Usually the Maplin stores are carbon copies of each other, but there's something different about…read morethis branch. Firstly, the nice, white colour scheme is not the usual garish post box red. The shelves seem busier and some of the Christmas gift ideas are really good. Who wouldn't enjoy a radio-controlled rat, or mini walkie-talkies with a 5km range? Small Christmas trees made of plastic circuit board catch my eye: you have to build them up yourself and feature LEDs for lights. Being a bit of an electronics geek I always find Maplin to be a good browse, though they are sometimes overpriced. But all the sale shelves in the Putney branch quickly put my mind at ease. A nice and inexpensive gift for a music lover is a box of blank CD-Rs that look like little records. There's also always something for mom, dad, little brother or sister. Maplin Putney always has knowledgeable staff on hand to field more technical questions too.

A veritable Aladdins cave of widgets and bloggets that can have you convinced that you need them…read morewhen in fact you don't. . . I am talking RC helicopters, screw driver sets, batteries of all shapes and sizes, memory cards, adaptors, disco lighting, home CCTV etc etc etc

I always appreciate a hassle-free customer service experience, I mean who doesn't. In December I…read moreordered a slow cooker among other items from Robert Dyas and it arrived as expected. Since (now 6 months) I've used the slow cooker on a few occasions. Recently I made soup and all went well until the next day when I attempted to warm the soup up for it's finish... my slow cooker became a no cooker. I was crushed however the soup must go on and we survived. I consulted the Robert Dyas website for returns/faulty items and their policy is one year providing no damage and other reasonable T&C's. I called Customer Services and they were so nice and happy to help. The process was "easy peasy" and for that I'm a BIG FAN. This American Southerner says Robert Dyas is one fine place to shop and down-right honorable to their customers, y'all!

Until recently, I thought that Robert Dyas shops were just for home-type gadgets and small…read moreappliances. A wander through one (a different location) let me in on the news that they've got lots of homewares and cooking gadgets and such. In stocking up for a big Thanksgiving gathering next week, I popped into Robert Dyas at Southside to get a few extra baking dishes and replacement gravy boats (because those things do not hold up to transatlantic moves and also, having 2 is better than 1. Mmm...gravy). Really helpful and friendly shop staff and while the prices aren't the best across the range, there are certainly good deals to be found.

I have had no other reason to walk into this store except for the emergency purchase of a USB cable…read moreto go between my printer and my computer. The cable was horribly expensive, and definitely did not warrant the twelve pounds it cost me. I am sure this store serves its purpose in terms of its computer repair and sales services, but I left feeling a little ripped off and as if my desperation had been cashed in on a little. Very central to the Earlsfield/Wandsworth area, Gemini PC repair usually seems to be quite busy, though I could not fairly comment about their proficiency on this side of things. It's a small, tight premises with a busy workshop area in which there seems to be a different technician working on computers every time I walk past, so they have to be doing something right.

How Thomas Edison would smile upon the likes of Ryness, which sells everything you've ever needed…read morein a bulb or with a filament. Light bulbs, LEDs, energy savers or any other general household lighting requirement you can think of. They also offer a useful range of electrical appliances like vacuum cleaners, bedside lamps, heaters, kettles and toasters. You'll even find the odd, cheesy disco light and a few computer peripherals. The store itself provides a lot of eye candy and probably uses enough power to light a rural settlement of computer hackers bent on world domination. Still, at least you can help Earth's plight by upgrading your home's lights to energy savers, which are available in every shape and colour for a really good price.

I think that the staff in Ryness are incredibly helpful. It is like a good old fashioned shop where…read morepeople will actually spend time with you. Today I went in there to recycle batteries and bulbs (ie. they get nothing out of that at all) and they were happy to spend time advising me on what sort of charger I needed in the UK for a US appliance (again no sale). I was so impressed that I ended up buying something else. Of course you can buy things more cheaply on the internet, but you wouldn't get the service and the advice and the after sales. I have bought many things from Ryness over the years and always been pleased with both the products and the service.

I'm obliged to have a fondness for this place... it saved my life, well... rather my film…read more It was a Sunday... it was our day of shooting. Days before, I'd spoken with my camera guy about how much tape we needed. "Do you think we need more than a couple hours of tape?" he asked. "Yes," I said. "Okay," he replied, "I'll be sure to get some." So there we were, on a Sunday afternoon on Kings Road in Chelsea, setting up the shot with all of our rental equipment, when the camera guy says to me, "uh... I need to go to a store somewhere and buy some more tape." "What?" I asked. "Yeah, I mean, if you think we'll need more than an hour of tape..." "Of course we need more than an hour! We'll need well more than an hour...." "Yeah, so, I need to go to a store and pick up some more tape..." I looked at him incredulously. "This is crazy... I have no idea where in the world you think you're going to find HD mini DV tapes anywhere near King's Road on a Sunday at 4:30 in the afternoon..." He looked up and down the street... then pointed to the Sony Centre, which was miraculousy a stone's throw away... as if it had materialized out of nowhere right then and there... I'd never even noticed it there before... "They might have some," he said. And what do you know? They did. We bought their last tapes. I consider myself indebted to Sony for even contemplating setting up such a shop on King's Road.... so here's a big public thank you to Sony for the shop's very existence in Chelsea... and another big thank you for keeping it open till 5pm on Sundays!