable, cosy, functional items for ladies of a certain age. Your Mum or Gran will probably like this shop. I have occasionally wandered in, out of curiosity, for a look but haven't actually bought anything. Not yet anyway, but it's probably only a matter of time...

Some shopping centres just have a nice vibe about them and I find this to be the case with…read moreSprucefield. It just feels spacious, clean, bright and pleasant to walk around. Home to some of the big, high-quality, shopping giants including M&S, Next, Mothercare and Pets at Home. However, being an out of town centre, it'll not be easy for everyone to get to, plus it can be EXTREMELY busy, especially at weekends...

Sprucefield shopping centre is a sprawling shopping centre on the outskirts of Belfast. If you are…read moretraveling up to Belfast on the M1 it's a great place to stop and recoup as my parents, sister and I did when we travelled from Dundalk to Belfast last week. The shopping centre has many parking spaces and the centre boasts: Marks & Spencer, JJB, Boots and a rather swish looking McDonald's. The Marks & Spencer is full of lovely things. It has a food hall and a pretty decent sit down restaurant and M&S cafe if you just want something small. The homewares section is vast and is full of lovely things you probably don't need, but look great anyway and there's also a vast clothes section, electrical equipment section, make-up and toiletries and a stationary section. The M&S also has two atms. The Boot's next door is pretty well stocked and carry the trendy Urban Decay and Benefit make-up lines. JJB and Mc'Donalds are also located in the complex. Worth popping into for the Marks & Spencers store.

Oh it's a funny old world. This is day three of M&S not able to take contactless payments UK wide…read more Credit cards (chip & pin) or cash will still do rightly. I rely on contactless as I don't carry money nor a credit card. They now have a staff member at the door advising that contactless remains useless as the other day I only found out at the till having already shopped. Maybe Mr Putin has free time to meddle now that Game Of Trump players are doing his Ukraine grabbing work for him on Day 99. Maybe it's Kim interfering for profit. He called the 47th a doddard when 45th. Even maybe it's the Chinese. Oh just wait for their silicone valley to launch. It won't be pretty for California. Oh and while I'm trying to buy bananas unsuccessfully the only true remaining leader of the free world has up and died. His funeral this Saturday will be sad. Then it's over to an electorate of 120, potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin. As I said funny old world.