The corner of Coles Lane has something of a tradition of being an 'outdoor' (old-school Brummie…read moretalk for an offie). For years it was a Victoria Wine, then a Threshers before becoming 'The Local' - a disastrous attempt at selling wine, spirits and baked beans in the same small space. After sitting dormant for a while, it's current owner took it on and put it straight. Going under the imaginative banner 'Shop', it's exactly what a corner shop should be and a great example of a community shop. It sells your usual newsagent fare: Chocolate bars, newspapers, milk. I believe it even has a coffee machine in there. I'm afraid I don't know the name of the guy who runs it, but he's a very amiable proprietor who never seems to have a day off and will always say hello or wave to you even if you're walking on the other side of the street. I don't live round there anymore, but whenever I drop by for a paper or a drink if I'm in the area, there always seems to be one of my old neighbours stood in there by the till having a chat and passing the time of day. It's that kind of place, and that kind of place is very hard to find these days.

I've been popping in and out of this shop since I was about 10 years old. My earliest memory of the…read moreplace is when Granddad lived around the corner on Dyas Road and would always pick up his Evening Mail from there. I find it very satisfying that the shop is still there and looks pretty much as I remember it as a kid. Whilst it's changed hands a few times over the years it's still a reassuring fixture of the Kingstanding Road. These days I drop in once a month or so to buy tobacco, or some other 'essential' (is tobacco an essential?) as I pass through Kingstanding. As well as a newsagent this is also an off licence - it wasn't like that in my Granddad's day! - so, if the mood takes you, you can always pick up a beer or two for a reasonable price.

Selling a wide range of newspapers, magazines and everyday household items, this small…read morenewsagent-come-convenience store is a handy place to stop by whenever you're passing through Kingstanding. A large public car park is located just over the road, for shoppers visiting the Hawthorn shopping centre and several bus stops are within walking distance. Inside, the store is clean, spacious and very well organised. Though small in size, logical organisation and lack of makeshift shelving make ensure that the store never feels cramped, and friendly staff make every visit here a pleasant one. The prices are surprisingly good too.

In the last few years, Sutton town centre has seen an increase in the number newsagents and off…read morelicences operating. For ages, if you were ever stuck for a drink, some chewing gum, a newspaper, magazine or pack of fags; the only place to get them was Supernews, located by the Birmingham-bound bus-stops on Lower Parade. For years, it was run by a small team of women who ran and kept the shop very well. On a recent visit to my hometown, I found the women had disappeared and the shop has been taken over by a couple of blokes and a woman. These days, the inside of the shop looks a little cheaper (not that it was ever exclusive but y'know) and has that horrible thing of offers being written in felt-tip on star-shaped brightly coloured cardboard. It's still functional as a place to buy stuff but has lost something. Or maybe I'm being unfair? Maybe I've lost something? Who knew newsagents could produce such introspection?

Located just above New Street Station in the Pallasades shopping centre, Newsflow is a small,…read moreunassuming newsagent. However, despite its appearances, don't be fooled. If I'm every after a drink, snack, or something to read on the train, I always head here instead of the much larger Smiths down on the station concourse. Newsflow's main selling point is the surprisingly expansive selection of magazines that they have on offer, with more than their wall space seems capable of holding. The prices haven't been ramped up with the proximity to the station in mind, either (a sharing bag of sweets retails for less than £2, which is competitive for anywhere, even large supermarkets), and the staff are always friendly. Even better, there's rarely a queue, meaning it can often prove to faster to go upstairs to Newsflow and then come back down to catch your train than it is to go to the nearby Smiths and queue for five minutes.

Standard newsagents that I often pop to for a newspaper or lottery ticket. Friendly service and…read moreeverything you would expect from this type of shop. They may even have that extra bit of luck we are all looking for in life as the last time I bought a lottery ticket from here I won a tenner!

With just a few hours before I was due at the airport for my honeymoon, I urgently needed a city…read moremap of Washington DC of all things. Who'd have thought a sweet little second hand book shop in dear old Mere Green would be the one place to help me out? This place has everything. I was particularly drawn to the travel section, but could have spent hours browsing Gardening, True Crime and Biography but I had a plane to catch. The volunteering staff are very helpful and add to the charm of the place. That this shop is popular with locals is down in no small part to its window displays. Christmas is always a treat, with wonderful evocative children's books creating a festive scene worthy of a big city department store. I even walked past today to see a wonderful display about the England football team and Euro 2012. I can't wait for the Olympics!

I moved away from Sutton about four years ago. One of the sad side-effects is that I don't get…read morechance to visit the wonderful little shop as often as I'd like to. If, like me, you're the kind of person who will travel to a certain part of town purely to check out the charity shops then it's worth hopping on a 902 or 905 from Sutton just to go and have a browse at this place. Whenever I do, I never fail to come away with something: Last time I went I think I left with three Dutch EPs of birdsong (bird's singing, not the Faulks novel) tucked under my arm. Charity book and record shops, whoever invented them, are a stroke of genius. This particular one has a vast selection of books from Mills and Boon to Shakespeare criticism to football annuals to leather-bound historical studies. It's not the sort of place where you can walk away with something for 10p, but if you like your books, this is the sort of shop you want to be getting yourself to.