Stanley Square is a small shopping centre, serving the town of Sale in Greater Manchester, the…read moreinside area is outdated and the centre is full of empty units, it feels like the only thing which has changed in years, is the name, being renamed Stanley Square at the end of 2020, where it was formerly known simply as, The Sale Shopping Centre before-hand. There is a Tesco store (small location, nearby Sainsbury's Superstore is larger), a couple of pound-shops and discount shops, a Boots and a Post Office, many brands located here are ones you'd pretty much find in any small town. Certainly one to watch for a future, if they can make changes other than the name, it could be one to watch, right now it's a run-down, dead shopping centre full of empty units, which doesn't have a functioning website, to the point if you google the name of the centre without adding further information, it redirects to an Indian takeaway. 2*

A small Aldi located inside Sale town centre, it is in-between two rival supermarket chains (Tesco…read moreSuperstore behind, Sainsbury's in front) and is probably the smallest of the three stores. I thought the store looked pretty nice and welcoming from the outside, but the interior was much different, the store appeared to be cramped and outdated, it was hard to walk down the aisles as the store struggled to cope with having a good number of people inside, pretty much forcing you to walk at their speed due to the lack of any width (especially to support shopping trolleys!), this isn't a problem at Tesco or Sainsbury's nearby, so I do think they need to do more to make the aisles wider or remove trolleys altogether as they aren't fit for purpose in such a small store, the size of a slightly larger than the average Tesco Express or Marks and Spencer Food store. The staff seemed pretty rude, including the security guard who was constantly walking in front of customers, not watching where he was going or paying any respect to his surroundings, he also seemed his best to try and intimidate innocent shoppers, without doing much else. The selection was OK for a store of its' size, apart from it being cramped. I also don't like how ALDI seem to only have a small number of checkouts and no self-service checkouts, which isn't ideal if like me, you only want a handful of items and not a big shop... at least add a fast lane! 2* - Pretty messy overall but does add a little variety in terms of supermarket choice in Sale town centre, and it does look the best in terms of the exterior in comparison to most other shops in the area.

If you're a serious runner, and getting splashed by water from cars driving through puddles as you…read morerun on dreary pavements, running up the side of a mountain, wearing short shorts, losing a toenail or two, being ridiculously fit and filling a camel pack with energy drinks and not beer are all your kind of thing, then you've probably already heard of Up and Running. Up and Running is tucked away at the top of the Triangle shopping centre, and it's a serious running shop for serious runners. They even have a couple of treadmills so that trying on some running shoes involves actually properly trying them out, rather than just doing that classic 'shoe shop walk' that we've all done in our time. What's more, you'll be trying on some running shoes that one of Up and Running's knowledgeable assistants have chosen specifically for you and your running style. Up and Running also sell reflective jackets, running watches and protein shakes, as well as lots of other running gizmos.

This is the best running shoe shop I've been to. They will find the perfect pair of running shoes…read morefor you, and they aren't even ridiculously expensive. As Sam says, they have treadmills for you to properly try the shoes, but this is not all they're for! You put a pair on and run for a few minutes on the treadmill, whilst they video your legs with a special camera. They use this footage to work out the angle at which your feet incline. This means that if your feet slope one way or the other, you can get a pair of running shoes to correct this. It means you wont be doing any harm to your ankles as you run. Absolutely unbelievable service. You may think you don't need this because you 'run normally' but you may well be surprised. If you're going to do any serious running then make sure you go here. Its invaluable not only to have a good pair of shoes, but to have the right ones for you.

I can't believe I didn't think to review this place sooner, The Waterside Arts Centre is one of my…read morefavourite places. There are no limits to what can happen here; it's a theatre, an art gallery, an exhibition hall, a comedy venue, a music venue, a cinema, a function room...the list goes on. Everything about it is so beautifully versatile, you can go to any one of the above events there and think that is the venue's sole purpose. I've been to see some fantastic original exhibitions there, I've been in tears from laughing at the comedy nights and I've taken my younger sister there for some of the great child-friendly events they regularly hold. If you're unsure, head down to their next open day when they have taster sessions of everything for free! Also check out the programme of events on their website, I bet you'll see something you like because they really do cater for everyone!

The Waterside Arts Centre was completed as part of the redevelopment of the Trafford Council…read moreOffices which resulted in some shiny new offices, a new bar beneath them, and the Waterside Arts Centre. The Waterside really amounts to a number of galleres and exhibition spaces, and the Robert Bolt theatre within it all, which is a reasonably intimate (i.e. small!) performance venue that I've been lucky enough to visit for a number of different performances. There is a full programme of events on here and in any one month there will be a variety of music concerts (ranging from small and relatively unknown folk acts, current chart stalwarts, ageing rockers, local classical musical ensembles and anything (and everything) inbetween. There's also a regular comedy night styled along the lines of 'Whose line is it anyway?', and regular theatre productions including an annual pantomime. I've been fortunate enough to see a few acts there in recent times including Hayseed Dixie (true Hillbilly Rock) and Glenn Tillbrook (guitar-god and songwriter extraordinaire of Squeeze fame), two gigs that saw the Robert Bolt theatre in both standing, and fully seated configurations (it is usually set up for one or the other!)... Both times, the size of venue allowed me to feel really connected to the performer in a true 'I could see into the whites of their eyes' kind of sense. In both instances, this certainly added to the quality of the experience! Drinks for gigs are usually provided via a 'bottle and can' bar, which can make for a slightly pricy night, but then, you're not going there to drink! The gallery spaces are spread around the building and seem to cater for most tastes, and provide opportunities for local artists alongside those who are better known. All in all, the Waterside is a great little venue and a top addition to a town that was in sore need of a place like this. Bravo!

If you're looking for a bargain in Sale, and who wouldn't be in a town called Sale, then Quality…read moreBargains is a veritable treasure trove of reduced priced goodies. They sell all sorts of toiletries, household items, food, pet food, drink and more and I swear it's impossible to visit without coming out with a bargain or two in your bag. The stock seems to rotate quite regularly and although there are items you'll be able to pick up week in week out, a lot of the things on offer are sold on a when it's gone it's gone basis so if you find something you like, you need to stock up quickly before it disappears from the shelves altogether. The Sale branch is well laid out and, although the queues can be big at times, service is still relatively swift. The staff will even pack your shopping for you which is a nice added bonus. Quality Save is definitely my favourite Aladin's Cove of bargains in Sale.

quality products at quality prices lolread more

Browns Fine Jewellery is right in the centre of Sale and offers a fantastic range of both…read moretraditional and contemporary jewellery. Since it's an independent shop, you can expect to find unique pieces of jewellery that are of a far higher quality than you'd get from Elizabeth Duke just over the way. The staff are friendly, helpful and very knowledgeable and will always give you advice without any hard sell or pressure to buy. My only grip with Browns is the prices as most of the jewellery comes with a high price tag but you're guaranteed a gorgeous piece of jewellery if you buy from here. All the items I've bought from Brown's come in a gift box and they also offer gift wrapping for free. This isn't a place to buy your everyday costume jewellery but if you're looking for a quality piece that will last you years, then Browns is worth a browse.

This place is presumably so named for the fact that you can scarcely walk round the place, such is…read morethe chaotic arrangement of furniture in Aladdins Den, rather than the need for genie-assitance to find the place. As if the internal array of stock isn't enough, the TV stands, tables and chairs and chests of drawers spill out onto the pavement too. The overriding impression here is that quantity of stock on offer definitely eclipses the overall quality. It's definitely a place that follows the mantra 'stack it high and sell it cheap' and as such, I guess that you could say it fulfils the needs of a great number of potential clientele in Sale. However, I'd have to say that the pieces on offer have the look of flat-pack that has been pre-assembled rather than nicely designed, or eclectiv an authentic reclaimed items and it's certainly not a shop I'll visit again

Probably the worst Tesco I've visited to have the "Superstore" title, located in the town centre of…read moreSale. The facilities are poor, for example, this is one of the few larger Tesco stores not to have Scan As You Shop, the to-go food and drink range which is normally extensive was worse than a store of half its' size, they didn't have a coffee machine (again the only time I've seen a medium or larger store not to have one), many of the to-go drinks were also in the cupboard, as these are drinks you'd often pick as they're ready to drink, it was annoying they weren't keeping them cold. The selection overall was pretty poor, many shelves seemed rather depleted. I much prefer the larger Sainsbury's store nearby, and will probably give this Tesco store a miss in the future, unless there's a Tesco branded item I want to buy and would hope is actually sold here. 2*

I took my gold chain into Stefan's in Sale for repair as it had snapped in the middle. It was an…read moreunusual chain with a pendant I had bought in Rio years ago and had a very narrow clasp on the end for the pendant to slide through - which it had, many times. (It may be called a lobster claw. ) I didn't take the pendant with me. He said the gold chain was 18ct and worth around £30 (?) so I reckoned it was worth the £14 he was charging to repair it. However this is not about the value at all. Regrettably I didn't look at it properly when I collected it as my glasses were in my bag and I could see at a glance that the chain was no longer snapped. When I came to wear it I found I couldn't thread the pendant on as the clasp was a large round one, nothing like previously and on further inspection I do not recognise the chain as my own either. I rang the shop and was told to bring my paperwork in, which I did, as they couldn't look for mine until they had the paperwork. (?!) The manager (owner?) LOUDLY INSISTED the pendant couldn't have threaded on before and only came off because the chain was broken. His reasoning was that the weight of the chain was the same as before and said it's very rare to get a 16" chain of the same weight of 2.1. I have no idea if this is correct but I am positive it is not my chain. He offered to squash the clasp so it would fit through the pendant. He did not attempt to check his records or look into it further even though something has happened somewhere. I'm sure that the manager/owner will repeat his claim that it was "only in my mind" that it threaded through before but I know it DEFINITELY did. I don't know if there's anything I can do about this yet but I would urge anyone to take a close-up photo and valuation of anything put in for repair as you really do not expect this sort of thing to happen. I for one will never use this shop again for anything and will repeat this story to as many people as possible. I would not even give this one star if possible as not only has my chain disappeared but the customer service was non existent.

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